Marathon one of the best experiences of my life
Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee says his London Marathon debut was "one of the best experiences" of his life despite suffering more "dark moments" than during his victory at the Paris Games.The 27-year-old finished 14th in the men's elite race in a time of two hours 11 minutes and eight seconds.Yee, who also became triathlon world champion in October, was the second-fastest Briton behind Mahamed Mahamed, who finished ninth."It was probably one of the best experiences of my life if I'm being honest. I expected the crowd to be good but they were another level," Yee told BBC Sport."I am so proud to have completed the marathon."An amazing experience but it was hard at the end. Emotions about [the] time will come afterwards, but the main thing for me today was to enjoy it, do something unknown and embrace it. I did that to my best of my ability."This is bigger than running. It's an amazing day and I wanted to be a part of it. This was the perfect opportunity."Asked how running a marathon compared to a triathlon, he added: "My legs have never been this sore. Physically they are quite similar but my legs have never felt like this in my whole life. It's a new experience definitely."Yee confirmed that the switch to the marathon would "definitely not" be a permanent one as he plans to try and defend his Olympic title in Los Angeles in 2028."Definitely a lot more dark moments, I'd say, than Paris, today," he said."Once I got to 32, 33k there's a lot of pain there. My legs are cramping and I just had to keep fighting through that."
'Definitely more marathons in future' for McColgan
Eilish McColgan also made her marathon debut after injury had prevented her running in London in previous years.The Commonwealth 10,000m champion secured the highest finish among British runners in the elite women's race in eighth, and clocked a Scottish marathon record of 2:24:25.In doing so, she also beat the personal best of her mother - 1996 London Marathon winner Liz McColgan - who ran 2:26:52 in 1997."I was very, very nervous. Probably the most nervous I have been," the 34-year-old told BBC Sport."The distance was an unknown. I have never raced more than a half marathon so the thought of doing it back-to-back was scary. The crowds were insane."I knew my first [marathon] would be tough. I was coming in underprepared. I can now call myself a marathoner which I was incredibly proud of. It was a really good learning experience."I would love to break two minutes 20 seconds. It is what I think I am capable of doing. I will make some tweaks in training."There will definitely be more marathons in the future. Hopefully there can another before the end of the year."McColgan finished a place above fellow Briton Rose Harvey with Phily Bowden in 11th and Holly Archer 13th.
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