London Marathon: New mum campaigns for pregnancy deferral rule change

Faith Geraghty wanted to defer her race entry for a year because she had an unexpected C-section in January

A new mother is campaigning to change the rules for the London Marathon after being told she could not defer her race entry following a Caesarean section.

Faith Geraghty, from Gloucestershire, qualified for a championship entry for the event in 2020 but the pandemic has delayed the race until October.

In January she had an unplanned C-section and was denied permission to "defer" entry to allow her to recover.

A spokesperson for the London Marathon said it was reviewing its policies.

Currently championship qualifying times for the marathon need to be achieved between January and December prior to the year in which the marathon takes place.

Ms Geraghty qualified for her championship place in 2020 after running sub 1:28:00 in a half marathon.

Motherhood 'challenging enough'

With lockdown the 2020 London Marathon was postponed however until 2021.

At the end of January, she gave birth to her son David via C-section and asked if she could defer her entry by a year so she could "properly heal and strengthen her body".

However she was told she "must race at nine months postpartum or lose her place" because championship runners are required to "achieve the necessary qualifying time within the designated qualification window".

"New motherhood is challenging enough without being forced to prepare for a marathon," she said.

Pelvic health physiotherapist, Emma Smith, said: "Medically, Faith shouldn't be on that start line"

In a bid to change the marathon's pregnancy deferral policy, she has set up a petition with pelvic health physiotherapists, Emma Smith and Claire Fitzpatrick.

"Currently it's discriminating against new mums," said Ms Smith.

"Forcing Faith to run in October or lose her place, puts her at greater risk of long term damage."

She said, according to clinical guidelines "running shouldn't restart until four to six months postpartum at the earliest" while a C-section scar takes at least six to seven months to be "fully healed and strong".

'Medically ill advised'

"She was told to use the place, or lose it. She feels she has no choice but to participate," she said.

"But medically, Faith shouldn't be on that start line.

"We hate that big corporate events can make policies like this without considering the impact on women's bodies."

Hugh Brasher, from London Marathon Events, said general entry runners could defer their place for a year but championship place runners could not because of the time-limited qualification window.

"We are reviewing our policies for all categories of runners," he said.

"In the interim, our policy is to offer pregnant/postpartum women who do not wish to or cannot qualify for a championship or good for age place a general entry for a subsequent year or a full refund of the entry fee," he said.

"We have contacted Faith to inform her of this and offer her a general entry for 2022 or 2023."