London Marathon Update

Posted by Miss Cellania in Sports on April 14, 2008 at 8:31 am


150_londonmarathonThe Flora London Marathon was held yesterday, and was won by Martin Lel of Kenya who set a record time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 15 seconds. It was his third win in four years. See the list of winners, and read on for updates on runners previously featured at Neatorama.

Buster Martin ran the marathon yesterday in slightly more than ten hours, but officials from the Guinness Book of World Records are holding off on certifying him as the oldest marathon runner ever. Martin does not have proof of his age. Evidence has surfaced that Martin is a mere 94 years old, not 101 as previously claimed.

Amarilis Espinoza, of Guinesss World Records, said: “We’re not denying that he is obviously an old man running the marathon. But at this point he has not yet sent any documents we can use as definitive proof for a record attempt.”


Four of the six Maasai warriors from Tanzania completed the race in 5 hours, 24 minutes, but one was taken to the hospital, and another accompanied him. They raised at least £26,000 in their quest for a water system for their village, which is expected to be more once the donations are counted.

Dave Heeley crossed the finish line in 5 hours, 20 minutes, and completed his goal of being the first blind runner to accomplish seven marathons in seven days on seven continents.

See pictures from the marathon at the BBC.


Previous post
this post? Please Email this               
Next post


FUN PRODUCTS FROM THE NEATORAMA SHOP:


COMMENT

11 comments to "London Marathon Update"

  1. Alannah
    April 14th, 2008 at 9:37 am

    Any of these people could kick my ass. I'm humbled.

  2. dd
    April 14th, 2008 at 10:16 am

    7 continents? As in, all 7? Or is there some other meaning? Antarctica being the obvious sticking point.

  3. Miss Cellania
    April 14th, 2008 at 10:30 am

    Yes, dd, Antartica was represented by a marathon in the Falkland Islands. Click on Heeley's name to see his schedule.

  4. Rosi
    April 14th, 2008 at 10:35 am

    The best thing about the London marathon is the costumes. You get loads of people just sticking a wig and some headboppers on but there are some really excellent ones too. This year there was someone dressed as the Iron Giant (from Brad Bird's animation) complete with a miniature figure of Hogarth on his shoulder, a rhino, a giant pink nurse, someone on stilts and a load of convicts chained together!
    You can see most of them here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/soggy-semolina/2410687152/

  5. stacyj
    April 14th, 2008 at 10:46 am

    Aww, a few years ago I was living right in the heart of London and inadvertently came upon the London marathon while I was out for a wander one day (not sure how I'd previously missed the fact that the thing was going to be occurring, but there ya go). I ended up right near the finish line as runners were finishing, it was the first time I'd ever seen an actual marathon and so I assumed that people would be incredibly triumphant as they crossed the finish line, jubilant and cheerful and celebratory ... instead, those poor people staggered across it as if on the very last breath of their lives, never have I seen such UTTERLY exhausted and wrung-out individuals *chuckle*

    Running a marathon is no doubt cool and all, but oy vey, personally I'd pay a whole lot more to -not- ever look the way those poor runners looked at the end!

  6. empty-minded
    April 14th, 2008 at 12:14 pm

    Where are the pictures of the Maasai? Weren't they supposed to be in tribal dress? How can they photograph a guy in a green thong or a cow, but not a group carrying spears and shields?

  7. oezicomix
    April 14th, 2008 at 1:46 pm

    and what did the massai say about the "rules" and advices they had been given? were they any help in coping with englishmen?

  8. bean
    April 14th, 2008 at 2:12 pm

    The Falkland Islands are not Antarctica. That guy failed. Or maybe somebody told him he was in Antarctica?

  9. CheeseDuck
    April 14th, 2008 at 2:26 pm

    A mere 94 years old? And Masai people are awesome!

  10. Barbwire
    April 14th, 2008 at 11:38 pm

    Where are the clips of the Maasai?

  11. Carl
    April 16th, 2008 at 9:23 pm

    Bean grow up - it's an amazing accomplishment. Until someone holds a marathon in Antarctica that this guy can compete in - which he no doubt WOULD - he deserves praise. Get over your nitpicking and recognize someone doing something noteworthy.

    One a literary note one of my favorite parts of Hemingway's "Africa novels" ("the Green Hills of Africa" and "True at First Light") were the parts talking about the native peoples running after his jeep whenever he visited a village. There was a detail in...I think it was T@FL detailing a long race and how joyous the whole affair was.


PLEASE LEAVE A COMMENT

Neatorama Comment Policy
You don't have to register or login to comment, but it's easier if you do so. Comments aren't censored, but those that are abusive or off-topic may be edited or deleted.


Stay updated on the comments with Comment RSS