MARATHON FEVER SWEEPS THE COUNTRY
As 2025 shapes up to be a recordbreaking year for marathon runners, this spring we saw 90,000 athletes taking on the TCS London and adidas Manchester Marathon on the same day for the first time ever. ASO UK, organiser of the Manchester Marathon, polled 3,500 marathoners to reveal the fascinating differences in training habits across the UK, from the North to the South.
With both marathons happening on the same day, a whooping £80 million is expected to be raised for charitable causes. While motivation, mindset and training habits vary, one thing remains clear — whether from the North or South, a desire for accomplishment drives people to the finish line, with the most popular motivation for taking on an upcoming marathon challenge being a sense of personal achievement. Motivation matters too, with more Southerners running to achieve a time goal, whereas Northerners are motivated to take part for charity fundraising causes. And of course, Northerners confirmed their resilience, being more likely to brave the elements in their training.