27 Apr 2024
Completing the London Marathon is a massive achievement at the best of times, but imagine doing it backwards!
That’s exactly what St Albans runner Hosein “Khan” Khanzadeh did on Sunday, completing the course at a phenomenal time of 4 hours 46 minutes and 35 seconds.
That’s faster than many people running normally: in 2023 the average time for men was 4 hours 6 minutes 36 seconds.
He started running backwards 16 months ago after suffering from knee pain, which research suggested could be helped by walking backwards.
Khan, 36, a volunteer at St Albans Cathedral, explained: “After a few weeks I started running backwards and this idea came to my mind to participate in the marathon.
“In the beginning it was very difficult to run backwards for long distances, because I cannot increase my speed if the place is crowded, so have to run early in the morning and at night.
“I run 5K backwards every morning at 4.30am, and 10K on Saturdays and Sundays at night, and I’m still working hard to break the running backwards record.”
Khan has been participating in the St Albans Park Run in Verulamium Park for several months, and they presented him with a T-shirt with the words ‘Man running backwards’ as a gift.
His friend Chris Lyal said: “Khan is an incredibly fit man, who really believes in pushing himself. Over the last year, he took up running and formed the idea of running backwards (‘retrorunning’) rather than the more conventional method.
“He is now a well-known sight at the Park Run. Not only did the idea of running backwards seize him, he also decided he would like ultimately to run an ultramarathon backwards, and ideally aim for a world record. As a first step (which for many of us would be the ultimate goal!) he wanted to run the London Marathon.
“He regularly ran between St Albans and Luton, and completed the full marathon distance at least twice. On the day of the marathon we joined the throng of people converging on the Greenwich start, having navigated across London – Thameslink having stopped trains at West Hampstead because of planned engineering work!
“Khan vanished into the crowd and my wife and I headed for the Cutty Sark to wait for him to come past.
“Eventually and right on time he did, running easily and looking over his shoulder to gauge his path. He did not have anyone running with him, but told us later that all along other runners looked out for him and warned him of obstructions.
“The marathon spirit and atmosphere was incredible. The parts of the course where the road narrowed were challenging, since the runners were more closely packed together. We next saw him at mile 25 where he waved happily, still making a good pace. He is now planning his next marathon, having learned a great deal in this one.”
Khan completed the London Marathon for the Meningitis Research Foundation, and has so far raised more than £2,300. You can still sponsor his efforts at https://www.justgiving.com/page/hosein-khanzadeh-1702971670914
