Virgin Radio UK’s Emma B has secured a place in the 2026 London Marathon, and this series follows her journey to the start line as a midlife runner rather than an elite athlete. Across the episodes she speaks with runners, coaches and experts about what marathon training really takes. The show is for first-time marathoners, people returning to running, and anyone looking for an entertaining listen about saying yes to yourself.
Episodes
Paula Radcliffe Told Me THIS The Week Before My First Marathon
The final episode before London Marathon 2026 is here... and Emma B has pulled out the big guns!Joining her for this episode is running royalty Paula Radcliffe, three-time London Marathon champion, former world record holder (2:15:25, held for an 16 incredible years), and one of the greatest British distance runners in history.Whether you're pacing with maranoia, buzzing with excitement, or quietl
The Final Week Before a Marathon… Here’s What It Really Feels Like | Angellica Bell
We’re one week away from the London Marathon, so Emma calls upon her friend and biggest cheerleader, Angellica Bell for a reassuring chat ahead of race day!Angellica, who you'll know from The One Show, winning Celebrity MasterChef and CBBC, ran the London Marathon in 2002 as well as the Great North Run seven times! Emma and Angellica cover everything from the party atmosphere of race day and the t
What To Eat Before the London Marathon | 2 Weeks Out
We're just two weeks away from the London Marathon 2026 and things are suddenly getting very real! In this episode, Emma B is joined by Tracy Parker, a Dietician from the British Heart Foundation and first-time marathon runner Lucie Bond for a reassuring chat about one of the biggest race day stress points... nutrition. Tracy shares her advice on glycogen, hydration, electrolytes, cramp, breakfast
This Simple Trick Got Zoe Lyons Through 100KM Races
As April arrives and the London Marathon approaches, Emma B welcomes comedian Zoe Lyons, who went from being “laughably bad” at sport… to completing ultra marathons of up to 100KM.Zoe tells us the reality of running 100KM (including what really happens to your body…), why you don’t need to “look like a runner” to become one, and the simple mental trick that keeps her going when everything says sto
Why 85% of London Marathon Runners Say THIS Changed Their Life! | Hugh Brasher
We’re a month away from the London Marathon 2026, so who better to join Emma B this week than Race Director, Hugh Brasher! As a first-timer, Emma B gets to ask all the questions you’re probably thinking, or searching online for. Hugh reveals the biggest mistakes first-timers make on the course, his single most important piece of race-day advice, and exactly what happens in those first moments
“A Couple of Pints Won’t Hurt” – How They Prepped in 1981 😳
What was the London Marathon like before gels, super shoes, and sports science?In this episode of I Can Run a Marathon, Emma B meets Vernon Thomas, a runner from the very first London Marathon in 1981, right at the finish line on The Mall. From running in retro shoes to advice that completely flips modern marathon thinking, Vernon shares what it was really like… and why you might be overcomplicati
“My Achilles Went BOOM” - Steven McRae on Surviving A Career-Ending Injury
After Emma B had to pause her running from a setback, this week’s episode is all about resilience. She’s joined by Royal Ballet principal dancer Steven McRae, whose career was nearly ended when he snapped his Achilles during a performance at the Royal Opera House in front of 2,500 people! Emma B and Steven talk about how he rebuilt his body after having to learn to walk again, why setbac
Your Running Form Is Costing You Energy (Biomechanics Lab Test)
Emma B goes inside a biomechanics running lab with Dr Paul Brice at PB Biomechanics in Oxfordshire, to find out about the real science of running, why tiny technique tweaks can massively change your efficiency and how to best optimise your body later on in a run.You’ll see Emma B tested on force plates and a high-speed treadmill, which pulls 150+ running metrics in seconds! We break down the stuff
Are You Overtraining? The Recovery Mistake That Leads to Injury! (with Kate Rowe-Ham)
Emma's joined by leading women’s health coach and menopause fitness expert Kate Rowe-Ham. Kate tells Emma how she ran a marathon in 3:47 in her 20s, and did the same 20 years later! Plus, what really changes in our bodies as we grow older? What works best for your tummy on a long run? The simple trick to helping your long runs feel easier on the legs, and how to get over a "nervous wee".Every week
The #1 Reason Couch to 5K Fails (And How To Fix It)
In this episode of I Can Run A Marathon, Emma sits down with ultra-runner, UK Athletics approved running coach and author of ’Start Where You Are’, Sabrina Pace-Humphreys to talk about the one thing beginner runners have been missing (especially in midlife). Sabrina tells Emma about starting from scratch after severe postnatal depression, the “shuffle” run-walk method that helped her, and why so m
SKIN: 'I Felt Absolutely GONE' - How Running Saved My Career
This is the one where Emma B completes her FIRST EVER half marathon - running it alongside Virgin Radio’s very own CHRIS EVANS. We bring you all the mud and mayhem as they (literally) run for the hills in Marlow! Plus, our first rock ’n’ roll runner as SKIN from Skunk Anansie joins us from New York! What starts as a chat about running quickly becomes a masterclass in life, longevity, and the most
Eilish McColgan: Why It's OK To Skip The Weekend (And Still Smash Your Marathon)
Grab your trainers and turn up some Kendrick Lamar because this week, Emma B sits down with actual RUNNING ROYALTY - Eilish McColgan! Fresh from a hairdressers in Dubai, Eilish shares her elite advice for rookie runners tackling their first London Marathon. Find out why missing a weekend of training is actually FINE (Emma's already got this clipped on her phone), how treadmill running can lea
"The Hardest Part of a Marathon Isn’t Running It" (With Bryony Gordon)
What if the hardest part of running a marathon isn’t the running at all?In this episode of I Can Run A Marathon, Emma B is joined by journalist, author and mental health campaigner Bryony Gordon, who tells us why just getting up and starting is the real battle, and how running helped save her life!Bryony chats about how she went from addiction and obsessive compulsive disorder to running her first
What Nell McAndrew Would Tell Every First-Time London Marathon Runner
Former model and elite marathoner Nell McAndrew joins Emma B to share her running wisdom on what really helps first-time runners, from how to stay consistent when motivation drops, the importance of strength and core work, the run-walk (“Jeffing”) approach, and practical race-day tips on shoes, hydration, fuelling, and managing the final miles. Emma B also shares her latest training win, answers l
Can You Run a Marathon Without Being ‘A Runner’? (With Helen Thorn)
What does it REALLY take to go from “I’m not a runner” to finishing the London Marathon?In our first full episode of I Can Run A Marathon, Emma B is joined by comedian, author, and Scummy Mummies co-host Helen Thorn for a fun and frank conversation about starting from scratch, surviving midlife chaos, and building real confidence one run at a time.Helen shares how she trained for her fir
Introducing: I Can Run A Marathon
In a year of record entries, Virgin Radio UK’s Emma B has gotten a place at London Marathon 2026. This series follows her journey to the start line - not as an elite athlete, but as a woman dealing with everything midlife throws at you! It’s a podcast about running, yes… but more than that, it’s about choosing to say yes to yourself.Across the series, Emma is joined by inspiring guests from runner
