Marathon Running

From coastal training runs to seventeen start lines.

Mr Chipperfield didn't come to running early. His first runs were along the coastal roads near his home in Kent at the age of 46, and his first marathon followed in 2020. Since then the habit has taken on a life of its own: 17 marathons completed to date and counting, including five in 2026 alone, his busiest year yet.

He's open about the fact that running isn't something he'd describe as enjoying in the purest sense. It's the challenge and the discipline of training that keeps him coming back, along with what he's happily called being “medal-orientated.” Early competitive years chasing a personal best gave way to his current approach: nearly every marathon completed in under four hours, but now run more for the atmosphere and the city than the clock.

Training happens where it can around a full surgical list, which for a high-volume hip and knee surgeon often means early mornings or evening runs rather than a fixed daytime schedule. It's a routine plenty of his own patients, fitting exercise around work and family, will recognise.