Dain becomes the first person to hold the prestigious role following a restructuring of the London Marathon staffing structure.

The restructuring caused former head of press Nicola Okey to step down from her position after 12 years at the organisation in order to accommodate this new role.

Dain is a sports communications specialist who has directed communications and media operations for international sports federations and major events worldwide.

During her career, she has worked on more than 200 major events, including seven Olympic Games and currently leads on communications for Prudential RideLondon, the world's greatest festival of cycling involving 90,000 riders in five events.

Other clients have included the International Skating Union, the World Rowing Federation, tBritish Rowing, the World Student Games and Goodwill Games.

"We are delighted that Penny has joined The London Marathon Ltd," said Nick Bitel, chief executive of The London Marathon Ltd.

"Her strategic experience, wealth of knowledge in both elite and mass participation events and her proven ability to lead a multi-stakeholder environment meant that she was the outstanding candidate."

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