Eilish lands Scottish Record and British at London amid marathon magic

Sunday 27th April 2025

Photo via London Marathon Events

Eilish McColgan won the British and Scottish titles and broke the Scottish Record on her marathon debut.

The four-time Olympian was the first Brit home at the TCS London Marathon as she finished eighth in the Women’s elite race.

And her time of 2:24:25 was more than two minutes quicker than the Scottish Record set by Steph Twell in 2019 (2:26:40) and also beat her mum’s marathon best time with Liz at 2:26:52.

Eilish won gold in the Women’s division in the British Championship, too, as she delivered the kind of debut at this distance that she had hoped for over a number of years.

Congratulations to Eilish, her family, her coach Liz and all involved in supporting her over a couple of decades!

Weynay Ghebresilasie had a fine run to clock 2:11.21 and that landed the Shettleston Harriers athlete our Scottish title and bronze medal in the British Champs.

Weynay had prepared well for London, with strong support from new sponsors Joma, and was placed 15th in the Men’s elite race.

The event featured the Scottish Champs and we will confirm team medals in that over the next few days once results (and eligibility/memberships) are processed.

*The marathon magic stretched beyond London – with Kevin Campbell an excellent third at the Manchester Marathon. The Cambuslang Harrier clocked a superb 2:17.38.

‘I am really proud to take the Scottish Record,’ said Eilish.

‘It was looking a bit sketchy at one or two points along the way when I wasn’t sure I was going to get to the end.

‘But the crowds today in London were just insane. There were Scottish flags everywhere I looked and there were even bagpipes at one stage. It was pretty cool to get that kind of support.

‘The early pace was a bit too hot for me and I paid a price for that later. So there is a great deal of learning in there for me.

‘But I can call myself a marathon runner now.’

Photo by James Rhodes

Scottish Marathon Champs in London.

Provisional individual medal outcomes:

Women: 1 Eilish McColgan (Dundee Hawkhill Harriers) 2.24:25; 2 Katrina Ballantyne (Leeds) 2:38:44; 3 Sarah Potter (VP-Glasgow) 2:42:18

Men: 1 Weynay Ghebresilasie (Shettleston Harriers) 2:11:21; 2 Eddie Narbett (Carnethy HRC) 2:21:30; 3 Dougie Selman (Corstorphine AAC) 2:21:48

Nice bronze medal there for GB and NI 100k international Dougie, and his wife Jenny stepped up to marathon to clock 2:52.06 on her debut. Good day for Mr and Mrs Selman!

Congratulations to athletes, coaches and clubs.

*Club medals and age categories to follow in due course

Photos by Pamela Robson

In the men’s Wheelchair race, Sean Frame came up with his best time for the London event as he sprinted clear of a pack to finish in 1:34:18. Sean raced in Boston earlier in the week.

Samantha Kinghorn bridged a seven year gap to take on the Marathon distance again – although of course the Paralympic 100m champion is best known on the track.

Sammi raced for Team Scotland in the marathon at the Gold Coast Commonwealths in 2018.

‘That did put me off and this time I was clear that I wanted to try and enjoy it a bit more,’ she said. ‘I managed to do that, enjoying the crowds and chatting to one or two other athletes.

‘I’d a technical issue with the wheels in my chair and a problem on the left side. As a result, my left arm was working twice as hard as my right so my left is absolutely knackered now!’

Joanna Robertson raced, too, and finished in 16 place in 2:13:03 – taking five minutes off her Personal Best. Great to hear.