research and discovered there were a few very good British marathon runners, but none were even close to being in the same league as the Kenyan or Ethiopian runners. In 1985, 105 British men had run under 2:20 for the London Marathon, but only a handful had

was possible and accomplish great things. No one demonstrates that better than the Running Heroes honoured by Runner’s World and Aviva in 2008 — they were seven people who achieved something or gave back in a monumental way. Among that group

SPONSORED BY:In April, Runner's World will recognise seven outstanding people who have made us especially proud. We honour them - the Runner's World Heroes of Running 2008 - not only for the heroics they've demonstrated, but also the future heroes

victory in the 1993 World Marathon Cup remains a recent highlight of British men’s marathon running, and his 2:08:36 at the 1997 London Marathon was the last time a Brit broke 2:09.But it’s undoubtedly in his role as co-founder of the Great Ethiopian Run