What Does Inclusive Running Really Mean?

Last Tuesday 2 members of RunVerity (my running club) who ran London marathon came to our Tuesday night running group to show off their medals. They really were impressive medals, and something to be hugely proud of. As well as the pride in their faces, I also saw the sheer relief that it was all over and they were still in one piece. I gave one of them, Lisa, an extra big squeeze, because I knew just how much London marathon meant to her. She’d told me many times over the years that it was a childhood dream to run “the London”.

Her first opportunity to experience the event was in October 2022 when she was lucky enough to get a ballot place. Unfortunately, the reality then didn’t live up to her dream- the lack of supporters at the finish line, how quiet it was- she told me it felt like she didn’t even know whether she’d finished it or not. It was a huge disappointment for her, and it was also crushing to witness, as we tried our best to make her moment for her, despite the event having essentially packed up and cleared off.

The reason I held onto her a bit more tightly on Tuesday was because, this time, she got the finish she deserved, the finish she’d dreamed off as a child.

As I mentioned last week this year I wasn’t able to go along and support, so when she showed me the video of her last 200m to the finish line it was incredible to see the difference compared to 2022. There was no doubt that she’d just completed the marathon, as the crowds cheered for her, the announcer hadn’t packed up and gone home and the music was still playing. Credit where credit is due to London Marathon, they responded to the call out of extending their finish time and celebrating all of the runners regardless of their time, and this year they delivered that for so many dedicated runners like Lisa.

Have other marathon events followed suit? I know cut off times make runners like Lisa very selective about what they can enter. Having the added extra pressure of not finishing within the time prevents them from entering other marathons like Manchester, with a cut off time of 6 hours. Brighton is 6 hours 40 mins, Abingdon has changed from 5 hours to 6, Edinburgh is now 6 hours 30 mins. Leeds marathon has had a 7-hour cut-off time since 2018– the results from last year show the last runner finished in 9hrs 6 mins, I imagine they would have been moved onto the pavement to finish the event.

Spring marathons are seen by many as ideal due to the optimal weather, with temperatures between 7-15°C being the sweet spot for running. Most of us wouldn’t see this range as hot, but the longer the run, the more that even milder temperatures can affect your pace, so slower runners starting later will be impacted more, which means slower race times with the added stress of not finishing within the cut off time. All in, it can make for a very stressful marathon experience.

If running is going to embrace inclusivity, as London marathon clearly has, then race organisers should, in my opinion, step up and extend the race times further, without making the runners at the back of the pack feel like they are getting second class treatment. Why should they, when we’re all running the same race?

At times my strong pull towards advocating for inclusivity has got me into trouble. I was asked to leave a much loved running club because, after having encouraged lots of beginners and “normal” runners to join, “they didn’t want my slow runners in their club”. In utter indignation, I set up my own- about 800m from theirs and RunVerity began to welcome and teach “normal” people that they too can run, regardless of how they look, how fit they are or how fast they are. Yet I still encounter these running gatekeepers that put the metaphorical and physical barriers up that shame runners who feel they’re too slow, or not enough, or simply don’t feel like are allowed to call themselves “a runner’.

Last year, when nearly 1 million people entered London Marathon 2025 ballot, there was a social media storm on who should and who shouldn’t be able to participate. I followed it in disbelief at some of the discussions, particularly the suggestion that only runners who complete a marathon in 4 hours should be able to enter the ballot. Where were we? In George Orwell’s 1984? The average marathon time for men is 4hrs 21 mins and 4hrs 48 mins for women, which would make a 4hr time limit an elitist event.

Over the years I’ve encouraged lots of my runners to enter races, because the running world has changed, it’s inclusive now, isn’t it? I think if you asked anyone who runs at the back of the pack they’d tell you that, whilst this is now improving, that wasn’t the case at all.

One runner I know says she won’t enter anymore races and pay to be humiliated, here are some of her experiences she kindly allowed me to share:

• Water tables packed up before I passed them.

• Finish lines being packed away – (I remember one year we had to hold the finish line up ourselves so our runners would get the same “crossing the finish line” feeling).

• Volunteers jumping in their cars to go home the second I finished.

• Tail rider peddling right on my heels or tail car revving their engine behind me on a marathon.

• Tail rider shouting to other officials ‘yep this is the last one’.

• A wall of ‘finishers’ walking or driving towards me, having completed their run not bothered about those behind.

• The organisers started the children’s fun run before the 10k had ended so we ended up finishing the race with children running over the finish line as well. As I went over the finish line I didn’t know where to go as it was so busy. A lady said quite rudely “you must go right you’re an adult, children go left!”. I felt 5 years old.

Nobody should feel embarrassed or devalued if they run at the back of the pack and whilst there has always been the argument that race officials don’t want race participants on the course after a certain amount of time due to safety and logistics, it begs the question of how will extending race times change how runners at the back are treated? Will the extended times guarantee the same race day experience as the front runners?

Some people might wonder why is this such a big deal? The big deal is getting a DNF (did not finish). Last year there was an argument on Threads about a runner who didn’t finish in the 6 hour cut off time for Boston Marathon due to changes in her circumstances leading her to be in the final wave. Bearing in mind the cut off time is taken after the last runner has crossed the start line, the pressure of this runner not knowing how much of a “buffer” she has to finish is an enormous pressure that the runners in the front waves will never experience. The big deal is she got a DNF after her name due to her finish time of 6:05:59, and this was her final marathon in the Abbot World Majors so whilst she collected her 6 Star marathon medal, she was not officially recorded as a World Majors Finisher.

This leads me to the question of when does running and walking a marathon become an issue, is that what all the fuss is about, that people shouldn’t enter marathons if they are going to “walk” it?

I found a 2005 study suggesting that if you are moving slower than a pace of 12:12 min mile then you are walking and not running. But my argument has always been, especially when beginners tell me that they could walk faster than my recommended slow running pace, that running and walking are 2 completely different things.

With walking there is always one foot on the ground- Race Walking is an official Olympic Sport and the men’s world record stands at 18:05 for a 5km and women’s is 20:01. When you are running there is a moment in your stride when both feet are off the ground. To prove my point, I recently recorded a video with me running and one of my runners, Hannah, walking next to me.

The pace I am running at in the video is approx. 15:30 min mile, so at this pace I would finish a marathon in 6hrs 46 mins, just 30 seconds per mile slower and I’d duck under the 7-hr mark. However this obviously doesn’t take into account any walk through water stations, if the weather is unseasonably hot, toilet breaks or any other variables that I am unable to control. My “normal” runners train at these paces and put in the same hard work, grit, and determination as all other marathon runners. They get up at dawn, frequently put their training before their families and social lives and go through the same highs and lows as a 9 minute mile runner.

Yet, they can experience a different, less than race, as though they are not good enough. Having to contend with tail walkers literally walking next to them or a wall of walkers that they must try and dodge past from mile 1, or an intense pack of “Jeffers” who sprint/walk the whole way round. Is it too much to ask that we all get the same race day experience?

It’s the responsibility of race organisers and directors to ensure this happens, because everyone pays the same price. So extend race times, yes, but make sure that that same group whose money you are happy to take do not leave feeling like second class runners, with their efforts belittled. Let’s stop perpetuating a sense of moral superiority to the finishers who ran their marathon quicker. Because nobody deserves to get the booby prize.

Last week I reached out to SheRaces to enquire about their trail series cut off time and I wanted to share their response with you because I love it, “So long as you are moving forward, we'll do our best to support you to reach the finish”. Now that’s what inclusivity is all about.