Sky Sports Tennis’ Laura Robson has trained from Melbourne, Milan Cortina to Miami but the former British No 1 is tapering down for the London Marathon in April.
The former Junior Wimbledon champion has been busy in her role as television presenter and analyst since the start of 2026, but she has had to make time for training runs from the heat of Melbourne during the Australian Open, to sub-zero temperatures at the Winter Olympics, and inclement weather at the Miami Open.
Robson is now back in the UK and ready to take on the 26.2-mile (42.2 km) race starting in Greenwich/Blackheath, passing major landmarks like the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf, before finishing on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
“I am training for the London Marathon and it’s brutal! I don’t know why people do this,” said Robson, when she spoke after returning from the Winter Olympics.
“The problem is I keep telling too many people the time I want to get. My Garmin and Strava seem to think I have a sub-3:30 in me, which I’m not sure that I have. I would be very happy with a sub-3:40.
“Somehow, I’ve managed to keep up with the training in both Australia and Milano Cortina which was a lot of treadmill, running in the snow. I was telling myself I was at altitude and now that I’m back home, I feel like I’ve actually lost the motivation because it’s too easy to not do it.
“I could just sit in my house right now but it’s going to creep on me very fast, but I’ll be happy when it’s over.”
We put a few key questions to her after her time in Miami with Sky Sports:
Are you on a special diet?
Runners make their way over the start line during the London Marathon
“There’s no special diet, just carbs. I’m trying to eat a lot of rice and I’m having a lot more electrolytes than I usually would to make sure I’m hydrated as well.”
Have you been getting any advice?
“There are a couple of guys I play Padel with who are very, very fast. I’ve been asking them how you figure out your marathon pace.
“They’ve been quite reassuring, telling me not to panic if you don’t hit certain targets on certain days but I think it’s about consistency more than anything else.”
Anything you wish you could have done more?
“I wish I was running with more people but unfortunately with work, that hasn’t panned out very well, so a lot of runs by myself.
“When I’m at home it’s a lot easier, so I’ve got a couple of people joining me with my long runs, but I wish in Miami when I did my 35km that someone had joined me.”
What are you most looking forward to when running?
A mass participation race goes over Tower Bridge during the London Marathon
“I would say the atmosphere. I went to watch it in person last year to support my friend and it was such good vibes. So many emotions, highs and lows but so much good morale. I’m looking forward to that.
“In general I’ll be looking forward to the last kilometre just to know that’s it’s almost done and then I won’t have to do any more training but no specific landmarks specifically.
“I’m just excited to be over and done with now. It’s my biggest week of training before I start to taper.”
What charity are you running for?
The London Marathon route passes St Paul’s Cathedral in the final stages of the race
The charity is Give It Your Max, a small tennis charity that do free lessons in schools as well as breakfast and after school clubs for kids picking up the sport for the first time.
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