Dundee’s Eilish McColgan finishes as fastest Brit woman in London Marathon
Dundee runner Eilish McColgan finished seventh in the elite women’s race at the London Marathon, recording a time of 2:24:51. The result saw her finish as the highest-placed British female athlete in the field.
The 35-year-old maintained a steady pace across the 26.2-mile course, competing in a race that featured a strong international line-up. Her finishing position places her within the top 10 of the elite women’s standings for the second consecutive year.
McColgan’s time was slightly outside the Scottish record she set at the same event last year. There, she ran 2:24:25, lowering the previous national mark and marking her debut over the marathon distance.
That performance had surpassed the long-standing record previously held by Steph Twell. It also bettered the winning time set by her mother, Liz McColgan, when she won the London Marathon back in 1996.
This year’s result continues McColgan’s record of finishing as the top British athlete in the race. The London Marathon remains one of the most competitive events on the international athletics calendar, regularly attracting elite runners from around the world.
Tigst Assefa from Ethopia won the overall race at a time of 2:15:41.
Her latest performance adds to her growing list of results over the marathon distance, following her transition from track and shorter road events in recent years.
A Team GB star made history at the London marathon on Sunday – but not without dealing with serious pain and discomfort.
Eilish McColgan only made her debut in the last year’s event in London, where her mother Liz won back in 1996 with a time a 2:27:54.
The second generation McColgan finished seventh in the 2026 edition, with her time of 2.24.51 making her the fastest British woman.
The time was 26 seconds slower than her Scottish record of 2:24:25, set in her debut marathon showing. The 35-year-old, who is the Commonwealth 10,000m champion and holds the European record for the 10km road race, achieved the feat despite suffering from severe blistering that had her feeling as though her foot had “exploded”.
The issue led to other problems which impacted McColgan, who admitted that her “skin just fell out” when she took off her sock afterwards following a trip to the doctor.
“Not long after halfway, I had a really, really bad blister and it sounds strange saying it, but the only way I can really describe it is that it felt like my foot exploded,” McColgan said.
“It panicked me a little bit and from then on I was running funny – I couldn’t really put pressure on my foot so I began to hurt in other areas as well.”
She continued: “I got to 24 miles and my knee started playing up and almost went on me. I was like: ‘I can’t get to 24 miles and not finish’. I don’t know why my foot decided to be indifferent today. I was covered in blood. I had to go and see the doctor after my race because I couldn’t put any pressure through my foot. I took my sock off and the skin just fell out.”
McColgan will now rest up and turn her attentions to the Commonwealth Games in July, where she is set to represent Scotland on the big stage once again.
The women’s event was won by Ethiopian Tigist Assefa, who set a new women’s world record of 2:15:41 on the London course.
History was also made in the men’s race, where Sabastian Sawe of Kenya ran the fastest ever marathon with a world-record time of 1:59:30.
Both record-breakers are in line to pocket significant prize money for their record-breaking acheivements.
Featured Image Credit: Getty
