Goats on the Run – London Marathon 2023

It’s coming up to a fortnight since the 2023 London Marathon saw tens of thousands of runners (and more than a few Lonely Goats) take to the streets of the UK capital to run 26.2 miles. Now that medals have been hung up, achey muscles have been soothed, and the post-marathon afterglow has given way to the ‘what now?’ blues, we thought this would be a perfect time to revisit the 23rd April and share a small selection of some of the Lonely Goat Running Club community’s highlights of that special day. We’ll start off with four conventional race reports, before switching to a couple of alternative experiences of the 2023 London Marathon…

Carl Taylor

“Loved that. So much fun.”

Martin Reilly

“Had a great day completing it in 4:50. Think I was having too much fun with 500 metres to go. Seen some other amazing Goats. Thanks for all the support, you are all amazing.”

Paul Thurlwell

“Six Star Goat in the house! London done in 3:29.”

Vir Silió

“PB by 4 min, and it was the best day ever. High fives, touch all the “power up” signs… Thanks London!”

Ronnie Gunning

“Last night I ran the Virtual London Marathon along the marathon course, but in reverse. Loved every minute. Was so lovely seeing lots of other mad runners doing the same and loving it.”

Irene Beck

“London Marathon volunteering today as part of the bag drop crew. It meant being up at 5am for a 6:45am start time. I wanted to volunteer and talk about life coming full circle as the Blue Waves were where I started my own marathon journey six months ago. It’s been a good day, between volunteering and cheer-squadding. I also saw Sir Mo Farah and some other other elites warming up pre-race. The train ride home gave me time to reflect. I know I’m very lucky to be able to volunteer. My ME had been bad enough at one point where I wouldn’t be awake before 9am, which would make something like this weekend impossible. I’m grateful it’s mild enough these days that I can do what I do and run/walk my races.”

Thank you so much to all the Lonely Goats who shared their experiences of the incredible 2023 London Marathon weekend. There were far, far, far too many of you to include you all here, but we hope you took inspiration from those we featured. Whether the exploits of your fellow Goats provides a motivation boost, or prompts you to reflect on your own achievements, the power of community is a wonderful thing.

We love to see your race reports, so please share them with the Herd on Facebook, Instagram and Strava.

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