The PUMA athlete will compete at her fifth London Marathon after injury forced her out of the Paris Olympics

Charlotte Purdue is set to make her marathon comeback this Sunday (April 27) at the London Marathon, marking her return to racing after an ankle injury dashed her hopes of competing at the Paris Olympics.

The past year has been a rollercoaster for the 33-year-old, coming off a career-defining 2023. It was in Berlin where she ran a blistering fast marathon time of 2:22:17 — a mark that not only secured her Olympic qualification but also carved her name into British marathon history.

That performance propelled the PUMA athlete to joint-second on the UK all-time list, sharing the mark with Calli Hauger-Thackery.

However, Hauger-Thackery has since gone faster with 2:21:24, placing Purdue third on the rankings list overall.

Now fully recovered, Purdue returned to the roads in March, winning the Nagoya City Half Marathon in 71:71 and is now ready to tackle her fifth London Marathon. Her best showing at the event came in 2021 when she placed 10th. Although she featured in last year’s edition, it was as a pacer. She had hoped to race but British Athletics advised her to sit it out to focus on Olympic preparations — a plan ultimately derailed by her injury.

Beyond her own running career, Purdue is also shaping the next generation of athletes. Alongside her partner and fellow runner Adam Clarke, she co-founded Purdue Performance, where she now balances her elite racing with coaching and mentoring.

How are you feeling ahead of the London Marathon?

I feel good. I've had a good training block, I've been out in Australia and I got back two weeks ago, so it went well. I'm just looking forward to racing now. I haven't raced a marathon for a while, so it's going to be a good one.

Do you feel different going into this marathon compared to others?

Yeah, I do. Usually I go into it with the time in mind and a specific time goal, because I've tried to run a qualifier or something like that, whereas this year, I just want to race. Obviously I want to run a good time, but my main priority is to finish as high up as I can and just do well in the race.

I'm not chasing a specific time, whereas before I've gone in there and wanted to run 2:23 and been really time driven, this year I'm not time driven at all. Obviously you want to run fast, but for me, I just want to race who's there and try and finish as high up as I can.

What has the last year been like for you?

Last year I wanted to run London but I wasn't allowed to run because British Athletics wanted me to save myself for the Olympics, and then I broke my ankle before the Olympics, so that was pretty horrendous. It was a bit of a terrible year because I wasn't allowed to race at the start of the year and then coming back from the injury took me a little bit of time. It was a long process coming back from that injury.

It took longer than I thought and it was really annoying. So to actually be back running healthy and to have had a good block, I'm just glad to be making the start line and to be back out there. It's almost a full circle moment to be back out there again.

Did you enjoy pacing the London Marathon in 2024?

I didn't really enjoy pacing last year. I didn't love it. This time last year, I just ran a half-marathon PB in Japan and was in the best shape and I was ready to race. I did want to do the full marathon but British Athletics said that I could only pace. At least I got to do that.

 

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That race was a low-key race. I usually go over to Nagoya to pace the marathon, but I asked my coach Nic [Bideau] if I could do the half-marathon, just because I wanted to do a race before London. There wasn't really any other races that I could do, because I was in Australia and it's hard to find races over there.

I didn't want to travel back and forth so I found this race in Japan and it was fun just to just get in the race environment, put the race shoes on, and go through the process. To win was a bonus, it wasn't a really fast time or anything but it was a solo run, so I was happy with how it went.

How did dealing with the injury affect you mentally?

Honestly, it was pretty bad. To have that injury a couple of weeks before the Olympics was probably the worst timing in history but everything happens for a reason, so I know there was a reason that I wasn't meant to run there.

I'm just happy to be back running now, and fully healthy with no injuries. I feel like this race this weekend will be the start of me coming back again, and obviously build some positive momentum. I just want to race more this year so I think this will be hopefully the start of a good year.

What does the future look like for Purdue Performance?

We're actually working on a really exciting new project, we are building running coach app. That's going to be coming out soon so keep your eyes peeled for that.

I love coaching athletes as well as focusing on my own running, I've got a couple of runners running this weekend that I coach myself, so it's cool, because I'm talking to them about the race. The every day runner goes through exactly the same process that we go through.

Obviously we're running a faster pace, but it's still the same training, and still the same problems that they face. It takes my mind off my own running as well.

How do you find the balance with coaching and being a professional athlete?

I honestly don't mind it because I feel like I would just get bored if I was only thinking about my own running, so it's something else to do in the day. It's a job, but it doesn't feel like a job because it's easy for me to talk about running it just like comes naturally.

How have things been since you signed with PUMA?

It's been really cool. I love the new shoes, the FAST-R Nitro Elite 3, I've been training in them since January and honestly think they're the best shoes that I've ever worn so I hope they're fast on Sunday as I'll be wearing them for the marathon. I'm excited to wear them in a race finally, after training in them.

What do you make of the vast difference in running shoes over the years?

I was saying this to my partner Adam the other day, the first London marathon I did in 2016 I didn't wear carbon shoes. That's crazy to me that some people will never experience running a marathon without carbon shoes. The feeling the next day was ten times worse than it is now, because they do help your legs so much. Every single year the shoes get better and better.