World Darts Championship 2026: Alan Soutar’s Marathon Match Prepares Him for London Marathon

Scot Alan Soutar survived a marathon first-round match at the 2026 World Darts Championship, beating Finnish qualifier Teemu Harju 3-2, finally clinching the winning double after missing 15 match darts. 

The 72-minute clash, broadcast live on Sky Sports, was the longest match of the opening round so far.

Training for the London Marathon

Funnily enough, Soutar also revealed how he’ll be participating in the 2026 London Marathon next year, joking that the long match on the famous Ally Pally stage might have been perfect preparation for his next endurance challenge.

The 47-year-old, a full-time firefighter as well as a professional darts player, is running in support of Guide Dogs Scotland. 

Despite his active lifestyle, Soutar is not a regular runner, but he’s embracing the 26.2 miles as a personal challenge alongside his manager Paul.

"It's good. I run at work obviously I’m still a firefighter, so I go on the treadmill and do a bit of running, but I'm doing it with my darts manager and he's a little bit older than me and does no fitness at all," he told SportsBoom.co.uk. 

“We've already agreed that we're going to do it together and no matter what we're going to cross line together."

"I think I'll have to go back to my commando days and drag him round."

‘Soots’ served in the British Army's 29 Commando Regiment Royal Artillery, completing his Commando course around age 17/18 in the mid-90s. He was deployed to conflict zones including Northern Ireland, Kosovo, and Bosnia in the late 90s.

Raising Guide Dogs

Soutar and his wife Amanda have been raising puppies to become guide dogs for over eight years, taking a new puppy each year and training them as they grow. 

Once trained, the dogs are returned to the national training centre to help blind and partially sighted people.

"But if we can raise 5, 10, 15 grand for Guide Dog Scotland, then I'm happy. It might change someone's life.”

The Perfect “Training” Match

When asked if the 72-minute match against Harju might have helped him prepare for the marathon, Soutar joked about the steps he racked up on the oche.

“I was getting my steps in, wasn’t I? My watch was going crazy. It’s like how many steps do you want to do, just get this finished. You’re overtraining, you’re overtraining,” he laughed.

Marathon Experience and Goals

We then asked if he’d ever done a marathon before, and if he had any time expectations.

“I've done half marathons, I was a commando soldier, so I’ve done 30 milers. But that was over 20 years ago.”

“If we do it in under five hours, I think we’ll probably go around in four, maybe four and a half, then I’ll be happy with that.”

Soutar reinforced his reputation as arguably the ‘fittest man in darts’, joking that if he ran solo, he might achieve a sub-3.30 time, a remarkable prospect for a sport not traditionally associated with heavy fitness or stamina.

“I could probably do it in 3 hours 30 minutes, maybe a bit better. But like I said, me and Paul are going to do it together and I want him to do his best.”

“I’m going to drag him around and change his life for a little bit over the next couple of months because it’s only four months away,” he concluded.