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  • Summary

  • Please note: contains strong language and adult content.

    Monologues, sketches and stories set at the Virgin Money London Marathon, narrated by some of the biggest and best names in comedy.

    Tens of thousands of runners descend on London for one of the biggest events of the year... but there's a lot more to the Virgin Money London Marathon than just running.

    Over thirteen episodes crammed with some of comedy's brightesttalents and the oddcelebrity cameo, we get inside the minds of: a man who's entered the race by accident; an aunt being blackmailed by her niece; a ghost doomed to haunt the course for eternity; a woman who develops an unusual relationship with her phone; and a couple who are about to get engaged with disastrous consequences... among many others.

    Hosted by Mark Watson and featuring Ricky Gervais, Sara Pascoe, David Baddiel, Adam Kay, Angela Barnes, Rufus Hound, London Hughes and dozens more, this is a 'day in the life' comedy ride through the famous race.

    This is an Audible Original Podcast. Free for members. You can download all 13 episodes to your Library now.
    ©2019 Audible, Ltd. (P)2019 Audible, Ltd.
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Episodes
  • Ep. 1: Yakking Away

    Ep. 1: Yakking Away
    Feb 28 2019

    Featured in this episode:

    ANCHORS | Mark Watson, Jan Ravens

    MILE ONE Greenwich Park | Adam Kay

    MILE TWO Fairfield Grove | Sara Pascoe

    At the start of the Virgin Money London Marathon, not everyone is enjoying it. A runner in a novelty animal costume instantly regrets his choice, while an aunt struggles to stop her niece from wrecking the race.
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    30 mins
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  • Ep. 2: Best Laid Plans

    Ep. 2: Best Laid Plans
    Feb 28 2019

    Featured in this episode:

    ANCHORS | Mark Watson, Lloyd Woolf

    MILE THREE John Wilson Street | Derren Brown, John-Luke Roberts

    MILE FOUR Swan Hotel | Emily Atack

    Famous mind-reader Derren Brown is recording a special at the Virgin Money London Marathon, but for once his magical powers don’t seem to be working out. Meanwhile, one runner isn’t going to make it to the start line.
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    22 mins
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  • Ep. 3: What are Friends For?

    Ep. 3: What are Friends For?
    Feb 28 2019

    Featured in this episode:

    MILE FIVE Woolwich Road | Jordan Stephens

    RUNNING APP | Mark Watson 

    MILE SIX Cutty Sark | Sofie Hagen, Desiree Burch

    A man causes chaos among the runners by looking for his friend Jeff, and that chaos throws two runners into a surprising friendship... although it’s not a pleasant surprise for one of them.
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    28 mins
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Humorous
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What listeners say about Mark Watson's Comedy Marathon

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 3 out of 5 stars
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  • 4 Stars
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  • 2 Stars
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  • 1 Stars
    59

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Paul Matthews

Bloody brilliant!

Watson has brought together an amazing amount of comedy talent and given them astonishingly good monologues. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but after listening to the first episode I went straight on to the next six! Really, really funny and the little twists that come in later episodes are excellent!

8 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for H L

Follow the yak – he's got your back

Part "coverage" of the London Marathon, part eavesdropping on conversations and internal monologues of the runners, spectators, even the people handing out the water bottles – I'm really enjoying this series so far.

Episode one has a runner upset at how few sponsors he's got, and an aunt struggling to cope with a devious niece waiting for her mum to run past.

Brilliantly performed by the cast, and wonderfully written. Touching, funny, relatable and surreal – well worth a listen.

8 people found this helpful

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    1 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    1 out of 5 stars
Profile Image for Andy

Dreadful

Really badly written, didn't crack a smile after 3 episodes. Gave up. Glad I didn't have to pay!

3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Dan

very funny

first episode was pretty good, second was even better - thought the Derren Brown bit was exceptional, really made me chuckle!

3 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Vix

Something for everyone

Hugely talented cast and a really fun premise - realistically relatable in parts alongside some more surreal characters, that hang together thanks to the clever writing. Mark is excellent at creating fully realised individuals within minutes and it had a good balance of clever imagery and sound to evoke the spirit of the race alongside some big laughs from the narrative (episode 5 was my stand out favourite)

Picks up pace as it goes along, like a real marathon, and a really strong finish - even if it doesn’t inspire me to run a real one.

7 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Delyth Jones

Excellent Comedy Series - loved it!

This is a brilliant series of comedy episodes on an ambitious scale, typical of Mark Watson’s skilful writing and amazing ability to invent extraordinary stories. It’s laugh-out-loud funny with a brilliant and varied cast. The production values are excellent too. The intertwining stories and genuinely hilarious characters make it a really rewarding listen. I can’t recommend this highly enough.

10 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for Mr. P. S. Breen

Comic Genius...

Mark Watson is a comic genius. This is among his best work. Hilarious, sharp, tender and in places quite moving. What a gift this series is. A must for all runners.

9 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for fat man

Iittle nugget of chuckles

Just a fun little radio show, following the London marathon. Well written, performed beautifully.
Just give it a go

2 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for Daniel Woodrow

Brilliant!

Top work from Mark Watson! A fantastic cast, incredible writing and funny, thoughtful stories - I could have happily listened to all six hours in one go.

5 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for amy

Loved it

Great idea, well executed. An absolute joy! Listened to it in my car, whilst *pretending* I was fit enough to run a marathon.

2 people found this helpful

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Profile Image for Karen
  • Karen
  • 22-01-21

Creative, Thoughtful Humor

I now want to run a marathon just to see all my amusing flaws and to potentially hear what my shoes think.

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    1 out of 5 stars
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Profile Image for TJMAN
  • TJMAN
  • 24-11-20

Is this supposed to be funny?

This is an even remotely amusing it’s more just stupid if you ever wanted to dumb down your brain just listen to this crap! It’s a sad waste of time. what a waste!