Jenson Button completes London Marathon

Button beat his personal best and raised £11,000 for cancer research.

The McLaren driver completed the London Marathon yesterday in 2:52:30, beating his own personal best. Button ran the full marathon with wife Jessica to raise money for his own trust, in partnership with Cancer Research UK, dedicated to funding cancer research studies.

Button’s team, McLaren-Honda, have recently been plagued by engine and car issues. He finished last at the 2015 Australian Grand Prix after qualifying at 17th. Problems continued in Malaysia, where Button was forced to retire from the race. He suffered a collision with notorious crasher Pastor Maldonado of Lotus in Shanghai, receiving penalties.

In the most recently held GP at the Sakhir circuit in Bahrain, the Briton was unable to complete the race at all due to severe engine issues that led him to stop on the track several times.

This year’s London Marathon was the last for iconic British runner Paula Radcliffe, 41, who ran the course in 2 hours 36 minutes 55 seconds. This comes less than three years after Radcliffe underwent serious surgery on her Achilles Tendon. Ahead of Radcliffe was British athlete and champion runner Sonia Samuels, the fastest Briton in the women’s marathon.

Ethiopia's Tigist Tufa won the women's London Marathon, while Kenya's Eliud Kipchoge won the men's race. Icon Wilson Kipsang came in second. Current world record holder Dennis Kimmeto came in third, rounding up an all-Kenyan top 3.