This article is part of FT Globetrotter’s guide to London
The first marathon was completed in 490BC, when the messenger Pheidippides ran 25 miles to Athens to announce the Greek victory at the Battle of Marathon. Despite his immediate death from exhaustion, people thought it was a good idea to emulate this journey.
Today, running a marathon — a 26.2-mile race — is more popular than ever. More than 840,000 people signed up to the ballot for this year’s London Marathon, breaking the previous world record, held by the 2024 edition of the race, by around 250,000. Some 56,000 people obtained places, making it the world’s largest marathon in history, exceeding the 55,646 runners who completed the event in New York last November.
Alongside this boom in marathoning, running clubs have also multiplied at a fast rate, as an increasing number of runners seek to socialise and train with like-minded individuals.
As I started training for my first marathon this spring, I have joined many running clubs around London for their specific training sessions, as well as for community and support. Meeting other marathon runners through these clubs has helped me manage wobbles and performance-related nerves — and has served as a reminder that struggling with training at times is perfectly normal.
Marathon training is also more nuanced than I had initially imagined. Runner Anya Culling, who represented England for the Copenhagen marathon in 2023 after cutting two hours off her race time in four years, says, “to build your fitness you need to do easy runs, tempo runs, speed sessions . . . you need to work all of your energy zones.”
Below is a guide to completing this training with a group, matching the different types of runs required with the best clubs to do them with.
Easy runs: Run Social
-
When: 6pm every Wednesday
-
Where: GymNation, 26 Druid Street, London SE1 2EY
-
Who for: People looking to run at a gentler, conversational pace
-
Distances: 5.5km
-
Cost and sign up: Free; sign up here
Many people make the mistake of thinking that every run needs to be their furthest distance or fastest effort: in reality, this harms your body. Easy runs — running at a conversational, relaxed pace — should be the bread and butter of marathon training.
These less intense runs are important for building your aerobic base, which is “your ability to sustain yourself for long periods of time running without getting fatigued”, says ultra-runner Jonny Davies, who has run the marathon distance 50 times since he began running in 2020. It’s “the foundation of which all running is based on.” (Last year, he ran 960km in 11.5 days, and when I spoke to him, he had just finished training in a 40C chamber to prepare for an ultra-marathon in Texas.)
Slower-paced sessions train the body to become more efficient at maximising energy while running, and they decrease recovery times. You can then run more frequently, which is essential for marathon training.
It is challenging to find running clubs that proceed at a relatively slow pace — most tend to start at about six minutes per kilometre. However, Run Social, which bills itself as “a social event designed to create a healthy, fun, and alcohol-free platform for socialising, networking and exercising”, offers a subsection called “Run Slowcial”, aimed at making the club more inclusive by focusing on distance rather than pace. If a runner can manage the length of a run, no matter how fast they are able to go, they can join in.
For those looking to enliven their easy-run training even further, the club also hosts a session called Friday Night Lights, a hybrid of a run and a rave for which pacers (club members who set and maintain the pace) wear speakers as backpacks and runners are given neon glowsticks.
Tempo sessions: Tracksmith
-
When: Wednesdays at 7pm (or 6.30pm to join the warm-up run from the Tracksmith Trackhouse, the brand’s shop and headquarters, at 25 Chiltern Street, London W1U 7PR)
-
Where: Paddington Recreation Ground, Randolph Avenue, London W9 1PF
-
Who for: All paces and levels
-
Distances: 6km broken up into varying, slightly longer threshold intervals, with rests in between (for example: 2 x 800m, 2 x 1,000m and 2 x 1,200m, with 90 seconds of rest between each set)
-
Cost and sign up: Free; sign up here
-
FYI: Those not joining the warm-up run are recommending to head to the track early to warm-up independently before the session starts
Tempo runs — holding challenging paces at increasingly longer distances — are aimed at improving a runner’s lactate threshold, which, as Anya Culling explains, “is when your body produces more lactate than it can get rid of, and that is when you get that burning sensation in your legs”. Tempo sessions “push that lactate threshold slightly higher”, she says, in order to become more efficient at clearing the lactic acid, “so you can sustain a faster pace for longer”.
Tracksmith, a New England-founded apparel brand and running club that expanded to London in 2022, host weekly tempo sessions on the running track at Paddington Recreation Ground in Maida Vale. It welcomes all paces and runs a variety of distance intervals, so you can train at speed at increasing lengths. Before the sessions, the club hosts an optional two-mile warm-up run from its Chiltern Street headquarters to the track.
Once at the track, runners group themselves according to the pace they’d like to run at, so the sessions do not feel intimidating (a feeling that can be more pronounced in track sessions, as some runners can lap others). Most people there are training for marathons, but some join without an event in mind and with the sole goal of improving their speed.
The sessions have been a major help with my marathon training. When your heart, legs and lungs are screaming for you to stop, being a part of a run club has been motivating — if anything, the threat of social embarrassment forces you to keep pushing — and you just may surprise yourself. My threshold pace has improved since incorporating this training, from around 5:15 mins/km to around 5 mins/km. Consistency, it turns out, pays off.
