It’s the London Marathon this weekend! The big race is held annually in the spring and this year we’ll see over 40,000 people take to the streets of London for the 26.2 mile course. Whatever the weather, thousands will be lacing up their trainers with over 75% running to raise money for charity. Read on to learn more about this long-distance race and explore vocabulary and conversation topics in our fun London Marathon EFL lesson.

 

London Marathon EFL Lesson

A London Marathon EFL lesson has lots of interesting areas to use for language learning. These include the history of the race, famous runners, health and safety issues, the London Marathon route and famous landmarks, charity fund-raising and runners’ costumes, and running as a sport and hobby.

A London Marathon EFL lesson can also be used as a springboard to discuss other sports, famous sports people and athletes, sports presenting and the coverage of sport in the media, such as in newspapers and on television.

 

London Marathon History and Traditions

First held in 1981, the London Marathon is one of the World Marathon Majors. The race is held every spring and covers a total of 26 miles and 385 yards.

A  marathon is 26.2 miles. The reason a ‘marathon’ is this distance comes from a legend. In 490 B.C., a Greek soldier called Philippides ran this distance from the site of the battle of Marathon to Athens, dying after the Greek’s victory over the Persians.

In the first London Marathon there were over 20,000 applicants and just over 6,700 were accepted to run the course. Since its inception, 746,635 people have completed the London Marathon.

Popular in the media, the BBC covers the event with live footage for most of the morning.

There are three groups of runners in the London Marathon: Elite Women, Wheelchair (Men and Women), and Elite Men, followed by Mass Race, which includes all the other runners.

Many people run the London Marathon for charity with around 75% of runners raising money for worthy causes, many of whom dress up in a fun costume for the race.

London Marathon Course

The London Marathon course is a mostly flat route taking runners around the River Thames. Because of the large numbers of runners, there are three starting points in the marathon: the ‘red start’ in southern Greenwich Park, the ‘green start’ in St John’s Park, and the ‘blue start’ on Shooter’s Hill Road.

The route starts in Blackheath and moves east through Charlton with the three courses converge after 2.8 miles in Woolwich.

A 6.2-miles (10km), the runner head towards Greenwich then Deptford and Surrey Quays in the Docklands, moving towards Bermondsey.

The runners reach the half way point as they cross Tower Bridge and then continue through Wapping, through the Isle of Dogs and into Canary Wharf.

The race course then heads into Poplar then back towards the the Tower of London on Tower Hill as they race the last leg. The penultimate mile is along The Embankment towards the London Eye and then Birdcage Walk forms the final 385 yards.

As the runners race the finishing line they will see Big Ben and Buckingham Palace before finishing on The Mall by St. James’s Palace.

Marathon World Records

The current World Record holders for the marathon are the Ethiopian runner Tigst Assefa and the Kenyan runner Kelvin Kiptum. Assefa’s record for the women’s race is 2.11:53, set at the 2023 Berlin Marathon, while Kiptum’s record for the men’s race is 2.00:35, set at the 2023 Chicago Marathon.

The current wheelchair race record holders are both from Switzerland, both setting new records at the 2023 Berlin Marathon: Marcel Hug set the men’s race record at 1:23:07, and Catherine Debrunner set the women’s record at 1.34:16.

There is a group of ‘Ever Present’ runners who have completed each of the London Marathons since the first one in 1981. Since 2023, this group consists of 7 individuals.

London Marathon EFL Lesson Vocabulary

A London Marathon EFL lesson has many areas that can be discussed, from London landmarks to marathons in general to running as a hobby and sport in the media.

There are also concerns surrounding health and if marathon running is dangerous. This could lead onto other discussions about exercise and health in general.

