



For those running the London Marathon (13 days and counting), the nerves may be starting to bite. Twitchy taperers may also start comparing themselves to friends – or rivals. Well, thanks to data released by Strava, you can now compare yourself to 6,464 other runners. The social network has analysed data from the run-up to the 2016 London Marathon and revealed the following:

Training

London marathoners are morning people.

The average longest run was 21.3 miles (34.3 km), and the majority of runners chose to train late morning, between 8am and 12pm.



Runners reduced their average weekly distance by 35% two weeks before the marathon and 69% in the final week.



In contrast, the shorter distances covered during the taper were run at a quicker average pace – 7s per km two weeks out, and 9s per km in the final week – with the reduction in mileage leading to fresher legs.

On the day

The 35-44 age group are fastest overall. Experience trumps youth?

Runners on Strava in the 35-44 age group posted the fastest finishing time, followed by the 45-54 age group who finished in an average 3 hours 56 mins with the youngest age group (under 25s) in third, with an average finish time of 3 hours 59 mins.

The 25-34 age group (the same age group as the majority of the elite field) was one of the slowest, only 15 seconds ahead of the 55-64 age group – potentially illustrating differences in lifestyle, level of experience and pacing strategy.

Across all age groups the average finish time for female runners was 4 hours 23 mins, and for men, 3 hours 48 mins.

Mile 4 was the fastest for both men and women



Goal Setting

Goal achieved?

The percentage of runners achieving their target race time was similar across all groups – ranging from 62%-67%, with the 45-54 age group the most satisfied.





Community and sharing

If a run gets no kudos, did it happen at all?

London runners took 23k photos in training, received over 1.75m Kudos and commented 181k times. In 2016, globally, Strava runners uploaded 86.7m runs, with the UK contributing 16.9m of these, covering 132m km.

For more information on Strava, click here. To join the Strava London Marathon Club, click here.

