The organiser of the London Marathon, which takes place this Sunday (27 April), has announced that it will no longer be posting on the Elon Musk-owned social media platform X.
In a press conference, race director Hugh Brasher said of the decision: ‘There are some social media channels that are particularly vitriolic and are descending into a gutter.’
Previously known as Twitter, X was bought by billionaire and Tesla founder Elon Musk for US $44 billion (approximately £33 billion) in 2022.
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‘[The decision] is off the back of just looking at that channel [X] and the vitriol,’ said Brasher. ‘It was ceasing to be a rational conversation. It was ceasing to be a positive place to be.’
The London Marathon, which last posted on X on 17 January 2025, has more than 190,000 followers on the platform.
One of the pillars of the London Marathons, which was founded by Chris Brasher – Brasher’s father – and John Disley in 1981, is ‘to show how the family of humankind can be united’. The race organiser believes that this value is not shared by X.
‘The London Marathon is about positivity,’ said Brasher. ‘We didn’t feel that the channel shared those values and therefore we have come off.’
One of the elite runners competing on Sunday, Eilish McColgan, has been subjected to what her mother and coach, Liz, described as ‘demeaning and abusive’ body-shaming on X in March.
‘I think it’s abhorrent, the abuse that she’s had,’ said Brasher. ‘How she has held herself and responded to that is exemplary.’
