Press Release - London Marathon - 10/4/20

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

          British athletes Steph Twell and Lily Partridge drop out 
                          of the elite women's race

British runners Steph Twell and Lily Partridge dropped out of the elite 
women's race at the Virgin Money London Marathon today. We spoke to them 
afterwards.


Steph Twell:

"My body wasn't 100 per cent right. I have been managing my plantar 
fasciitis and the conditions didn't help my body run to its maximum today.

"I tried my best to get in the best shape possible as I wanted to see what 
I could do off the shape I'm in, but it wasn't the right race for me today.

"I felt pretty good until halfway, but then my body started to seize up a 
little bit. I was working hard and the conditions were really hard, and 
it's been tough to get here.

"It's hard to describe the nature of the injury because it allows me to run 
but it can hold me back, so it's something I've got to manage and learn 
about. It's a bit difficult.

"Right now I feel a bit sore."


Lily Partridge:

"I felt good, I felt fine, I just started to cramp up around 16 miles. And 
I didn't feel too bad, but in these conditions, in a marathon, it's never 
really going to get better.

"So I got to just before 20 miles and stopped to try to stretch it off a 
little bit. I gave it a moment before I started running again, but once 
that sort of thing starts in the marathon, it doesn't really improve and 
especially in these conditions. The muscle's not getting any warmer at that 
point.

"So, I think it's just one of those days. It's obviously frustrating, but 
there's no way I'm risking anything ahead of next year, so I just decided 
that I wasn't going to run another five laps with cramp. It's 
disappointing, but I just need to go back to the drawing board and see 
where we're at for next year."

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