Oxford PhD student Eoghan Totten finished tenth in the 2018 London Marathon on Sunday, running the non-elite race in a time of two hours and 26 minutes.
One of over 40,000 runners completing the field, Totten will be the first Oxford athlete to earn a full blue in marathon. He completed the race, which was also his marathon debut, within the full blue standard time of two hours 30 minutes.
Earlier this year, Totten represented Northern Ireland in the Antrim International Cross Country.
Young @eoghantotten (@NewcastleAC) runs 2:26:32 on his 26.2 mile debut at @LondonMarathon !
Definitely one for the future! pic.twitter.com/WUmaVjWBlu
— Ryan Maxwell (@NiRunning) April 22, 2018
Speaking about his debut, Totten told Cherwell: “I learned that you must respect the distance and that factors at variance with other, shorter distances, come into play over 26.2.
“For example, I was not aerobically taxed today but troubled by cramps from fluid intake, which impeded my running. I will learn from the experience and move forward.”
The marathon varsity match was won by the Oxford men’s team, however the Cambridge Hare and Hounds won the women’s match, bringing OUCCC’s varsity record this year to seven wins out of nine matches.
Katie Truslove, a junior dean at St Hilda’s College, led the Oxford women’s team, finishing in just under three and a half hours.
Rahil Sachak-Patwa was the second Oxford finisher with a time of two hours and 41 minutes, which falls within the half-blue standard and beats his personal best by one second. This is an improvement on last year, when Rahil collapsed during the closing stages of the marathon.
Eliud Kipchoge, who visited the Oxford Union for a talk about his marathon successes in Michaelmas, won the men’s marathon with a healthy lead, in a time of two hours and four minutes.
Vivian Cheruiyot, the 2016 Olympic 5000m champion, won her first London Marathon in the women’s race.
The marathon was the hottest on record, reaching a top of 24˚C.
In related news, Alexander Betts, a professor of Forced Migration and International Affairs and fellow at Green Templeton College, completed the 2018 Boston Marathon earlier this month.
In doing so, Betts set the world record for running the six Abbott World Marathon Majors in the fastest combined time, averaging at two hours 41 minutes.
