This weekend sees the return of the London Marathon – the daddy of all running events.
The 2025 edition of the annual jog through England’s capital saw it break its own world record for the biggest annual one-day fundraising total.
The £87.3m raised was £13.8m higher than 2024’s figure (which was also a record) and such are the staggering amounts raised – and the always over-subscribed ballot for entry – that organisers are looking to make the 2027 event a double-header.
The London Marathon, and indeed marathons generally, are bucket-list events for so many people – runners and non-runners alike.
That includes pro cyclists, and there are many examples of active and retired riders pinning on a number, in London and elsewhere, to test themselves in a very different benchmark of endurance fitness.
Geraint Thomas, the newly retired 2018 Tour de France champion looked set to add to this list, but pulled out last month after a leg injury disrupted his training.
“I’d get round a marathon but I’d end up in a box,” he told listeners to his Watts Occurring podcast that he hosts with former team-mate Luke Rowe.
But, as this article shows, the list of pro cyclists who have run a marathon is long – and the times are impressive. While there is some crossover for a cyclist’s physiological and indeed psychological capabilities when they pull on a pair of running trainers (the body’s ability to utilise oxygen and the capacity to tolerate pain, for example), there’s also a huge separation.
Pro cyclists, when they’re not pedalling their bike, are hard-wired to spend as little time as possible on their feet, so the impact forces of running can be a shock.
Adaptation is necessary – jumping from a bike tour to a marathon would be folly without a slow build-up.
Many of the best times recorded by cyclists have come post-career or during an extended time-out. But that's not always the case.
Tom Dumoulin, Amsterdam 2025
2hrs 29mins
The Dutch former pro certainly had the pedigree for a fast marathon time. The winner of the 2017 Giro d’Italia and runner-up at the Tour de France used his prowess in time trials to power his stage-racing success – an asset with obvious parallels for an event such as the marathon.
At last year’s Amsterdam marathon, he demonstrated just that, coming home in a deeply impressive 2hrs 29mins.
For much of the race, he was able to run in the group of the women’s winner, Ethiopian Aynalem Desta (2hrs 17mins), but around halfway had to stop with cramp. Still, though, it's the fastest marathon time from a current or former pro cyclist we can find.
Adam Yates, Barcelona 2021
2hrs 58mins
An active pro cyclist running a marathon during the cycling season would be a no-no up there with a skiing holiday or a cage fight, but during the off-season – between October and December – would be a more palatable proposition for nervous team management.
And so it was in the winter of 2021 when British rider Adam Yates, then riding for Ineos Grenadiers and only a few weeks from a place on the podium at Il Lombardia, ran the Barcelona marathon.
He did so in a very impressive time, too, the 2hrs 58mins meaning he squeaked under the fabled three-hour mark so prized by amateur runners.
"I think I'll stick to bike riding," Yates said on social media afterwards, adding that two weeks on the beach hadn’t been the best prep.
Tiffany Cromwell, Budapest 2017
3hrs 21mins
This Australian veteran, still active in the pro peloton in a career that began in 2010, has never been one to sit still during the European winter.
Recently, Cromwell's career has expanded away from the road and she is a prolific gravel racer, but she’s also been fond of getting away from the bike altogether, particularly with running.
She has completed several marathons, notably the 2017 Budapest marathon during a city break there at the end of the season.
Her 3hrs 21mins, no mean feat, came during her peaks years as a road pro. “I flew in the day before the marathon, did that, and then had two days to hobble around. I was broken,” she told Rouleur in the aftermath.
Nacer Bouhanni, Valencia 2025
2hrs 31mins
Pro cycling ‘sprinters’ such as France’s Nacer Bouhanni need to have far more in their locker than an ability to finish a race fast.
Endurance is just as important to their cause in the Tour de France as those riders chasing the yellow jersey, because being dropped in the mountains can see them eliminated from the race before they’ve had chance to contend for a stage victory.
So, it should come as no surprise to see Bouhanni flying in the marathon, despite the different demands of the sports.
The two years that have passed since his cycling career ended have clearly enabled Bouhanni’s body to adapt to long-distance running, and several marathon attempts peaked in Valencia late last year when he recorded a stunning 2hrs 31mins for the 26.2-mile distance.
Freddy Ovett, New York 2023
2hrs 37mins
No cyclist on this list has a better pedigree for running than Australian Freddy Ovett, son of British 800m 1980 Olympic gold medal winner Steve Ovett.
Freddy’s emergence as a professional road cyclist in the mid-2010s gained him column inches for his endurance sport heritage and he has since returned to his running roots with impressive marathon times – notably at the 2023 New York City marathon, where he recorded a then-PB of 2hrs 37mins.
Michal Kwiatkowski, New York 2023
4hrs 11mins
In the same NYC marathon, some way back in the field, was the current Ineos Grenadiers pro and two-time Tour de France stage winner, who completed the run in 4hrs 11mins, alongside his wife, Agata. “One from the bucket list!” he exclaimed on social media.
Emma Pooley, Lausanne 2013
2hrs 44mins
British 2010 World Time Trial Champion Pooley enjoyed a successful road-racing career either side of a professional stint in duathlon (cycling and running).
Her running abilities were on full display at the 2013 Lausanne marathon, which she won in 2hrs 44mins – a top-20 run by a female British athlete that year.
Running had been Pooley’s first love, as a youth and through university, but she had to quit because of persistent injuries.
She fell into cycling, where she was able to wield her considerable endurance base, and it became particularly useful in the time-trial discipline.
Lance Armstrong, New York City 2007
2hr 46mins
The polarising Texan threw himself into running – and fitness generally – in between two bouts of pro cycling (from 2005 to 2009).
Given the complete reputational collapse that came with his doping admission circa 2012, at one point he’d have wished he’d stayed focused on running (although he appears to be doing just fine these days.)
That’s because he’s pretty good at it; like Pooley, Armstrong had a background in running, and was a champion pro triathlete in the earliest part of his career.
In New York in 2007, he ran a superb 2hr 46mins to finish comfortably in the top 1,000 (of almost 40,000) – besting his time from the previous year by 13 minutes.
