Celebrities Shine as They Cross London Marathon Finish Line
Famous faces were among the thousands of participants who crossed the London Marathon finish line on Sunday, with temperatures reaching the high teens. Wicked actress Cynthia Erivo and former England cricketer Sir Alastair Cook were among the notable names, alongside fitness coach Joe Wicks and children's TV character Daddy Pig.
Erivo completed the 26.2-mile course in approximately three hours and 21 minutes, setting a new personal best and beating her previous time of three hours and 35 minutes from 2022. After finishing, the exhausted star was helped to a seat where she rested before speaking to the media.
The Oscar-nominated actress said: “There was a little rough moment where I thought it was never going to make it, but then I found a little bit of strength. I’m here, and I feel really proud.” Erivo, who woke up at 5am on Sunday, is scheduled to appear on stage at the Noel Coward Theatre in London on Monday, playing all 23 roles in Dracula. “It’s at 7.30pm, so I should be fine,” she said, adding: “I may be a little slower than usual.” When asked about the possibility of the London Marathon being held across two days next year, Erivo remarked: “It would be amazing. I may be just watching next year though.” She expressed her love for running because it allows her to “zone out” and “just be me”, adding: “You just get to centre… I get to think about the things that I want to think about, zone out for a second, meditate for a second.”
The Peppa Pig theme tune played as Daddy Pig crossed the finish line alongside Joe Wicks, completing the course in five hours and 51 minutes. The pair ran for the National Deaf Children’s Society after a Peppa Pig storyline revealed George Pig is moderately deaf. Speaking after the race, Wicks said he feels “very proud” of Daddy Pig, who worked hard in training and was “amazing” despite the warm weather. He noted: “It’s lovely when people say ‘Joe!’ and give me a little cheer, but 99% of it was ‘Daddy Pig, give us a wave!’, kids smiling, kids getting excited. So I rode off the energy of Daddy Pig today, and it was great.” When asked about other animated characters he would like to race alongside, Wicks said: “Who can top Daddy Pig? There’s not many people… maybe one day, when Peppa’s older, she might run with me as well.” He added that social media has been “great at stirring up conspiracies” about who may be behind the Daddy Pig costume, but “Daddy Pig is a pig and that is it. There’s no human being involved”.
Sir Alastair Cook, speaking after his race, said his favourite part was the finish. “Apart from that, just seeing the number of people that come out. I’d just say, seeing my little boy (Jack) and my family at around about the 20-mile mark, it didn’t inspire me to run any faster, because I was done, but it was nice to see his face.” When asked how running a marathon compares to playing cricket, Sir Alastair said: “Cricket’s easy. When you’ve finished, when you’re not very good, you cash out and sit down. There’s no hiding place here.”
BBC broadcaster Sophie Raworth and former British women’s tennis No 1 Laura Robson also completed the race on Sunday.
