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London Marathon 2024 to witness big number of Pakistanis

30 Pakistanis will participate in the elusive marathon

By Our Correspondent

April 20, 2024

Pakistani runners at London Marathon 2024. - Instagram/sal_nephrun

A large number of Pakistanis will take part in the London Marathon this year, which is slated to take place tomorrow in England’s capital.

According to details, the biggest number, 30, of Pakistani runners will participate in the grand marathon in London.

In 1981, the London Marathon was held for the first time and it is now among the most popular running event in the world. London's best landmarks, including Buckingham Palace, Big Ben, Tower of London and Canary Wharf, are part of the route.

Pakistani runners from Karachi, Islamabad, Dubai, United States, United Kingdom and Norway will be part of the prestigious marathon.

Journalist Rehman Azhar will be running his third World major in London, followed by Berlin and Chicago in 2023.

Babar Ghias, the Pakistani expat from Chicago, is also on the track to complete his Six Star journey and London Marathon will bring him one step closer.

Co-founder of Islamabad Running Club (IRC), Bilal Ehsan, will also be running London Marathon as his third world major after New York and Berlin. IRC Members Yawar Siddiqui and Ammar Mumtaz are also running London Marathon 2024.

Ammar Mumtaz could not join Tokyo Marathon 2024 because Japan did not issue visa to him.

Pakistani runners at London Marathon 2024. - File

Semeena Khan, a British Pakistani marathon runner and coach based in England, is returning to London Marathon representing the award-winning running community of UK “Muslim Runners”.

Several Pakistani women marathon runners will be part of the London Marathon in 2024. Many of the participants were part of Pakistan’s largest contingent in the Berlin marathon of 2023.

Jevi Majid, a former ASICS frontrunner and now representing New Balance will be there as well. She is a Norwegian of Pakistani descent who is working on promoting healthy lifestyle in South Asian women.

While there are many runners taking part in London Marathon, couples, Uzma Abid and Abdul Samee and Zain Anwar and Nada Anwar from Karachi, who finished Berlin Marathon, are also set to join London Marathon together. Yawar Siddqui of IRC is running London marathon with his wife Nida Yawar.

Pakistani runners are looking forward to the marathon. - File

UAE-based Pakistani marathon runner and fitness coach Sarah Lodhi will also be one of the participants. She has run four marathons, Munich, Dubai, Tokyo and Berlin, in the past. Apart from London, she will also take part in the Chicago marathon this year.

Australia-born Pakistani British banker Hira Diwan has now completed 5 stars in Abbott Marathon Majors program with her Tokyo Marathon in March 2024 with the time of 3:42:44.

This time she will be running London Marathon for the 5th time and it will be her 12th International Marathon. She ran her first London marathon in 2011 while working with Bank of America in UK.

Pakistani runners at London Marathon

Name	Pakistani and Pakistani Origin
Bilal Ehsan	Pakistan
Rehman Azhar	Pakistan
Yawar Siddiqui	Pakistan
Nida Yawar	Pakistan
Muhammad Babar	United Arab Emirates
Dr Ahmad Zubair	United Kingdom
Uzma Abid	Pakistan
Abdul Samee	Pakistan
Hira Diwan	United Kingdom
Babar Ghias	United States
Shah Faisal Khan	Pakistan
Sarah Lodhi	United Arab Emirates
Semeena Khan	United Kingdom
Zain Anwar	Pakistan
Nada Anwar	Pakistan
Zohaib Moin	Pakistan
Raees Ebrahim	United States
Murtaza Zaidi	Pakistan
Fawad Karim	United Kingdom
Nazakat Ali	United Kingdom
Jevi Majid	Norway
Faisal Shafi (Senior)	Pakistan
Miqdad Mohammed	Pakistan
Mohammad Malkera	United Kingdom
Shariq Samad	United States
Bacha Khan	Pakistan
Ammar Mumtaz	Pakistan
Zohair Agha	Pakistan
Muhammad Ali	Pakistan
Zahra Currimbhoy	Germany

First London Marathon after Kiptum’s death

The London Marathon 2024 will be the first one since the death of Kelvin Kiptum, last year’s men’s winner who passed away in a car accident in Kenya in February.

A tribute will also be paid to Kelvin Kiptum, who set the course record with a time of 2hr 1min 25sec last year, on Sunday.

Kelvin Kiptum crosses the finish line at London Marathon 2023. - Reuters

Comedian Romesh Ranganathan and actor Phil Dunster will be among the celebrities who will take part in the marathon while also making their London debut.

How to track runners and watch live

You can download the London Marathon application as it helps you search for a runner using either their name or bib number. The user of the application can also create a tracking list to follow multiple runners.

The London Marathon will be broadcast live on BBC as well as BBC iPlayer and the Red Button.