18: Marcus Brown, the founder of One Percent Running Club, pushing for greater diversity at the top end

London is one of the most diverse and vibrant cities in the world, but only about 5% of the championship or “good for age” places for London Marathon are filled by runners from ethnic minorities.

Marcus Brown is making strides to change that. He is the founder of One percent Running Club, which aims to bridge the gap between traditional athletics clubs and run crews, creating a space where runners from diverse backgrounds feel comfortable chasing performance goals. Marcus is also the host of A Runner’s Life podcast and a six-star finisher of the Abbott World Marathon Majors.

We chat about accessibility and diversity in running, what he thinks of Sydney being added to the Abbott World Marathon Majors and how he’s progressed from being a 4:55 marathoner to breaking 3 hours a total of nine times.

Marcus’ recommendation: Still I Rise by Maya Angelou

Marcus’ Instagram: @marcus1rc

A Runner’s Life podcast: Spotify

Run With It Instagram: @runwithit.pod

Elise’s Instagram: @elisebeacom

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Intro/outro music by Dan Beacom

Graphic design by Kate Scheer