Rajapack in top form at London Marathon

Hundreds of thousands of curious onlookers and 36,699 runners took part in this year’s London Marathon – and we were not only there, but right in the thick of it! Eleven associates from our parent company RAJA , as well as eight employees from various European offices, once again “took their feet on their shoulders” this year, proving that we are fast, hardy and know how to push ourselves! We are of course proud of each of our runners, so we briefly asked one of them about his feelings and experiences from this sporting event, which you can find in this article below.

The London Marathon was founded in 1981 by disabled Olympic running champion and sports journalist Chris Brasher, who was inspired by a race called the New-York-City-Marathon. It is now considered the third most prestigious marathon in the world and since 2006 has been part of the World Marathon Majors series, which brings together the world’s five largest marathons. But besides the sporting aspect, there is much more to the event: millions of pounds are raised for charity through the participation of prominent athletes as runners. As this race is always completely sold out, even amateur runners seek out sponsors and donate a certain amount of money to secure a starting place in this way. In many cases, it is not so much a sporting feat, but rather the famous saying “even the journey can be the destination” or the legendary and apt motto “being there is everything”. As a result, all runners get to the start with good spirits and many in funny costumes. There were giraffes, aliens, a bride and groom or a worm made up of several runners. This original mix makes the race, as London Marathon director David Bedford commented without batting an eyelid, a mixture of the Olympics and a carnival.

London Marathon results

The fastest runner was Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) with a time of 2:04:044, just four seconds behind the world record! In the women’s race, his compatriot Mary Kiptany took first place in 2:18:37.

Men: 1 . Wilson Kipsang (Kenya) 2:04:44; 2. Martin Lel (Kenya) 2:06:51; 3. Tsegaye Kebede (Ethiopia) 2:06:52; 4. Adil Annani (Morocco) 2:07:43; 5. Jaouad Gharib (Morocco) 2:07:44; 6. Abel Kirui (Kenya) 2:07:56; 7. Emmanuel Mutai (Kenya) 2:08:01; 8. Marilson Gomes dos Santos (Brazil) 2:08:03
Women: 1 . Mary Keitany (Kenya) 2:18:37 Std.; 2. Edna Kiplagat (Kenya) 2:19:50; 3. Priscah Jeptoo (Kenya) 2:20:14; 4. Florence Kiplagat (Kenya) 2:20:57; 5. Lucy Kabuu (Kenya) 2:23:12; 6. Aberu Kebede (Ethiopia) 2:24:04; 7. Irina Mikitenko (Germany) 2:24:53; 8. Jessica Augusto (Portugal) 2:24:59.

Runner’s commentary by Mr. Wendel from RAJAPACK
about the London Marathon:

“I was very impressed with this marathon. It really is a stunning sight to see, with spectators standing in five rows along the entire 42 kilometre route to support you. Even though it is a very big sporting event, the event was perfectly organised. The weather was “made to order”: torrential rain hit London on Saturday evening. But on Sunday, before the race started, the weather cleared, the sun came out and the sky was cloudless… No one really expected that.”

Congratulations to all the runners for their results and for their sporting experience on the course…