Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon
The Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon is a series of races for girls and boys aged between 11 and 17, divided into three age categories (Under 13, Under 15 and Under 17).
The course is 2.6K long, stretching from Temple Place to The Mall on the final section of the full Virgin Money London Marathon route. The event comprises of entrants from the nine regions of England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales, and will include teams from all 33 London Boroughs.
The event was cancelled in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Over the years the Mini Marathon has unearthed a number of future athletics stars, some of whom have gone on to claim major international honours including:
- Mo Farah, the four-time Olympic gold medallist was a Mini Marathon winner for Hounslow three years in a row between 1998 and 2000. Farah has graduated to run the full Virgin Money London Marathon, finishing third in 2018.
- David Weir won the Mini Wheelchair Marathon seven times in his youth, and has since won the senior London Wheelchair Marathon eight times and claimed six gold medals at Paralympic Games.
- Tokyo Olympics medallists Laura Muir, Keely Hodgkinson and Josh Kerr all ran in the Mini Marathon
- Tokyo Paralympics medallists Hannah Cockroft and Kare Adenegan are both former winners of the Mini Marathon
The Mini London Marathon has also been a seedbed for talented athletes who have succeeded in other sports. Three of the four Tokyo Olympic triathlon GB mixed relay gold medallists (Alex Yee, Georgia Taylor-Brown and Jonathan Brownlee) all took part in the Mini Marathon as did double Olympic triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee.