Dewi Griffiths To Lead Welsh Elite And Lloyd Martin Captures The Spirit Of London Marathon

Hundreds of Welsh runners of all ages and abilities will take to the streets for this weekend’s TCS London Marathon.

They will include Wales’ second fastest man over the distance, Dewi Griffiths, and one of the latest recipients of the Spirit of the London Marathon award, Lloyd Martin, of Cardiff.

Swansea Harrier Griffiths has a fastest marathon time of 2:09.49, set on his debut over the distance in 2017.

Griffiths, who represented Wales over the marathon distance at the Birmingham Commonwealth Games, is second only on the Welsh all-time list to former world record holder Steve Jones, himself a London marathon winner in 1985.

The Newport Harrier, who is now based in the United States, holds the Welsh record which stands at 2:07.13, set in Chicago back in 1985.

Alongside Griffiths in the elite field will be Dan Nash who sits seventh on the Welsh all-time list with a personal best of 2:12.59 and Pontypridd Roadents club-mate Jake Smith, whose best is 2:11:00

Wales’ up and coming talent will also be well represented on the streets of London over the weekend.

A strong Welsh team consisting of some 40 athletes will be competing in the London Mini Marathon on Saturday across a variety of age groups from under-13 to under-17 and categories, including wheelchair athletes.

Among the team is Swansea Harrier Libby Hale, who holds every Welsh 1500m age grade record from under-13 to under-20.

Last year, Lloyd was a memorable winner of the Spirit award as he made history by becoming the youngest person ever with Down’s syndrome to run a full marathon in the intellectual impairment category (II2).

The 20-year-old finished with a time of 6:46:10 and his achievement was recognised by the Guinness Book of World Records.

After being born with a hole in his heart, and diagnosed with Down’s syndrome, some doctors warned Lloyd’s parents that he may never be able to walk.

The 20-year-old’s inspirational completion of the 26.2 mile course was this week recognised as he was named amongst the latest four runners to receive The Spirit of the London Marathon Award.

The actions of Lloyd’s fellow Welsh athlete Martin Rees in the closing stages of the 2017 London Marathon inspired the creation of the awards the following year.

The Swansea Harrier made headlines across the globe when he stopped to help fellow runner David Wyeth down The Mall to the finish line.

They were both amongst the first recipients of the awards in 2018. Another was Rhian Burke, of Miskin.

The PE teacher, part of the Mind Over Marathon team in 2017, was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder after her son George died from pneumonia and her husband, overwhelmed by grief, took his own life days later.

Since then, a number of inspirational people receive the award each year.

They include legendary Welsh wheelchair athlete Tanni Grey-Thompson, the winner of six London Marathon titles between 1992 and 2002 and one of the most successful sportswomen in British history.

Lloyd’s mother Ceri Hooper, herself a talented athlete with the Les Croupiers Running Club in Cardiff and Welsh Masters, was delighted at her son receiving the award in London this week.

Ceri, who ran alongside Lloyd at last year’s marathon, said: “Looking at the list of previous winners, it’s a huge honour to see Lloyd’s name amongst such amazingly inspirational people.

“This started as a personal goal for Lloyd - to see if he could run a marathon, and for me to see if I could help him to achieve his dream. We could never have imagined that his marathon journey would have inspired so many.”

Lloyd’s story is certainly inspirational. Despite the early medical doubts over whether he would be able to walk, his running journey began at the age of 13 in Cardiff, where he took part in the weekly local parkrun alongside his family.

Since then, he has become an accomplished gymnast with Special Olympics GB, winning a gymnastics vault gold medal at the British Disability Championships in 2023.

Once Lloyd decided to enter the 2024 TCS London Marathon via Special Olympics GB, Ceri, a veteran of four London Marathons, created a bespoke five-month training programme to prepare her son for his first full marathon.

“Lloyd is the first to encourage everyone to follow their dreams and with a little help and support he believes anything can be achieved,” said Ceri.

“The London Marathon has always been a huge event for our family, I couldn’t be prouder that Lloyd has completed it, and with a Guinness World Record too.”

Also taking part this Sunday will be Lloyd’s cousin Ciaran Lewis, who will be competing in the Championship race.

One of the Welsh records broken by Hale was held by Non Stanford, who won three London Mini Marathons and went on to become one of Britain’s greatest triathletes, winning the World Triathlon Series in 2013.

As a former winner, Stanford has been invited back to London on Saturday to help celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Mini London Marathon.