Serious injury during the London Marathon
“It’s like my foot explodes”
April 27, 2026 – 7:19 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
Eilish McColgan finished the London Marathon as the best Briton despite her foot covered in blood. It is still unclear whether she will be able to compete at the Commonwealth Games in July.
Eilish McColgans finished the London Marathon in seventh place in 2:24:51. However, the Scot crossed the finish line with her foot covered in blood. The reason: apparently a huge bubble. “It felt like my foot exploded,” said the 35-year-old after the race. The injury forced her to adapt her running style; she could hardly put any pressure on her foot. From kilometer 38 onwards, knee problems arose. After crossing the finish line she had to see a doctor. The cause remained unclear – McColgan ruled out her running shoes, which she had worn regularly throughout the year.
Despite everything, she improved one place compared to the previous year. In 2025 she made her marathon debut at the London Marathon and came eighth. The time does not reflect her current fitness level, she said.
Behind McColgan, two other British women finished the race in the top twelve. Rose Harvey finished ninth in 2:26:14 and Louise Small finished eleventh in 2:28:29.
What happens next for McColgan is still unclear. She wants to first recover from the injury and then decide whether she will compete for Scotland at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow in July – a competition in which she won gold in the 10,000 meters in 2022. In the long term, she has her sights set on a faster marathon. She named Berlin and Chicago as possible destinations and was convinced that she could run a time under 2:20 hours.
