In his 22nd career marathon, Eliud Kipchoge finished sixth at the 2025 London Marathon, running a time of 2:05:25.
Kipchoge, who turned 40 in November, was the top finisher in the masters division, although he fell short of Kenenisa Bekele’s masters world record of 2:04:15 from London last year.
Sabastian Sawe won the men’s race in 2:02:27, followed by Jacob Kiplimo (2:03:37) and defending champion Alexander Mutiso Munyao (2:04:20).
Sunday’s race was a positive result for Kipchoge, who had a rough 2024 season. In March of last year at the Tokyo Marathon, he struggled to stay with the front pack and finished 10th—his lowest placing at a World Marathon Major. Kipchoge was then selected to represent Kenya at the Paris Olympics, but he was forced to drop out around mile 19 due to pain in his waist.
But at London, Kipchoge looked like his old self for much of the race. Soon after the start, Kipchoge positioned himself in the front of the lead pack, right behind the pacers. He was composed through the half marathon split, which was 1:01:31 (2:03:01 pace), and led the top group for some of the following miles after the final pacer stepped off.
Just before the 90-minute mark, the front group of nine started to string out from a surge by Sawe and Hillary Kipkoech. Kipchoge lost contact, but he never hit the wall fully. At 30K (18.6 miles), he was ninth, but he worked his way up in the final 12K to place sixth.
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Although it appears to be nearing its end, Kipchoge’s marathon career is regarded as the most impressive of all time. Since his first marathon in 2013, Kipchoge has won 11 World Marathon Majors, broken the world record twice, and earned two gold medals in the marathon at the 2016 and 2020 Olympics.
He has also run the fastest time over 26.2 miles, when he ran 1:59:40 at the Ineos 1:59 Challenge, becoming the first person to break the 2-hour barrier. (The event was not eligible for official records, however.)
Throughout his career, Kipchoge has had great success in London. He won the 2015, 2016, 2018, and 2019 editions of the race, although in 2020—the last time he lined up—he had a rare off day and placed eighth.
Looking ahead, Kipchoge will shift his focus to the Sydney Marathon on August 31. Race organizers announced in March that he would contest the Australian race, which is in its first year as a World Marathon Major.
Theo Kahler is the news editor at Runner’s World. He’s a former all-conference collegiate runner at Winthrop University, and he received his master’s degree in liberal arts studies from Wake Forest University, where he was a member of one of the top distance-running teams in the NCAA. Kahler has reported on the ground at major events such as the Paris Olympics, U.S. Olympic Trials, New York City Marathon, and Boston Marathon. He’s run 14:20 in the 5K, 1:05:36 in the half marathon, and enjoys spotting tracks from the sky on airplanes. (Look for colorful ovals around football fields.)
