16,195

Reporter:Hello Jim. I’m from your local newspaper the "Dally Post" and I’d like to ask you some questions about the London marathon race that you’ve just finished.
Jim:    That’s right. What would you like to know?
Reporter: Firstly, for the benefit of our readers, exactly how long is the marathon?
Jim:    It’s 26 miles 385 yards ,or if you’d like it in metric it’s 42,195 kilometers.
Reporter:Thanks. Now how many runners were there altogether?
Jim:    More than ever this year... there were 16,417.
Reporter:My goodness,that’s a lot! What position did you finish in the race,Jim?
Jim:    Well,I’m quite pleased with my performance. I came 2,014th.
Reporter:That’s better than last year,isn’t it?
Jim:     Yes,I finished 3,470th then — but it was my first effort.
Reporter:By the way,what time did the race start today?
Jim:    9 o’clock. And the winner finished at 11:30.
Reporter:So he took two and a half hours. That’s excellent. How long did you take?
Jim:    Three and three quarter hours — but I know I can do better. Did you know that the record is 2 hours 10 m nutes ?
Reporter:I didn’t know. That’s fantastic! Do you know how long the slowest runner took?
Jim:    No... he hasn’t finished yet!