A record-breaking tide of runners are set to participate in the London Marathon this morning, with tens of thousands of people taking to the streets of the capital for the landmark race.
Marathon organisers TCS expect more than 56,000 people to run the 26.2 mile course through the city today, among them celebrities, MPs and a duo dressed as a slinky dog. The vast numbers are expected to surpass the roughly 55,646 finishers of the New York Marathon in November, and will be accompanied by many thousands more people cheering them on both in person and from home, with massive television coverage following the throngs through the city.
Live coverage of the race will start at 8.30 this morning, with BBC One carrying the main race until around 2pm, when it will switch to BBC Two. People can also tune into our own coverage here, as we will be blogging the event in detail from start to finish.
Today’s route will see runners line up at a starting point in Greenwich park and continue across the city until they end up at The Mall and pass Buckingham Palace. The 26.2 miles will take them over a mostly flat course and past several other London landmarks, including Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and Big Ben, with most people expected to take around four hours to finish running.
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