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Emile Cairess says British athletes now have the “belief” they can compete with the world’s best as he sets his sights on challenging Sir Mo Farah’s national record at this year’s London Marathon.
The 28-year-old Cairess is at the forefront of a talented generation of British male distance runners whose achievements are inspiring each other to ever greater heights.
After placing third at the 2024 London Marathon, Cairess finished fourth at the Paris Olympics – the joint-best marathon result by a British man for 40 years.
He also helped pace Alex Yee as the Olympic triathlon champion leapfrogged him as the second-fastest British marathon runner in history with his two hours six minutes 38 seconds in Valencia in December, a time just eight seconds faster than Cairess’ best.
Behind them, Mahamed Mahamed and Philip Sesemann have both also run times within two minutes of Farah’s leading 2:05:11 in the past two years, while Patrick Dever became the latest breakout name with a stunning debut as he came fourth in New York.
“I think it just takes one or two athletes to show things are possible and change people’s minds,” said Cairess.
While Yee returns his focus to triathlon, Mahamed, Sesemann and Dever will join Cairess on the London start line on Sunday, 26 April as he chases four-time Olympic champion Farah’s mark, which has stood since 2018.
“It’s a snowball effect. When more athletes do well, there’s more belief,” added Cairess.
“I think maybe we got away from training hard and really believing in ourselves. We’re getting back to that now.
“The faster British athletes run, the better for us all. But I’m always keeping my eyes forward and trying to compete with the top Kenyans and Ethiopians.”
In the women’s race, Eilish McColgan returns after running a Scottish record on her debut last year as five of the top-10 fastest British women of all time compete.
Cairess was forced to miss last year’s London Marathon because of an ankle tendon issue, while his bid to become the first British man to make the World Championships podium was undone by extreme heat and humidity in Tokyo in September.
But the Yorkshireman remains steadfast in his belief that his hard work will soon pay off; he has increased his volume to in excess of 120 miles a week and added key double threshold days, as popularised by world-class athletes such as Jakob Ingebrigtsen.
As far as Farah’s record is concerned, Cairess says he has felt in shape to beat that time for the past two years.
“I already felt like I was in that shape around the 2024 Olympics. I’ve been a bit unlucky that I’ve not been able to show it [in London] – I’m looking to run as fast as I can and get that British record,” he says.
“For me, 2026 is about showing everyone the hard work I have been putting in. It always pays off in the end, it just doesn’t always work in the nice order you’d like it to.”
Monday’s unveiling of the British stars at this year’s London Marathon begins the event’s week of elite athlete announcements.
‘I would love to break 2:20’ – McColgan
After battling “fear” before her London Marathon debut last year, McColgan returns with ambitions to become only the second British woman to break the 2:20 barrier, after former world record holder Paula Radcliffe.
The 35-year-old ended her wait to compete in London following injury issues by finishing eighth in 2:24:25 last year – the fourth-fastest time by a British woman in London.
After beginning 2026 by setting a European 10K record in 30:07 in Valencia in January, the 35-year-old feels ready to aim even higher.
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“Last year there was definitely a fear that I wouldn’t get the chance to be on the start line,” says McColgan, who underwent knee surgery in 2023.
“It was an internal pressure – I wanted to be there. There was an element of anxiety around pushing too hard and we definitely went into that one undercooked.
“Deep down I would love to break 2:20, it’s a huge barrier and there’s not a huge amount of European women who have done that. I would love to be one of the women moving towards that.”
McColgan will compete with Charlotte Purdue, Rose Harvey, Abbie Donnelly and Jessica Warner-Judd, who have each run under 2:25, to be the first British woman home.
Beyond London, McColgan admits it would be difficult to say no to a return to the track to compete at the Commonwealth Games as the defending 10,000m champion on home soil in Glasgow this summer.
London Marathon elite British entries
British men
Emile Cairess, Mahamed Mahamed, Philip Sesemann, Patrick Dever, Weynay Ghebresilasie, Tewelde Menges, George James, Jake Smith, Marc Scott, Jack Rowe, Andrew Fyfe, Alex Milne, Peter Le Grice, Sean Hogan, Christopher Thomas, Jake Barraclough, Chris Perry, David Bishop, Charlie Sandison, William Mycroft, Alfie Manthorpe.
British women
Charlotte Purdue, Rose Harvey, Abbie Donnelly, Eilish McColgan, Jessica Warner-Judd, Lucy Reid, Louise Small, Alice Wright, Verity Hopkins.
