A runner in a red athletic outfit raises both arms in celebration while running on a sunny roadside path bordered by a white fence, with grassy hills and light traffic in the background.
A runner in a neon yellow tank top and red shorts raises both arms triumphantly as they cross the Ventura Marathon finish line, surrounded by cheering spectators and red race barriers.

Hi I’m Santhosh Kundukulangara and I’m running the 2026 London Marathon as part of #TEAMVICTA. I’m into Bonsai’s and I collect Vinyl (I’m a big time heavy metal / hard rock fan!)

When it came time to run the 2026 London Marathon for charity, I decided I should do something for children, so that they have opportunities to access sport and found Team VICTA. I’m aiming for 3hrs 10 mins in London, as long as the weather stays cool.

I was born in the Southern state of Kerala, India. Although in India, cricket and football are the most played sports, I enjoyed athletics. My favourite events were high jump (though I’m not a tall chap) and sprints. In 10th grade, I decided to try long-distance running. I was selected into the athletics team for 3000 meters since no one else applied for it! I trained (self-coached) for couple of months for the competition. I ran my first long distance race in 1989 and was placed 7th in the district!

Fast forward to 2015 I moved to Los Angeles, California, USA with my family. It was boring to just jog daily, so a couple of my friends who are marathoners suggested that I try 5K competitions. I did my first 5k in 2016 at Long Beach without much training and finished under 30 mins. That got me going and I registered for my first 10K race at the Laguna Beach couple of months later. Again, without much training I got my first 10K done in under an hour.

I’ve felt hooked on running ever since and decided to run more 10Ks. During one of those races, I got injured and it was the dreaded stress fracture to my right tibia. I was in serious pain and was unable to even walk properly. For the next six months I had to sit out from running as per the sport medical doctors. During that period, I learned more about distance running – watching videos on YouTube, reading as much as possible about endurance running and following elite distance runners on social media. I learned about gait analysis, pronation, shoe rotation, strength training, various running workouts, need for rest and proper diet etc.

Fast forward to 2018, after coming out of the injury, I ran my first half marathon under 2hrs. After doing a couple more half marathons, I decided to jump into the world of marathon running in 2020. Unfortunately, Covid-19 struck and all in-person races were cancelled or postponed. I was given the opportunity to do it virtually and ran 26.2 miles one early weekend morning in my neighbourhood. I sent the data to race organisers and they mailed me the finishers medal and t-shirt. I ran two more local marathons after the Covid-19 and my first world major marathon in NYC 2022. I survived the brutal heat and humidity there.

In 2023 I ran the Chicago Marathon and got my marathon PR and also qualified for Boston. In 2024 when I turned 50, I decided to do a 50K Ultra and to my surprise I won it!

I’m self-coached and have set up a gym at home to help with my training. I’ve done 14 marathons including 4 World Majors and 1 Ultra Marathon in the span of 5 years. London 2026 will be my 5th WMM. I plan to do Boston as my 6th WMM.

That’s my 5K to 50K journey so far!

A marathon finisher wearing a colourful Tokyo Marathon 2025 poncho and a white cap holds up a medal and makes a peace sign, standing outdoors on a bright sunny day with tall buildings and other runners in the background.
A runner dressed for cold weather stands on a wet residential street wearing a blue beanie, a grey and navy running jacket with reflective stripes, shorts, and white running shoes, with houses and overcast skies behind him.

Best of luck to Santhosh in the 2026 TCS London Marathon! If you have a story to share, drop us an email at fundraising@victa.org.uk.