{"id":2214,"date":"2025-04-28T02:02:53","date_gmt":"2025-04-28T02:02:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/furqan-masood-leads-pakistans-charge-at-2025-london-marathon\/"},"modified":"2025-04-28T02:02:53","modified_gmt":"2025-04-28T02:02:53","slug":"furqan-masood-leads-pakistans-charge-at-2025-london-marathon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/2025\/04\/28\/furqan-masood-leads-pakistans-charge-at-2025-london-marathon\/","title":{"rendered":"Furqan Masood leads Pakistan&#8217;s charge at 2025 London Marathon"},"content":{"rendered":"<p> <br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<div class=\"medium-insert-images ui-sortable\">\n<figure contenteditable=\"false\">\n    <img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geo.tv\/assets\/uploads\/updates\/2025-04-27\/602116_470433_updates.jpg\" alt=\"Pakistani runner Furqan Masood at 2025 London Marathon. \u2014 Reporter\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" class=\"\"\/><figcaption contenteditable=\"true\" class=\"\">Pakistani runner Furqan Masood at 2025 London Marathon. \u2014 Reporter\u00a0<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>Over 40 Pakistani runners and members of the diaspora represented Pakistan at the 2025 London Marathon, with Furqan Masood from Islamabad emerging as the fastest among them, completing the race in an impressive 3 hours, 10 minutes, and 7 seconds.<\/p>\n<p>The 2025 London Marathon saw a strong contingent of Pakistani runners and diaspora members. <\/p>\n<p>Furqan Masood\u2019s performance, marked by steady pacing early on before battling fatigue in the latter stages, highlighted the determination of amateur athletes representing Pakistan on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>Masood, running with the Islamabad Running Club, maintained a strong start, clocking 20:44 for the first 5K and 42:09 at the 10K mark. <\/p>\n<p>However, the rising temperatures and grueling course took a toll, as his splits slowed in the second half, particularly after the 30K mark, where he faced a challenging 23:02 segment between 25K and 30K. <\/p>\n<p>Despite the struggle, he pushed through the final split in 24:14, crossing the finish line in 4,460th place overall in an event that saw over 56,000 runners<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;Crossing the finish line at the London Marathon was a deeply humbling experience. The energy of the crowd and the incredible support from my club, IRC, and the Pakistani community truly lifted my spirits,\u201d Furqan told <i>Geo News <\/i>after his run.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cToday\u2019s run was particularly tough, with the course much hotter than usual, making it a real test of endurance. We are not professional runners; our purpose in participating in such prestigious international events is to inspire people back home in Pakistan. We want to show that running can be more than just a sport, it can be a hobby, a passion, and a way to lead a healthier lifestyle,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>Close behind Masood was USA-based Salman Ilyas, finishing in 3:18:33, followed by Norway-based Muhammad Fasih Saleh (3:21:54) and Hamza Saleem (3:23:10). Shah Syed, another Pakistani runner, delivered a near-identical time of 3:23:12, showcasing the competitive spirit among the group.<\/p>\n<p>Norwegian-Pakistani runner Amy Mir was the fastest woman of Pakistani origin, completing the race in 3:52:00. Despite limited training, she embraced the challenge with enthusiasm. &#8220;I hadn\u2019t trained beyond 17K, but the energy of the crowd was unbelievable,&#8221; Mir said as she completed her first ever marathon. <\/p>\n<div class=\"medium-insert-images ui-sortable\">\n<figure contenteditable=\"false\">\n    <img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.geo.tv\/assets\/uploads\/updates\/2025-04-27\/602116_4211654_updates.jpg\" alt=\"\u2014 Reporter\" width=\"700\" height=\"400\" class=\"\"\/><figcaption contenteditable=\"true\" class=\"\">\u2014 Reporter<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>The event also marked a historic milestone for Lahore\u2019s Hamid Butt, 64, who became the first Pakistani to twice complete the Abbott World Marathon Majors \u2014 Tokyo, Boston, London, Berlin, Chicago, and New York \u2014 earning his second six-star medal with a time of 3:41:45.<\/p>\n<p>In the elite races, Kenya\u2019s Sabastian Sawe dominated the men\u2019s division in 2:02:27, while Ethiopia\u2019s Tigst Assefa set a blistering pace in the women\u2019s race, winning in 2:15:50.