London Marathon Ever Presents
| Formation | c. April 20, 1996 |
|---|---|
Membership | Runners of all London Marathons since 1981 |
| Affiliations | London Marathon |
| Website | www |
The Ever Presents are a group of people who have run the London Marathon at each event since the first event in 1981.[1][2][3] In 1995 the group was first recognised with 42 members. A person is considered to no longer be an Ever Present if they do not run the race in a given year. After the 2024 race, there were six remaining members of the group.
The group's youngest member is Chris Finill who, from 1981 to 2013, completed every race in less than three hours, earning a Guinness World Record for this consistent high performance.[4]
Beginning with the 2020 London Marathon, which was elite-only on the London track, virtual participation (running a tracked marathon on the same day elsewhere) has been sufficient to maintain Ever Present status.[5]
Members
[edit]Original members
[edit]The group was first acknowledged in 1995 after the 15th marathon with 42 members who had run each event.[6][7]
| Name | Club | Age in 1981 | Time in 1981 | Final race[nb 1] |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christopher Adams | Orion Harriers | 38 | 02:49:37 | 2002 |
| Alastair Aitken | Highgate Harriers | 41 | 02:53:01 | 1999 |
| Jeff Aston | Les Croupiers | 33 | 02:49:53 | Ever Present |
| Geoffrey Balfour | Huncote Harriers | 31 | 02:45:00 | 2000 |
| Reginald Brown | SLH | 49 | 03:07:38 | 2000 |
| Reginald Burbidge | Highgate Harriers | 55 | 03:54:17 | 2007 |
| Rainer Burchett | Shaftesbury Barnet Harriers | 41 | 02:58:30 | 2011 |
| Harold Chadwick | Bournemouth /TH&H | 34 | 02:24:10 | 1996 |
| David Clark | Newbury AC | 45 | 02:53:55 | 2010 |
| Charles Cousens | Vale of Aylesbury | 38 | 02:58:13 | 2020 |
| Patrick Dobbs | Thurrock Harriers | 42 | 02:41:37 | 2014 |
| Erik Falck-Therkelsen | Woking AC | 40 | 02:59:59 | 2001 |
| David Fereday | Barnet & District | 42 | 03:13:55 | 2014 |
| Chris Finill | Harrow AC | 22 | 02:32:55 | Ever Present |
| Derek Fisher | Newport Harriers | 45 | 02:56:22 | 2004 |
| Jeffrey Gordon | Thames H&H | 47 | 03:13:42 | 2013 |
| Peter Greenwood | Canterbury Harriers AC | 38 | 02:46:53 | 2002 |
| John Hanscombe | Ranelagh Harriers | 45 | 02:54:29 | 2008 |
| Jan Hildreth | Thames H&H | 48 | 03:25:37 | 2005 |
| Raymond Johnson | Kimberley & Dist. Striders | 48 | 03:11:00 | 2006 |
| Kenneth Jones | Orion Harriers | 47 | 03:18:37 | 2023 |
| Max Jones | Birchfield Harriers | 53 | 03:51:52 | 2002 |
| John Legge | Orion Harriers | 50 | 03:02:35 | 2000 |
| Roger Low | Highgate Harriers | 37 | 02:47:55 | 2020 |
| Dale Lyons | Massey Ferguson RC | 44 | 03:10:03 | 2018 |
| Terence Macey | New Eltham Joggers | 32 | 03:17:56 | 2020 |
| Lionel Mann | Belgrave Harriers | 40 | 03:06:07 | 2002 |
| Don Martin | Royal Parks Police | 40 | 04:10:00 | 2005 |
| Roger Mawer | Lowestoft | 40 | 02:58:04 | 2009 |
| Mick McGeoch | Les Croupiers | 25 | 02:24:19 | 2002 |
| William O’Connor | Queen's Park Harriers | 35 | 02:35:52 | Ever Present |
| Michael Peace | Ranelagh Harriers | 31 | 03:11:45 | Ever Present |
| Mike Peel | Blackheath & Bromley Harriers AC | 39 | 02:40:30 | 2012 |
| Derrick Pickering | East Hull Harriers | 44 | 02:38:38 | 2010 |
| Bryan Read | Orion Harriers | 40 | 03:24:05 | 1998 |
| Peter Shepheard | Blackheath Harriers | 38 | 02:29:47 | 2005 |
| Malcolm Speake | Bildeston Bounders | 39 | 02:47:58 | Ever Present |
| Michael Starr | St Albans Striders | 37 | 03:47:11 | 2002 |
| Tony Tillbrooke | Victory AC | 41 | 03:42:24 | 2012 |
| David Walker | Chalfont & Chiltern | 35 | 03:06:11 | Ever Present |
| Steve Wehrle | Dulwich Runners AC | 32 | 03:51:26 | 2016 |
| Michael Wilkinson | Duke Street Runners | 42 | 02:52:51 | 2007 |
- — no longer a member
- — still a member
Current members
[edit]Six people have completed every London Marathon up to and including the 2024 event.[7]
| Name | Club | Age | Most recent time (2024) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jeff Aston | Les Croupiers | 76 | 08:06:07 |
| Chris Finill | Harrow AC | 65 | 03:07:55 |
| William O'Connor | Queen's Park Harriers | 78 | 06:41:45 |
| Michael Peace | Ranelagh Harriers | 74 | 04:48:36 |
| Malcolm Speake | Bildeston Bounders AC | 81 | 09:54:06 |
| David Walker | Chalfont & Chiltern | 78 | 08:41:17 |
References
[edit]- ^ "1981: Racing into the history books". BBC. 29 March 1981. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ Curtis, Joe (23 April 2013). "Former Chingford councillor and 'Ever Present' Jeffrey Gordon runs in 33rd London Marathon". This Is Local London. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ Goad, Ryan (20 April 2012). "Amazing Pat to continue his ever present record at London Marathon". The Echo. Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- ^ "Chris Finill: an extraordinary ever-present". Virgin Money London Marathon. Retrieved 27 April 2013.
- ^ "Ever Present". Retrieved 19 December 2020.
- ^ Media Guide. London: Virgin London Marathon. 2003. p. 169.
- ^ a b "Ever Present Performances". Ever Present. Retrieved 25 April 2017.
Footnotes
[edit]- ^ "Final race" denotes last complete race; some runners started the following year's race but failed to finish