Manchester Marathon 2023: three participants including GB para athlete and Race Across The World winner

Thousands of runners will be taking to the streets of Manchester for the city’s popular annual marathon - and all of them will have their own personal reasons for wanting to take on the 26.2-mile challenge.

Among the mass of participants taking on the adidas Manchester Marathon will be elite international athletes, people raising money for a host of charities and those wanting to tick off doing a marathon or prove something to themselves.

Some participants, though, have truly extraordinary stories behind getting to the start line. This year the field of competitors will include the winner of an intrepid TV travel show who is facing a bigger challenge than ever before with his running, a GB para athlete hoping to represent her country at the global pinnacle of disability sport and a woman looking to claim a place in the record books with an unusual crocheting challenge.

We heard from them about why they will all be taking part in the 2023 adidas Manchester Marathon.

Winner of BBC series Race Across The World running during Ramadan

Emon Choudhury became a household name when he and his nephew Jamiul competed in the BBC TV show Race Across The World, in which they had to make their way overland from Mexico City to the tip of South American all for the price of a flight.

The duo won the programme and now Emon has set himself another challenge in the shape of raising money for the The MND Association, inspired by the awareness and fund-raising battle of Leeds Rhinos rugby league star Rob Burrow who has motor neurone disease (MND).

Emon ran the marathon in Manchester last year, raising an incredible £31,000 to support the building of an orphanage in Bangladesh, but this year the 26.2 miles are all the tougher as the event falls in the middle of the month of Ramadan, meaning he is currently fasting from dawn until dusk. Kast year he ran the marathon itself in Ramadan but it was closer to the start of the Muslim holy month.

Emon, 39, said: “My aim is an optimistic goal of raising £77,777 for The MND Association. I am dedicating my run to rugby legend, Rob Burrow, whose shirt number was seven. He has inspired me to take on the challenge in his honour.

“This will be my hardest and wildest challenge to date as the run falls more than half way through the month of Ramadan, so I will have completed a lot of fast already prior to the run itself. My body will be depleted already and I plan on doing more fasted training runs during this month including my dreaded 20 -miler before the race.

“Last year’s challenge was tough and took a lot out of me both mentally and physically. I didn’t envisage the time after completing the marathon to the time you break your fast, which is around 8 pm. That time was mentally challenging for me knowing I had to wait five hours before I could drink anything.”

GB para athlete hoping to qualify for the Paralympics in Paris

Charlotte Ellis has enjoyed a distinguished career in para triathlon but will be on the start line in Manchester hoping to secure her place to represent Great Britain at the biggest disability sport event on the planet.

A former world and European champion in the sport which combines swimming, cycling and running, Charlotte is hoping to be at the Paralympics in Paris next year and is looking to run the qualifying time on the streets of Manchester.

Charlotte, a visually-impaired athlete who competes in the T11-12 category, has years of competing at international level but retired from para triathlon in 2013, taking up long-distance running instead and completing the Manchester marathon in 2018. That secured her a place in the IPC Para Athletics World Marathon Championships in 2019, where she finished seventh.

She says that run in Manchester is her favourite marathon to date and is hoping the flat Manchester course, which should enable fast running, will be the site of another memorable achievement in the shape of securing her Paralympic dream. She will be running with her guide Claire.

Charlotte said: “I am really looking forward to the adidas Manchester Marathon, to hopefully see the results of my training. I would like to achieve qualification at Manchester and then build on that.

“I am excited to be running the race with my fantastic guide Claire. It is a great course with fantastic support and really friendly runners. There will always be tougher moments in a marathon, but the atmosphere can really help with managing that.

“I would love to have the opportunity to run for Great Britain at the Paralympics. I have been incredibly lucky to represent Great Britain in para triathlon World and European Championships and to run at the World Para Marathon Championships. The Paralympics is the ultimate aim for athletes with disabilities.”

A crochet world record attempt at the marathon

For most people running the 26.2 miles of the marathon distance would be sufficiently challenging, but Louise Warwick has decided to try to secure a place in the record books in a way that means she will need her crochet hooks as well as her running shoes on the day.

Louise is a huge fan of crocheting and also has a growing passion for long-distance running. Now she is attempting to combine the two by trying to break the world record for creating the longest crochet chain while running a marathon.

The current best distance of 139.4 metres has stood for almost 10 years since Susie Hewer did it in 2014, but with more than three decades of crocheting experience behind her Louise is hoping to go over the 140-metre mark. She is looking forward to the double challenge on what will be her third time running the marathon in Manchester.

Louise, who runs with the Prestwich AC club, said: ““It’ll definitely be more challenging. Normally, you’d use your arms to help but I won’t be able to! I’ve also got the added weight of the yarn I’ll need on my back and then the weight of the chain that is made in a specially-made pinny around my waist.

“I started running just to run a 10k with colleagues for charity. I didn’t think I’d end up still being at it now, with five marathons done (six if you count a covid virtual one).

“Thankfully I’ve got lots of support from my family and friends. I don’t think any of them are at all surprised that I’m attempting something like this! I’m hoping the crowds in Manchester will see me through, but my partner and baby should be popping up throughout the day.”