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Veteran runner's face mapped in marathon tribute

Chris Slegg & James W Kelly
BBC News
Timothy Lewin A Strava route traced over a map of London outlines the face of a bearded man Bill O'Connor, resembling a caricature, with “London” marked at his chin.Timothy Lewin
The Queens Park Harriers have paid tribute to club president Bill O'Connor

A running club has paid tribute to one of its presidents - who has taken part in every London Marathon - with a Strava running route portrait.

Bill O'Connor, of the Queens Park Harriers in Willesden, north-west London, was 35 when he took part in the capital's first marathon in 1981 and will be 79 when he takes part in Sunday's 26.2-mile race.

Asked if running the marathon had got harder with the passage of time, the North Finchley resident told BBC London: "It got slower."

After the 15th marathon in 1995, Mr O'Connor and 41 others who had completed every marathon up to that point were granted a lifetime place – six of those people are still competing.

Bill O'Connor is seen with white hair and a beard stands smiling on a sunny residential street. He’s wearing a red and white striped running vest and has a jacket around his arms.
Bill O'Connor has been described as a "huge inspiration"

"It's amazing to think the course is basically still the same we started out with in 1981," said Mr O'Connor, who moved to London from New Zealand in the 1970s.

While the route remains the same, he said the landscape had changed, with the east London of the 1980s being "derelict land you could've bought for a couple of quid".

The Queens Park Harriers decided to mark Mr O'Connor's feat by running a route that results in artwork loosely resembling their club president's face.

Club member Roma Denetto, who will run her first London Marathon on Sunday, said Mr O'Connor was a "huge inspiration".

A silver 1981 London Marathon medal rests on a wooden surface. It features a map of the race route and is engraved with "THE GILLETTE," the name "W.O. CONNOR," and the time "2:35:52."
Mr O'Connor says of all the medals, he still values his first the most of all

"Training for one marathon is hard enough; I can't imagine what it's like to do that every year for 45 years," she said.

Gavin O'Sullivan said Mr O'Connor had been a key figure in the Queens Park Harriers.

"It's through people like Bill that clubs like ours can continue," he said.

Mr O'Connor said he would like to make it to his 50th London Marathon, but as he approached 80 he needed to "take it year by year".

"[The London Marathon] has an atmosphere of its own," he added.

"The friendliness, the friendship, and you know it's going to be a great day regardless of the weather."

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