A MARATHON EFFORT

The idea for the first London Marathon was born in a pub in Petersham. On the eve of its 40th anniversary, Jeremy Taylor looks back at the famous event that has raised more than £1 billion for charity

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ON March 29, 1981, a mass gathering of runners waited at Shooters Hill to start a 26.2-mile race around London. Shivering in the cold Sunday sun, about 7,500 eager athletes were about to step out on a marathon event that has since raised hundreds of millions of pounds for charity and encouraged generations to run.

The first marathon to be held in London had actually taken place in 1908, as part of the Olympic Games, but this new race was different because it would eventually see elite athletes from around the world compete on the same course as amateurs, fun runners, and people dressed in every conceivable style of fancy dress.

Organizers had secured £50,000 in sponsorship from Gillette for the 1981 race and public enthusiasm for the event was such that more than 20,000 people applied for an entry number. Best of all, the race was beamed live into the homes of millions on the BBC. ‘The race is now far more than merely a marathon. It brings society together in a moment of celebration of all that is good about humanity,’ says Hugh Brasher, event director of London Marathon Events and the son of one of the founders. His father, Chris, was a journalist, an Olympic 3,000-metre runner, and a pacemaker for Roger Bannister’s first sub-four-minute mile run in 1954. He took part in the New York City Marathon in 1979 and, after writing a speculative feature on whether London could host such a spectacle, met fellow athlete John Disley in the Dysart Arms in Petersham, Surrey. Over a pint, the pair hatched a plan to bring a Big Apple-style run to Britain.