Pakistan’s runners marked themselves at the London Marathon 2025, with Furqan Masood from Islamabad, who led a lively group of more than 40 Pakistani athletes and diaspora members who undertook one of the world’s most iconic races.
Masood completed the marathon in an impressive 3 hours, 10 minutes and 7 seconds, showing resilience and strong pace in a race that drew over 56,000 participants.
From a quick 20:44 for the first 5K and hit the 10K mark of 42:09, he fought for rising temperatures and fatigue in the last half, but dug deep to cross the finish line and earned 4,460. space together.
“Crossing the finish line at the London Marathon was a deeply humble experience,” Masood said after the race.
“We are not professional athletes; we will inspire people in Pakistan to embrace running as a passion and a healthier lifestyle.”
Close behind Masood was US-based Salman Ilyas, ending in 3:18:33, with Norway’s Muhammad Fasih Saleh (3:21:54) and Hamza Saleem (3:23:10) also delivers strong performances. Shah Syed was only two seconds behind Saleem, at 3:23:12.
Among the women, Norway-based Amy Mir stood out by ending his first marathon ever in 3:52:00 despite limited training. “I hadn’t trained beyond 17K, but the audience’s energy led me through,” she said.
Veteran Runner Hamid Butt of Lahore made history by becoming the first Pakistani to end the Abbott World Marathon Majors twice, and served his second six -star medal with a time of 3:41:45.
Meanwhile at the Manchester Marathon, UAE-based Azmat Khan led the Pakistani quota with a 3:15:48 finish, while Karachi’s Danish Raza and his son Abrar Ahmed ended the race together in 4:55. British Pakistani doctor Ahmed Zubair also completed Manchester’s course in 6:37:52.
In the Elite London races, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won the men’s Division in a quick 2:02:27, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa dominated the women’s race with a winning time of 2:15:50.
The growing presence of Pakistani runners at global marathon stages signalizes an increasing passion for endurance sports within society – mixing personal performance with national pride.
