Charlotte Purdue on making her marathon comeback in London

The PUMA athlete will race her fifth London Marathon after injury forced her out of Olympics

Charlotte Purdue is set to make her marathon comeback this Sunday (April 27) at the London Marathon, marking her return to racing after an ankle injury dashed her hopes of competing at the Paris Olympics.

The past year has been a rollercoaster for the 33-year-old, coming off a career-defining 2023. It was in Berlin where she ran a blistering fast marathon time of 2:22:17 — a time that not only secured her Olympic qualification but also carved her name into British marathon history.

That performance propelled the PUMA athlete into a tie for the second-fastest British woman ever over the marathon distance, sharing the mark with Calli Hauger-Thackery. However, Hauger-Thackery has since gone faster with 2:21:24, putting Purdue to third on the overall rankings list. Only Paula Radcliffe has run faster.

Now fully recovered, Purdue returned to the roads in March, winning the Nagoya City Half Marathon in 71:71 and is now ready to tackle her fifth London Marathon. Her best showing at the event came in 2021 when she placed 10th. Although she featured in last year’s edition, it was as a pacer. She had hoped to race, but British Athletics advised her to sit it out to focus on Olympic preparations — a plan ultimately derailed by her injury.

Beyond her own running career, Purdue is also shaping the next generation of athletes. Alongside her partner and fellow runner Adam Clark, she co-founded Purdue Performance, where she now balances her elite racing with coaching and mentoring.

How are you feeling ahead of the London Marathon?

I feel good. I’ve had a good training block, I’ve been out in Australia and I got back two weeks ago, so it went well. I’m just looking forward to racing now. I haven’t raced a marathon for a while, so it’s going to be a good one.

Do you feel different going into this marathon compared to others?

Yeah, I do. Usually I go into it with the time in mind and a specific time goal, because I’ve tried to run a qualifier or something like that, whereas this year, I just want to race. Obviously I want to run a good time, but my main priority is to finish as high up as I can and just do well in the race.

I’m not chasing a specific time, whereas before I’ve gone in there and wanted to run 2:23 and been really time driven, this year I’m not time driven at all. Obviously you want to run…