Overall to pace British Olympic marathon hopes

24 February 2012

Scott Overall will run as a pacemaker for British men hoping to gain Olympic qualifying times at the 2012 Virgin London Marathon on Sunday 22nd April.

Overall beat the qualifying time on his debut at the Berlin Marathon last September when he was fifth in 2 hours 10 minutes 55 seconds and he was named in the British team for the London Olympics last December.

The 29-year-old Londoner will be one of the pacemakers aiming to give a group of leading British men the best possible chance of finishing within the required standard of 2:12:00.

"It was fantastic to beat the qualifying time in Berlin and to be selected for the Olympic Games in my home city," said Overall. "But I don’t want to be the only British man on the start line on 12th August. I want to have friends and teammates beside me and am happy to do whatever I can to help them beat the time.

"Of course, it will also be a good opportunity for me to have a serious workout on the London Marathon course as part of my preparations for the Games."

Overall was named in December along with Paula Radcliffe and Mara Yamauchi in the first wave of Olympic marathon selections. With three places available in the men’s and women’s teams, any final selections will be announced by UK Athletics and the British Olympic Association the day after the London Marathon, on Monday 23rd April.

Among the leading contenders running in London are Lee Merrien, who was first Briton home in last year’s race, Benedict Whitby, Andi Jones and Phil Wicks, while Liz Yelling, Claire Hallissey, Louise Damen and Susan Partridge are vying for the one remaining women’s spot. (The full list of British entrants is below.)

Applications for media accreditations for the 2012 Virgin London Marathon are now available on the London Marathon website:
www.virginlondonmarathon.com/news-and-media/news-and-media/media-resources

The schedule of press conferences for race week (17th-20th April) is also available

On the website you will also find press releases about this year’s elite fields, information about celebrities running in 2012, and a selection of human interest stories.

For more information contact the Virgin London Marathon Press Office:
Nicola Okey 020 7902 0182 / 07799 661345; nicolao@london-marathon.co.uk
Hannah Finch 020 7902 0199; hannahf@london-marathon.co.uk
www.virginlondonmarathon.com

The leading Britons running in the 2012 Virgin London Marathon are: