The Boston Marathon is the oldest annual marathon in the world and dates back to 1897, when it first ran after inspiration from the 1896 Olympics event.

As I'm a similar age I know it's easy to get carried away. The urge to prove something to oneself – which may indeed be a middle-aged male thing – is strong

We can't wait for... Starters' orders

Police are reviewing security arrangements for Sunday’s London Marathon in the wake of twin bomb attacks that left three dead at a race in Boston.

Paula Radcliffe has admitted she may never be able to compete again as she struggles to overcome a foot injury.

For an accident-prone "normal girl from Norfolk" who didn't run a serious race until she was 25, Chrissie Wellington has done pretty well for herself. A multiple world champion and record-holder, she remained unbeaten in 13 straight races at her chosen event, the Ironman triathlon, before her retirement in December.

The annual marathon race run through Gaza has been cancelled by the UN agency responsible for staging the event after Hamas said women would not be allowed to take part.

Doing something different is trending at racecourses, it seems. It was good to see Kauto Star strutting his new stuff under event rider Laura Collett in the parade ring at Newbury on Saturday, even if his so-called dressage display – a few basic flatwork moves at walk, trot and canter – has as much to do with top-level grand prix work as the Shetland pony grand national franchise that does the rounds of summer horse shows has to events at Aintree. The 13-year-old, though, apparently enjoyed being the focus of adulation as much as he ever did when with Paul Nicholls.

And now, in nice-man news, Mo Farah has run to the defence of an interviewer ridiculed for not realising she was talking to a double Olympic champion.

Mo Farah has been asked many questions by journalists since rising to fame by winning two gold medals at the London Olympics in the 5,000m and 10,000m. But none will have been as ill-researched as those posed by LaTonya Norton of New Orleans station WDSU.

Britain's Mo Farah outsprinted Ethiopia's Gebre Gebremariam to win the New Orleans half-marathon yesterday.

Strictly Come Dancing winner Louis Smith, comic Ronnie Corbett and supermodel Elle Macpherson are among the guests who will take part in Graham Norton's bid to set a new TV chat show record.

Benitez and Terry best of friends as Chelsea stroll

Paula Radcliffe might be baffled by Mo Farah's "half measure" approach to this year's London Marathon – he plans to drop out at the midpoint – but the fastest female marathon runner of all-time believes the double Olympic champion will take British men's marathon running back to the future when he tackles the full 26.2 mile distance for the first time next year. The British men's record has been stuck at 2 hours 07 minutes 13 seconds, the time achieved by Welshman Steve Jones, since October 1985. In Radcliffe's estimation, Farah is "well capable of running a 2hr 04min marathon".