Paramedics issue race warning as 56,000 runners set to take part in London Marathon

With thousands heading to the start lines of the London and Marathons to complete , paramedics have issued a warning to runners, urging them not to take part in a ‘hero’s finish’.

A 'hero’s finish' is what you see on television or in compilation videos of the ‘greatest race finishes of all time’ - the clip of Alistair Brownlee helping his brother Jonny over the line in the Triathlon World Series in Mexico back in 2016 may spring to mind.

St John Ambulance describes a hero’s finish as “when someone is clearly in distress, they’re clearly struggling, and then other racers are dragging them across the finish line so they get that finish”. While you may think you are helping that runner to achieve their goal of making it across the finish line, it is actually a “really, really bad idea” the first aid charity . “If someone is in that level of physical distress, that means they’re already too hot, something else has gone wrong.”

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A paramedic said that on one occasion, someone being dragged towards the end of the race by other runners was already in cardiac arrest. “It’s an incredibly bad idea if your body wants to collapse, that’s your body’s way of protecting you, you should let people collapse safely to the floor, get help, and then we’ll bring them across the line in a safe way and give them the help they need,” they said.

A spokesperson from St John Ambulance told the : “With running and challenge event season upon us, to ensure any race remains fun and safe we want people to be aware of the dangers of the 'Hero's Finish'.”

They added: “It is very dangerous, and we advise against it. If the runner is near collapse, they are in trouble and can’t continue and they run the risk of serious harm. Someone clearly unable to finish a race should stop. If near collapse, they should be helped to the floor and assistance summoned.”

The London Marathon is one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors and will be held on Sunday April 27th, the same day as the Manchester Marathon. More than 56,000 runners are expected to complete the race in the capital, which would beat the current record of 55,646 finishers at the New York Marathon in November.

The race, which takes runners past landmarks like Tower Bridge, the London Eye, Big Ben, and , is notoriously hard to get into and this year more than 840,000 people applied for the ballot - breaking the record of 578,304 for the 2024 race. The Manchester Marathon will see 36,000 runners take part - and it sold out more than five months before the event.