To begin with it’s a great idea to introduce vocabulary related to the London Marathon and running as an activity. Words that are useful to introduce in relation to these topics include:

A marathon – 26.2 miles

Long-distance race (3,000+ metres) / Short-distance race (100, 200 and 400 metres) / Middle-distance race (800 and 1500 metres)

Starters’ gun, Starting line, Finishing line

Race course / race route

Runner / athlete

Elite runner – an athlete who has reached the highest level in running

Long distance runner

World record holder

Aerobic exercise / cardio exercise

Stretches / stretching

Warm up / Cool down

Trainers / sneakers (American) / running clothes / vest /shorts

Interval training / intervals – short bursts of high intensity running

‘Hitting the wall‘ – a feeling of intense fatigue / tiredness

Lactic acid – a substance that builds up in tired muscles making them feel sore (this soreness can be relieved by stretching)

to pull out (of the race) – to stop running or withdraw your entry to the race

 

Vocabulary for marathon and race commentary

Races in general, whether between people or horses, tend to bring out certain words used by commentators on TV and radio. Some commonly used expressions include:

Paula is looking to bounce back from this set back (‘to bounce back’ means to return to good form after a negative event – a ‘set back’)

Sarah is on good form after the winter (to be on good form means to be currently performing well)

Johan is having a nightmare race (a ‘nightmare’ is a bad dream – in this context a nightmare means a very bad race)

Peter is in the lead (If you are ‘in the lead’ it means you are currently in first position)

Cooper is the favorite to win this race (the ‘favourite’ is the person or racehorse who people (usually the bookmakers) think will win a race. ‘Joint favourite’ means two people are both favourites with the same odds at the bookmakers).

It’s going to be neck-and-neck at the finish! (If runners are ‘neck and neck’ it means they are very close in the race – either runner could win)

That was a close finish (a close finish is one where there is not much difference between the first and second place finishers)

Elizabeth has pulled out of the race at the last minute (to ‘pull out’ means you withdraw from something)

She won the race by a large margin (to win ‘by a large margin’ means the first place finisher beat the second place finisher easily)

Questions to ask about sport and the media 

A great way to engage with the London Marathon in the EFL classroom is to spark a debate or conversation about sport in the media.

The media plays an important role in the publicity of sporting events. The BBC covers the London Marathon extensively every year, making it an important event in the television sporting calendar.

Students could discuss the following questions in pairs or in groups. They could also write their answers down for later discussion as a class:

 

Conversation Questions for a London Marathon EFL Lesson:

What is your favourite sport and why?

Who are your favourite athletes and sports people?

Which sports receive most coverage in the media? Why?

Why don’t women’s sports receive as much media coverage as men’s?

Does the media have a responsibility to educate people?

Does the media have the power to actively shape people’s tastes and preferences in sport?

Should the media  only be used to reflect current popularity?

If more of a certain sport was shown on TV, would it increase the popularity of that sport among spectators and/or participants? Why? / Why not?

 

London Marathon ‘TV Debate’ Class 

All of these questions can raise some interesting and thought-provoking discussions. One great idea for a London Marathon EFL lesson that ties in with the media connection is to host a mock TV show or interview session in the classroom.

The teacher can act as ‘presenter’ of the show and pairs of students can be interviewed on their opinions about the marathon. The students can also act as the ‘presenter’ and interview each other with pre-prepared questions. They can start and finish the ‘programme’ and interview some runners (i.e. other students) about the race.

There are so many options and topics for discussion. Students can also share their own experiences of long-distance running, fun runs, school and college sports, half marathons and full marathons.

Share your thoughts on the London Marathon

Have you ever run in a marathon? If so, what did you like most about it?

If you haven’t run in a marathon, would you like to? Why (or why not)?

Is running a marathon bad for your health?

Do you enjoy running as a hobby? How often/far do you run each week?

Have you ever taken part in a ‘fun run’ or a sponsored run to raise money for charity?

What is the best charity costume you have ever seen on a run?

Let us know your thoughts on marathons, London Marathon EFL lesson vocabulary and running in general!

 

Attributions

1. London Marathon 2010 by Julian Mason [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
2. London Marathon route by © OpenStreetMap contributors [CC BY-SA 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons