The 2024 London Marathon is scheduled to take place in the British capital on Sunday (tomorrow), and it will include a record number of Pakistanis, including those from the country’s diaspora overseas.
The marathon, which is regarded as one of the most popular running events and incorporates a number of renowned sights including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, the Tower of London, and Canary Wharf, among others, will see the participation of up to 27 Pakistani athletes, the greatest number to date.
Participating in the renowned marathon that was conducted for the first time in 1981 will be Pakistani runners from Karachi, Islamabad, Dubai, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Norway.
Rehman Azhar, a journalist, will run his third World major in London in 2023. Berlin and Chicago will follow.
The London Marathon will put Pakistani expats Babar Ghias and Jamal Khan, who are based in Chicago and New York respectively, one step closer to their goal of finishing their Six Star trek.
Bilal Ehsan, who co-founded the Islamabad Running Club, will be running the London Marathon. This will be his third global big race, following Berlin and New York.
In 2024, there will be a number of Pakistani women participating in the London Marathon. Many of the athletes were a part of the largest delegation from Pakistan to the 2023 Berlin Marathon.
Semeena Khan is a British-Pakistani marathon runner and coach who resides in England. She is running the London Marathon again on behalf of “Muslim Runners,” a UK running group that has won several awards.
Two pairs that completed the Berlin Marathon together, Uzma Abid and Abdul Samee and Zain Anwar and Nada Anwar, are also scheduled to run the London Marathon together.
First marathon since Kiptum’s demise
The inaugural London Marathon will take place in 2024 following the demise of the previous year’s champion, Kelvin Kiptum, who was killed in a vehicle accident in Kenya in February.
On Sunday, there will be an homage to Kelvin Kiptum, who last year broke the course record with a timing of 2 hours, 1 minute, and 25 seconds.
Actor Phil Dunster and comedian Romesh Ranganathan are two of the famous people who will be running the marathon and making their London debuts.
How to watch, track runners
The London Marathon application, which lets users search for runners by name or bib number, is available to anyone who want to watch the race.
Additionally, users have the option to follow numerous runners by creating a tracking list.
BBC iPlayer, the Red Button, and the BBC will all carry live coverage of the London Marathon.
Leading entries
Women
Tigist Assefa (ETH) 2:11:53
Brigid Kosgei (KEN) 2:14:04
Ruth Chepngetich (KEN) 2:14:18
Tigist Ketema (ETH) 2:16:07
Megertu Alemu (ETH) 2:17:09
Men
Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 2:01:41
Alexander Mutiso Munyao (KEN) 2:03:11
Tamirat Tola (ETH) 2:03:39
Dawit Wolde (ETH) 2:03:48
Kinde Atanaw (ETH) 2:03:51
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