PICTURES: MARK SHEARMAN & VICTAH SAILER
YOU CAN surely hardly have failed to notice, unless you exist in blinkered, ignorant bliss in terms of a major branch of our sport – the autumn marathon season is in full swing, with 26.2-mile races like Berlin, Chicago, Amsterdam, Toronto, Frankfurt, Cape Town, Cologne, New York and Fukuoka, just to name a few of the monstrous global gatherings, each providing a massive payday to numerous elite athletes, a precious fund-raising opportunity for thousands of charities, and a unique chance to be proud for tens of thousands of sub-elite runners, joggers and even walkers. In short, marathons improve lives, millions of them.