The 2011 London Marathon

London Marathon

The London Marathon is one of the biggest running events in the world, and one of the five top world marathons that make up the World Marathon Majors competition, which has a $1 million prize purse. It has been held each spring in London since 1981. The race is currently sponsored by Virgin Money,...

took place on Sunday, 17 April 2011. The men's elite race saw Emmanuel Mutai win in a course record time to become the fourth fastest ever over the distance. Runner-up Martin Lel

Martin Lel

Martin Kiptolo Lel is a Kenyan long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His personal best time, , is 2:05:15, which he ran in the 2008 London Marathon setting a...

 sprinted to the line to beat Patrick Makau, completing a Kenyan sweep of the podium. Mary Keitany became the fourth fastest woman ever with her winning time, while defending champion Liliya Shobukhova

Liliya Shobukhova

Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova is a Russian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She previously specialized in the 3000 and 5000 metres track events....

 came second with a Russian record

Russian records in athletics

The following are the national records in athletics in Russia maintained by All-Russia Athletic Federation .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceht = hand timingX = unratified due to no doping control-External links:...

 time.

In the elite wheelchair racing

Wheelchair racing

Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted . Athletes are classified in accordance with the nature and severity of their...

 marathon, Briton David Weir beat the defending champion Josh Cassidy

Josh Cassidy

Josh Cassidy is a Canadian athlete from Oakville, Ontario, and winner of the men's wheelchair event at the 2010 London Marathon.Cassidy completed the course with a time of 1 hour, 35 minutes and 21 seconds. Cassidy, born in Ottawa and aged 25 as of April 2010, studied design at...

 to claim his fifth title at the event – the most in the history of the competition. London's 2009 women's wheelchair winner Amanda McGrory

Amanda McGrory

-Biography:At the age of five, Amanda contracted a rare virus which left her unable to walk. Her parents say she became depressed but that all changed after Amanda’s parents introduced her to the Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center. There, Amanda met other children with various disabilities...

 won her second title in a course record time of 1:46:31 hours.

Around 35,000 people took part in the mass race and 35 Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records

Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...

 were set at the competition. The majority of the records were for completing the fastest race in a certain costume, but others included the fastest couple and fastest parent-child pairings. German Uli Killian solved 100 Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube

Rubik's Cube is a 3-D mechanical puzzle invented in 1974 by Hungarian sculptor and professor of architecture Ernő Rubik.Originally called the "Magic Cube", the puzzle was licensed by Rubik to be sold by Ideal Toy Corp. in 1980 and won the German Game of the Year special award for Best Puzzle that...

 puzzles whilst completing the race. Steve Chalke

Steve Chalke

Steve Chalke, is an ordained Baptist minister who is a prominent, and often outspoken, Christian leader and social activist based in the UK. He is the author of numerous books and articles as well as a regular presenter and contributor on television and radio programmes...

, a Christian social activist, improved the record for the most funds raised for charity through a marathon run, raising £2.3 million for his Oasis Trust

Oasis Trust

Oasis Trust is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by Rev Steve Chalke in August 1985, who had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years...

 – beating his own record set at the previous year's race. The largest age group present at the race were men in their 30s, followed by men in their 40s. The joint-youngest runners were Michael Bennett and Helen Nutter, both taking part on their eighteenth birthdays (the minimum allowable age), while the oldest participant was 87-year-old Paul Freedman.

Going against the traditionally strict invitational criteria for the elite races, an additional nine Japanese women were a late addition to the field. The 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami

The 2011 earthquake off the Pacific coast of Tohoku, also known as the 2011 Tohoku earthquake, or the Great East Japan Earthquake, was a magnitude 9.0 undersea megathrust earthquake off the coast of Japan that occurred at 14:46 JST on Friday, 11 March 2011, with the epicenter approximately east...

 meant that the Nagoya International Women's Marathon (a qualifier for the 2011 World Championships

2011 World Championships in Athletics

The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011....

) was cancelled and a sympathetic agreement between the London race organisers and the Japan Association of Athletics Federations

Japan Association of Athletics Federations

The is the national governing body for the sport of athletics in Japan.- Presidents :*Ryuzō Hiranuma *Hiroshi Kasuga *Ichirō Kōno *Kenzō Kōno *Hanji Aoki *Yōhei Kōno - Competitions :...

 resulted in London taking the role of the cancelled Nagoya race.

The 2011 London Marathon marked the last time that Dave Bedford acted as the sole race director, with Hugh Brasher (son of former runner Chris Brasher

Chris Brasher

Christopher William "Chris" Brasher CBE was a British athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.-History:...

) joining Bedford in a joint role in 2012 before taking full responsibility of the role.

