Eilish McColgan had a tough and emotional day at the London Marathon after fighting through a painful foot injury that left her foot bleeding badly during the race. The British long-distance runner said she suffered a serious blister just after halfway and feared she might not even finish the full 26.2 miles.Despite the pain, McColgan kept going and crossed the finish line, refusing to stop even when her knee also started hurting later in the race. Speaking after the marathon, she explained that the injury changed everything and made every step harder. Still, she stayed focused and pushed through one of the hardest races of her career.
Eilish McColgan says foot “exploded” during London Marathon as she battled through pain to finish
McColgan said having pacers early in the race helped her stay in control, especially compared to last year when she had to run alone from the start. But just after halfway, things changed quickly.She said, “I had a really, really bad blister in my foot. It sounds strange saying it, but the only way I can say it is it felt like my foot just exploded. I just had this massive tear and I thought, ‘What the hell is that?’”The pain came much earlier than she expected, and it affected the rest of her race. She said she could not put proper pressure on her foot and felt like she was running differently because of it. Soon after, her knee also started giving her trouble.McColgan said, “Even when I got to like 24 miles, my knee started playing up and sort of went on me a bit. I thought, God, I cannot get to 24 miles and not finish it at this point.”After the race, she had to see the doctor because the injury had become so serious. She explained, “I was just covered in blood. I had to go see the doctor after today because I just could not put any pressure through my foot.”Even with the pain, the support from the crowd helped her keep moving. She said the London Marathon crowd was one of the best parts of the race because people kept cheering loudly, even when she felt close to stopping.Looking ahead, McColgan said she now needs time to recover before deciding on her next race. She is hoping to compete at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games because racing at home means a lot to her.She also said she still believes she has a faster marathon in her, especially on flatter courses like Berlin or Chicago. Her big goal remains breaking 2 hours and 20 minutes a day.For now, the biggest win was simply finishing the race and proving to herself how strong she can be mentally.
