This year I watched the London Marathon in a different light; I was now able to understand just how much hard work went in and how much effort it took, both mentally and physically, to complete the 26.2 mile route. As a beginner runner, it inspired me and made me proud to consider myself part of the running community. This post is going to look at some of the highlights from the 2017 London Marathon.

• Female Elite Winner – Mary Keitany of Kenya won the elite female race in 2:17:01, with a half split of 1:06:54.

• Male Elite Winner – Daniel Wanjiru of Kenya won the elite male race in 2:05:48, with a half split of 1:01:43. He held off the challenge from Kenenisa Bekele of Ethiopia who finished in 2:05:57.

• Female GBR Elites – Alyson Dixon was the first of the British elite women to finish in 2:29:06, closely followed by Charlotte Purdue who finished in 2:29:23. Tracy Barlow finished in 16^th position with a time of 2:30:42, followed by Tish Jones in 18^th place with a time of 2:33:56. Susan Partridge finished in 2:37:51, giving her 21^st place, followed by Jenny Spink in 22^nd place with a time of 2:38:11. Laura Graham rounded off the last of the British female elites in 24^th place with a time of 2:42:38.

• Male GBR Elites – Robbie Simpson finished in 15^th place, the first of the British elite men, in 2:15:04. He was closely followed by Andrew Davies in 2:15:11. Scott Overall finished in 19^th place with a time of 2:16:54. In 23^rd position, Jonny Mellor came in with a time of 2:18:48. Great Britain also took up places 25-30 with Tom Anderson finishing in 2:19:36, Matt Bond in 2:21:13, Ian Kimpton in 2:23:52, Jonathan Hay in 2:24:02, Andrew Lemoncello and Chris Thompson in the joint time of in 2:24:11.

• Women’s Wheelchair T52/T54 – Manuela Schar of Switzerland won the Women’s T53/T54 race in a time of 1:39:57, with a half split of 48:51.

• Men’s Wheelchair T53/T54 – David Weir of Britain won his 7^th London Marathon, finishing in a time of 1:31:06, with a half split of 44:04.

• Female Club, Charity and Ballot Winner – Anna Boniface of Britain won the female mass entry category in a time of 2:37:07.

• Male Club, Charity and Ballot Winner – Josh Griffiths, a club runner from Swansea Harriers, surprised everybody as he ran his first ever marathon in a time of 2:14:49, making him the first GBR male to cross the finishing line, ahead of the GBR athletes.

Another big highlight for me, was the support from everyone involved – the crowd cheering people on, the volunteers who gave up their time, runners motivating each other. The image that sums up the spirit of the event for me is this… a runner sacrificing his finishing time to help a struggling runner; in a world where people are so competitive, it was great to see someone taking the time out and putting someone else first during such a big event.

I really hope to take part in the London Marathon 2018, but if not then, definitely in the future!