Elite races

Elite Men

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Emmanuel Mutai		2:04:40 CR
2	Martin Lel Martin Lel Martin Kiptolo Lel is a Kenyan long distance and marathon runner. He won the London Marathon in 2005, 2007, and 2008, the New York City Marathon in 2003 and 2007 and the Great North Run in 2007 and 2009. His personal best time, , is 2:05:15, which he ran in the 2008 London Marathon setting a...		2:05:45
3	Patrick Makau		2:05:45
4	Marílson Gomes dos Santos Marílson Gomes dos Santos Marílson Gomes dos Santos is a Brazilian long-distance runner and winner of the 2006 and 2008 New York City Marathon, with times of 2:09:58 and 2:08:43, respectively...		2:06:34
5	Tsegaye Kebede Tsegaye Kebede Tsegaye Kebede Wordofa is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who competes in road running events, including marathons. He quickly rose to become a prominent distance runner after his international debut at the Amsterdam Marathon in 2007...		2:07:48
6	Jaouad Gharib Jaouad Gharib Jaouad Gharib is a Moroccan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon. Winner of the 2003 World Championships and 2005 World Championships over the distance, he is also notable because he only began running seriously at the age of twenty-two...		2:08:26
7	Abderrahime Bouramdane Abderrahime Bouramdane Abderrahime Bouramdane is a Moroccan long-distance runner who competes in marathons. He represented Morocco at the 2008 Beijing Olympics...		2:08:42
8	Dmitriy Safronov Dmitriy Safronov Dmitriy Olegovich Safronov is a Russian long-distance runner who specialises in marathon running.He made his first appearance over the classic distance at the 2008 San Antonio Marathon in Texas, and finished third with a time of 2:15:58 for his debut run...		2:09:35
9	Serod Bat-Ochir		2:11:35 NR Mongolian records in athletics The following are the national records in athletics in Mongolia maintained by the Mongolian Athletic Federation .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:ht = hand timing-External links:...
10	Michael Shelley Michael Shelley (athlete) Michael Shelley is an Australian long-distance runner who competes in track events and road races. He won a silver medal in the marathon at the 2010 Commonwealth Games. He has also represented Australia at the IAAF World Cross Country Championships and the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships...		2:11:38

Elite women

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Mary Keitany		2:19:19
2	Liliya Shobukhova Liliya Shobukhova Liliya Bulatovna Shobukhova is a Russian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. She previously specialized in the 3000 and 5000 metres track events....		2:20:15 NR Russian records in athletics The following are the national records in athletics in Russia maintained by All-Russia Athletic Federation .-Men:-Women:-Men:-Women:+ = en route to a longer distanceht = hand timingX = unratified due to no doping control-External links:...
3	Edna Kiplagat Edna Kiplagat Edna Ngeringwony Kiplagat is a Kenyan long-distance runner. She is the 2011 IAAF World Champion in the marathon. she established herself as an elite marathon runner with wins at the Los Angeles and New York City Marathons in 2010...		2:20:46
4	Bezunesh Bekele Bezunesh Bekele Bezunesh Bekele is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in cross-country running and marathons.She was born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa...		2:23:42
5	Atsede Baysa Atsede Baysa Atsede Baysa Tesema, also known as Atsede Bayisa, is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in road running events. She has won the Paris Marathon twice consecutively, and has also won at the Xiamen International Marathon and the Istanbul Marathon...		2:23:50
6	Yukiko Akaba Yukiko Akaba is a Japanese long-distance runner who specializes in the 10,000 metres, half marathon and marathon events.She won the silver medal in half marathon at the 1999 Summer Universiade. At the 2001 Summer Universiade she finished eighth in the 5000 metres and won the bronze medal in the 10,000 metres...		2:24:09
7	Irina Mikitenko		2:24:24
8	Jéssica Augusto Jessica Augusto Jéssica Augusto is a Portuguese runner who competes in cross country, road running and in middle-distance and long-distance track events....		2:24:33
9	Aberu Kebede Aberu Kebede Aberu Kebede Shewaye is an Ethiopian long distance runner who specialises in road running competitions. Her half marathon best of 1:07:39 is one of the fastest ever by an Ethiopian woman...		2:24:34
10	Mariya Konovalova Mariya Konovalova Mariya Ivanovna Konovalova is a Russian long-distance runner. She has represented Russia in both track running and cross country running and was the silver medallist at the 2006 European Cross Country Championships...		2:25:18

Wheelchair races

Men's event

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	David Weir		1:30:05
2	Heinz Frei Heinz Frei Heinz Frei is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Frei has had a long career of racing, winning the London Marathon wheelchair race three times, and earning 5 medals at the 2003 European games at the age of 45...		1:30:07
3	Tomasz Hamerlak Tomasz Hamerlak xxxTomasz Hamerlak is a Paralympic athlete from Poland competing mainly in category T54 distance events.Tomasz has competed in three paralympics, always competing in a variety of middle and long distance events, his only medal success came in 2004 with a bronze medal in the T54 mararhon.-References:...		1:30:54
4	Roger Puigbo		1:30:55
5	Josh Cassidy Josh Cassidy Josh Cassidy is a Canadian athlete from Oakville, Ontario, and winner of the men's wheelchair event at the 2010 London Marathon.Cassidy completed the course with a time of 1 hour, 35 minutes and 21 seconds. Cassidy, born in Ottawa and aged 25 as of April 2010, studied design at...		1:30:56

Women's event

Position	Athlete	Nationality	Time
1	Amanda McGrory Amanda McGrory -Biography:At the age of five, Amanda contracted a rare virus which left her unable to walk. Her parents say she became depressed but that all changed after Amanda’s parents introduced her to the Variety Club Camp and Developmental Center. There, Amanda met other children with various disabilities...		1:46:31 CR
2	Shelly Woods Shelly Woods Shelly Woods is an elite British Paralympic athlete from the suburb of Layton in Blackpool, Lancashire.Shelly started using a wheelchair at the age of 11 after a heavy fall which injured her spinal cord...		1:46:31
3	Sandra Graf Sandra Graf Sandra Graf is a Swiss wheelchair athlete. Graf competes in wheelchair races of a variety of distances. She has twice put her career on hold to have children. In 2003 a lung embolism set back her training and kept her from competing in the marathon and 5000 meter distances, although she still...		1:46:33
4	Tatyana McFadden Tatyana McFadden Tatyana McFadden is a Paralympian athlete from America competing mainly in category T54 sprint events.-Early life:Tatyana was born with spina bifida in St. Petersburg, Russia and was abandoned in an orphanage where she spent the first six years of her life. She was not expected to live...		1:46:34
5	Diane Roy Diane Roy Diane Roy is a Canadian wheelchair racer. Her best two finishes at the 2002 world championships were both 8th place finishes, in the 400 m and in the marathon....		1:57:03

External links

• Official race reports