<\/p>\n<p>Pakistani runners\u2019 full results at London Marathon 2025:<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tFurqan Masood \u2013 3:10:07<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSalman Ilyas \u2013 3:18:33<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMuhammad Fasih Saleh \u2013 3:21:54<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tHamza Saleem \u2013 3:23:10<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tShah Syed\u2013 3:23:12<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tHamid Butt \u2013 3:41:45<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tRaees Ebrahim \u2013 3:42:46<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAamar Butt) \u2013 3:50:10<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAmy Mir (Norway \u2013 3:52:00<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAdnan Ozair \u2013 3:52:23<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tImran Khan \u2013 4:02:46<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tZaheer Akbar \u2013 4:05:24<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAtiq Ul Hasan \u2013 4:09:43<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAbu-Bakr Mohammad Afzal \u2013 4:12:44<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tHaseeb Usmani \u2013 4:20:20<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tHira Diwan \u2013 4:25:33<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAlai Naseer \u2013 4:28:33<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tKamran Abbasi \u2013 4:31:38<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tRaja Arif Ullah Khan \u2013 4:35:29<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tImran Zaffar &#8211; 4:37:11<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tShakeel Khan \u2013 4:38:27<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tNadeem Iqbal \u2013 4:44:05<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tKhalid Sheikh \u2013 4:52:11<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAyesha Akhtar \u2013 4:56:09<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMaria Adeel \u2013 5:09:59<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tTaha Ghafoor \u2013 5:10:43<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tFaisal Saif \u2013 5:12:50<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSemeena Khan \u2013 5:18:02<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tSaniya Zafar \u2013 5:23:01<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tJunaid Memon &#8211; 5:27:21<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tDanial Mumtaz \u2013 5:33:00<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAleena Ali \u2013 5:34:02<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tAhsan Ahmed \u2013 5:34:59<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMuhammad Yousuf Malik \u2013 5:35:49<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMona Khan (Pakistan) \u2013 5:35:50<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMaryam Zahra \u2013 5:36:49<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tHira Mufti \u2013 5:47:03<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMohammad Omar \u2013 5:49:44<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tZawar Khan \u2013 6:02:50<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tHamad Ali \u2013 6:04:11<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tMazhar Ibad Lari \u2013 6:25:00<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\tShazia Nawaz \u2013 6:30:34<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, at the Manchester Marathon, Karachi\u2019s Danish Raza and his son Abrar Ahmed finished together in 4:55, while UAE-based Azmat Khan led the Pakistani contingent there with a time of 3:15:48. Sadia Haq, another notable finisher, clocked 3:45:35.<\/p>\n<p>Ahmed Zubair, a British Pakistani doctor also completed this marathon. He reached the finish line in 6:37:52.<\/p>\n<p>The growing participation of Pakistani runners in global marathons reflects an increasing enthusiasm for long-distance running within the community, blending personal achievement with national pride.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n            setTimeout(function(){\n                var scriptElement=document.createElement('script');\n                scriptElement.type=\"text\/javascript\";\n                scriptElement.setAttribute=\"async\";\n                scriptElement.src=\"https:\/\/www.geo.tv\/assets\/front\/js\/lazysizes.min.js\";\n                document.body.appendChild(scriptElement);\n            }, 1000);\n            \/\/setTimeout(function(){ $('.medium-insert-images').find('figure').show() }, 3000);\n            var loadDeferredJS = function() {\n              var lazyloadjs = ['https:\/\/www.geo.tv\/assets\/front\/js\/lazysizes.min.js'];\n              var alljs = 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<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Pakistani runner Furqan Masood at 2025 London Marathon. \u2014 Reporter\u00a0 Over 40 Pakistani runners and members of the diaspora represented Pakistan at the 2025 London Marathon, with Furqan Masood from Islamabad emerging as the fastest among them, completing the race in an impressive 3 hours, 10 minutes, and 7 seconds. The 2025 London Marathon saw [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2215,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2214","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-latest"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2214"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2214\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2215"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2214"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2214"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/timesofpakistan.tv\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2214"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}