London Marathon 2026, 2:31 at age 42 and he is not stopping at that! 11 years since his first lactate test, Matt has shown that with patience, consistently following the plan derived from his regular lactate testing data, getting back on track after injury setbacks and lots of determination, he will hit that 2:30 target.
I have been using heart rate training for the last 11 years since I went initially to see Dave as I was aiming to run under 3.30hrs for the marathon.
So I last went to see Dave for a threshold test back in February 2025, just before flying off to run the Tokyo marathon. It was my first marathon after having a hip fracture. I went to see Dave for a bit of reinforcement and confidence in the shape I thought I was in. I ran 2:36:20 a pb at the time and Dave asked if I would mind writing a race report for him. Of course I agreed, but anyone that’s ever texted me will understand, you do well to get more than 2 texts out of me, as I procrastinate and agonise over every word!
It never happened and I ended up running Chicago in October in 2:33:02 a new pb. I’ll be able to do Dave a cracking race report I thought, but that too never materialised.
So here we are now, I’ve just completed the London marathon 2026 in 2:31:41, a time I could have only ever dreamed of when I started jogging to keep me out of nightclubs and on the straight and narrow 15 years ago!
At the start of the block friends were saying you’ve done 2:39, 2:36, 2:33 it’s destiny to break 2:30 at London. Whilst I was never naive enough to think that’s how it would work, I also quietly thought why not! During the early weeks I was working 2 jobs, I’m lucky as a firefighter I get access to a treadmill at work, but working part time as a lorry driver took a lot more planning taking kit with me and running wherever my rest break ended up in the country, so I used the treadmill for more of the threshold work and then easy runs elsewhere. I ran 10k/HM pb’s during the block but these indicated a Mara time of more like 2:32. In the final few weeks and going into the race it was clear 2:30 was probably a bridge too far, whilst conditions looked favourable the plan was to run 2:32 pace to 20 miles and let’s see what happens, I enjoy trying to run people down and hoped the slight tailwind from there would somehow carry me home!
It ended up being probably my best ever paced race going through half way in 1:15:57, I’d written down 2:32 splits on my hand for 20 and 25 miles going through with a cushion of about 10 then 20 seconds respectively. At mile 25 I had a slight twitch of cramp in my right hamstring and then again on birdcage walk going past Churchill, I decided to take the foot off the gas and protect the 2:32 ensuring nothing catastrophic happened trying to squeeze just seconds closer to 2:31. Thankfully I came home in 2:31:41, chuffed to bits and straight into the celebrations, in the Sherlock Holmes and Wellington Arms, with my fabulous family and support crew!
With New York and Boston next on my marathon major journey, it might be a while before I get my chance at sub 2:30, I’m currently enjoying a Paddy Pimblett style blowout, but I’ll never stop pushing, I know there’s still improvement in there, I don’t do any fancy training just stick to Dave’s threshold numbers and I’ve improved year on year. I used to fully endorse Dave’s services saying he’ll get you running faster than any pair of fancy shoes, but I’m fed up with people I’ve recommended getting faster than me in 2 or 3 years, what’s taken me 11!
