LISTEN: Sebastian Coe calls into talkSPORT to join Drivetime London Marathon debate

Sebastian Coe joined Drivetime on Monday to share his view on the London Marathon, with Adrian Durham and Darren Gough questioning the yearly run.

With Ade and Goughy debating the point of the London Marathon, Lord Coe phoned the boys up to insist that it is a worthwhile event - and an excellent spectacle.

However, he was not without criticism of the run.

Although praising charity runners and amateurs, Lord Coe believes the UK’s professional club runners are struggling right now - having made no real improvement since the 1970s!

Asked whether the London Marathon is to blame for the poor state of UK club running, and if it has been dumbed down so far to cater to the everyday runner, Lord Coe shared his opinion.

He said: “When we didn’t have mass runs, it appeared to me that we had better elite level marathon runners.

“But, perversely, the more we’ve gone to mass runs and mass participation - which is a good thing - we’ve almost gone in the other direction in the marathon runners.”

“I feel like we’ve slightly lost the mystery around the top level competitor in the UK.

“I worry slightly, given what else we’ve done in British Athletics, that that is the event which hasn’t moved on that much. It’s slightly perverse that we’ve got more people running than before but the top times in the UK haven’t progressed at all in the last 35 to 40 years.”

Listen to the full interview with Lord Coe above.