Four Kenyans overpowered a top-quality field at the 2011 London Marathon on Sunday.
Kenyan Emmanuel Mutai ran the fastest-ever elite men’s time in the 26.6-mile race
Mutai crossed the line in front of Buckingham Palace in a time of 2:04:40, breaking the previous London record of 2:05:10 that was set two years ago.
The 26 year old bided his time in a tightly-bunched pack until the second of the two pacemakers dropped out after 18.5 miles. He then surged to the front ahead of the leading group to win unopposed.
Fellow countrymen Martin Lel, a three-time London Marathon winner, came second, and Patrick Makau was third.
Compatriot Mary Keitany became the fourth Kenyan winner of the women’s race, finishing in 2:19:17 on her debut, almost a minute ahead of the defending champion, Liliya Shobukhova.
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The elite athletes were joined by tens of thousands of fun runners in the charity fundraiser.
More than 100 marathon world records were being attempted, including the quickest person running backward. Karl Twomey, 37, a trainee gym teacher, admitted that preparation had been difficult.
“It’s not so much neckache, it’s more landing on my butt. I’ve had a few falls in training. Obstacles are the problem,” he said. “I was veering in the wrong direction into poles, bins. You name it, I’ve hit it.”
Susie Hewer, 53, was hoping to knit a world record scarf as she ran for Alzheimer’s Research UK.
She said it would start to get “a bit tricky” when the scarf reached the ground and that she would be forced to wrap it around her waist and wear it over her shoulder.
Double-leg amputee Richard Whitehead was hoping to make history by beating his own world record. Running on prosthetic limbs, the 34 year old was hoping to cover the route in around four hours and 40 minutes.
David Rathband, the policeman blinded by the criminal gunman Raoul Moat when he went on the run in northeastern England last year, was also running.
His effort was raising money for his own charity, which supports emergency services personnel injured in the line of duty by a criminal act.
He said he had no finish time in mind for the marathon and was only aiming to “beat the road sweeper.”
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