Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe finishes London Marathon in just over 4 hours

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe had “a great day” in London Sunday when he ran in the marathon. (Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe/ X)

Ottawa Mayor Mark Sutcliffe had “a great day” in London Sunday when he ran in the marathon.

“Thanks to all the Ottawa residents who encouraged me and wished me good luck over the past few weeks,” said Sutcliffe on X. “Congratulations to all other runners from Ottawa who participated today!”

The London Marathon is the second-largest annual road race in the UK. Thousands of participants from around the world take part. 

Earlier this month, the capital's mayor defended his trip to London at a media availiability after a city council meeting, saying expenses related to the trip will be paid for out of his own pocket.

"There's a huge opportunity here to promote Ottawa as a tourist destination," Sutcliffe told reporters. 

"Throughout the history of Ottawa, we have had these missions like this before, previous mayors have gone to places like Beijing and the Netherlands."

Meanwhile, Ottawa Tourism said it will also be paying for Sutcliffe's travel and accommodation expenses, citing the importance of the trip, as it demonstrates Ottawa's strength as a destination to business and leisure travellers.

Last September, Sutcliffe fulfilled another “longtime goal,” running in the Berlin Marathon.

Though the original plan was to run in 2019, the mayor’s work schedule, the COVID-19 pandemic and the elections made it difficult to stick to the initial plan, he said at the time on X.

“I'm very excited to be running on Sunday, along with thousands of runners from around,” read the post.

Ottawa’s 56-year-old mayor is an avid runner. He has completed 41 marathons since 2004.

With files from CTV News Ottawa's Ted Raymond and William Eltherington