Hill training: Your Friendly Runners
-
When: Various times and days; they have a regularly changing weekly schedule that’s posted on their Instagram profile
-
Where: Based in Hackney, although also organises runs in Hampstead Heath, Epping Forest and Box Hill
-
Who for: Open to all
-
Distances: A range of distances up to about 24km, frequently offering 5km and 10km loops, as well as track sessions
-
Cost and sign-up: Free, but there is an option to pay for membership which gets you extra benefits like training plans and a welcome pack
-
FYI: There are a maximum of 30 places for the hill-running expeditions, so it is recommended to sign up early
When I first started marathon training, I figured that hill sessions are only necessary for those preparing for a particularly hilly race. However, Bea Durston of Scrambled Legs Running Club says, “you will reap the benefits” of hill training even in flat races, as you’re bound to hit an incline at some point.
SLRC’s Jonny Davies reiterates its importance: “When you are running downhill, even if it’s only a slight gradient, you have a lot more force going through your legs.” He says that most of the aches and pains from running are from the landing phase — when a foot makes contact with the ground — and injuries are most often related to one’s ability to absorb force. Running downhill strengthens the latter.
“When you are running downhill, your quads are taking a lot more impact,” Davies adds. “Your glutes are more active, so it’s good to vary the terrain you are running on.”
I haven’t found a running club that is specifically devoted to hill running, but there is Your Friendly Runners, which focuses on incorporating hills into training. As the name suggests, the club fosters a sociable environment and, in addition to the hill days, hosts a variety of different running sessions. There is usually a variety of runners there, from people looking to go for a casual run to those training for specific goals like marathons and ultras. All paces are welcome, as part of the inclusive ethos. Your Friendly Runners is centred on building community, so the runs typically end with a free coffee at their Hackney clubhouse.
Long runs: Scrambled Legs Run Club (SLRC)
-
When: Saturdays at 9am
-
Where: Various starting locations (frequently central London, Battersea or Clapham)
-
Who for: People running 5:30 mins/km or 6 mins/km
-
Distances: 20-30km
-
Cost and sign up: No cost or sign-up needed, although you can join the events on Strava to see the routes beforehand
-
FYI: You are encouraged to run without headphones
Long runs (which depending on where you are in your training, could be anywhere from around 10km to some 36km), are the most crucial in terms of building physical endurance and the ability to cope with discomfort. Jonny Davies, who founded Scrambled Legs Run Club (SLRC) in 2023, says these runs can also be the most difficult because “they’re quite lonely — you can be out there for three hours”.
Running with SLRC, which focuses on long-distance routes from 20km to 30km, has been a game-changer for my hours-long sessions. Not only has it helped prevent boredom, it has also forced me to slow down and take things at a conversational pace, avoiding the common mistake of accelerating too quickly when the runner’s high kicks in. SLRC also has pacers to help prevent runners from doing this.
The club is welcoming and friendly, which helped assuage my anxiety about joining others for more than 20km. The people who join SLRC are there to train (some join in preparation for ultra-marathons) and support one another — if you say you are struggling, others encourage you to keep going.
The routes are usually planned by Bea Durston, the head of SLRC, who ensures the runs are as frictionless as possible and that each includes a loo stop around halfway. She likes to include a tour of some of London’s monuments in her routes: one of my favourite recent journeys was from Battersea Park to Hyde Park, following the Thames and crossing at Tower Bridge, finishing at the Serpentine Café, where the group stayed on to enjoy a refreshment together.
Intervals: Track Mafia
-
When: Thursdays at 6.30pm
-
Where: Paddington Recreation Ground, Randolph Avenue, London W9 1PF
-
Who for: Their website says that “as long as you’re coming to GRAFT”, everyone is welcome
-
Distances: Between 4-10km, broken up into various shorter distances that are run at nearly maximum effort
-
Cost and sign-up: Free; you can just show up
-
FYI: No headphones allowed; sessions also include dynamic warm-up drills
Interval (or sprint) sessions are brutal, as runners must attempt to reach maximum speed. Though the distances are short — usually 100m to 1.6km — I often feel like I might collapse when I run intervals, but I have noticed a major improvement in my fitness levels since incorporating the sessions into my marathon training.
Dr Miranda Layton, a GP who has run four marathons, says these sessions primarily build “fast-twitch muscle fibres that help you with your power and speed”. It is not just about the body, though, as Culling points out — speed work “helps mentally prepare you for a marathon”, as you just have to “grit your teeth” and keep going.
A choice club for interval training is Track Mafia, which was founded by runner Cory Wharton-Malcolm, Julia Good and Jeggi Elinzano in 2014 with the goal of helping runners get faster. The track sessions also incorporate single-leg drills to strengthen crucial muscles and help avoid injury.
Although it is a social environment, everyone is there to work hard, so there is not much chatter during reps (you shouldn’t be able to talk when working at your maximum effort, anyway). All levels are welcome, making speed work accessible for slower runners too.This year’s TCS London Marathon in on Sunday April 27
Are you taking in part in this year’s London Marathon, and if so, have you trained for it with one of the capital’s running clubs? Tell us in the comments below. And follow FT Globetrotter on Instagram at @FTGlobetrotter
Cities with the FT
FT Globetrotter, our insider guides to some of the world’s greatest cities, offers expert advice on eating and drinking, exercise, art and culture — and much more
Find us in London, Tokyo, New York, Paris, Lagos, Rome, Frankfurt, Singapore, Hong Kong, Miami, Toronto, Madrid, Melbourne, Copenhagen, Zürich, Milan, Vancouver, Edinburgh and Venice
