With 14.7% of finishers breaking three hours, Abingdon has recorded Britain's highest sub-3 percentage of 2026 so far, continuing a remarkable tradition stretching back more than four decades.

While the world’s biggest marathons compete to attract tens of thousands of runners, an altogether smaller race in the leafy Oxfordshire countryside continues to produce some of Britain’s most impressive sub-three-hour statistics. The Abingdon Marathon welcomed 1,023 finishers on Sunday, 18 October, with 150 breaking three hours, giving it a remarkable sub-3 rate of 14.7%.