I’ve run the London Marathon London is an unfriendly place to run. My time this year [3:46] was 22 minutes faster than it was in 2015. I trained the same amount, but the second time my body said, ‘I remember this!’
What everyone's reading
I’m a runner: Adrian Grenier. Running through puddles when it’s pouring and I’m soaking – there’s something so basic and so brilliant about it. I ran past the Oxford and Cambridge Boat Race in the rain; moments like that are magical.
I’m lazy with my warm-ups – I stretch my calves, but that’s it. My wife has recently convinced me to do yoga and I’ve realised I’m not supple at all. Maybe I wouldn’t struggle as much as I do if I warmed up more.
I’m a runner: Sean Fletcher. I live in West London but I feel like I’m in the country – I can let the dog off the lead and just run. There’s a lovely riverside path, so I can run down, cross a bridge and come back, or keep going if I’m feeling strong.
I feel like a caged tiger if I don’t get to run. I start to feel grumpy and inside I’m shouting, ‘I need to get out!’
Im a runner - Laura Tott Rebound I’d get back late and still get up early for a run. Best wireless headphones.
I never take a drink running, as I don’t want to carry it. During marathons I’ll stop at the drink stations and I wear a belt with a load of gels, but for anything up to about 20km I don’t carry or consume anything at all.
I’m a runner: Sean Fletcher. In Wales, where my wife, Luned, is from, everyone smiles, waves and says hello as they pass. If you do that in London, people either think you’re a weirdo, you’re after something or it’s your first time running in the city.
I trained to be a music producer – running gives me time to listen to new music. It’s got to have energy and emotion to it and the songs have to mean something. I like Mumford and Sons, Coldplay and Beyoncé – sometimes I don’t realise I’ve run another few kilometres because I’m in a completely different world.
I’m a runner: Adrian Grenier. My wife would ask me to run long with her and I’d think, ‘Why would you want to run for hours?’ Then I was asked to run the London Marathon for work a couple of years ago and fell in love with it. I haven’t stopped since.
My favourite…
Running companion: Mimi, my black Labrador. She does 30km runs with me, but she runs further because she’s off her lead, running back and forth. She’s great company and keeps me going.
Kit: My trainers! My brother-in-law is a foot surgeon and when I started training for the marathon, he said I should do it in barefoot shoes. I tried for a while but couldn’t get used to them.
I’m a runner: Skin: Wales. There are some beautiful runs along the Gower Peninsula, by Swansea. It has some of the best beaches and scenery you could imagine. For me, it’s better than the Mediterranean.