The London Marathon is one of the highlights of the running calendar and whether you’re keen to follow the elite race or track friends and family making their way around the London Marathon route, it’s a great event to watch live.
This year the women’s elite race looks particularly unmissable, with 10 athletes who have run sub 2hr 20min in the field including world record holder Tigist Assefa. Two-time London Marathon winner Brigid Kosgei and Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir are other notable names, as is Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who won the London Marathon in 2022.
On the men’s side the biggest name is Kenenisa Bekele, who is competing in his seventh London Marathon and aiming to win it for the first time, although at 41 he is perhaps more likely to set a masters record than win overall. The fastest men in the field based on recent results are Mosinet Geremew, Alexander Mutiso Munyao and Tamirat Tola, and last year’s runner-up Geoffrey Kamworor will also have eyes on the win.
The top Brits in the field include Becky Briggs, Alice Wright and Anya Culling in the women’s race, and Emile Cairess, Marc Scott and Callum Hawkins in the men’s. Cairess and Hawkins are both in the top five for fastest marathons by British runners ever, while Marc Scott is a debutant at the distance with impressive pedigree from shorter road and track events.
London Marathon Live Streams And TV Broadcasts
How To Watch The London Marathon In The UK
The BBC has been the broadcaster of the race since its first edition in 1981 and is offering extensive coverage of both the elite race and mass-participation event. Live coverage starts at 8.30am BST on BBC One and runs until 2pm, when it switches to BBC Two before finishing at 3pm. You can also watch the race online on iPlayer, with live streams running until 6pm. There are highlights from the race on BBC Two at 6pm.
If you’re tuning in to catch sight of someone you know, train your eyes on the live stream of the finish line, which last year was available via the red button and on iPlayer. Download the London Marathon tracker app to access predicted finish times for every runner, searchable by name or bib number.
How To Watch The London Marathon In The US, Canada And Australia
Live coverage of the London Marathon is available via FloTrack, with the broadcast starting at 4.10am ET. You can watch online and the FloTrack app, which is available on the App Store, Google Play, plus Roku and the Amazon Fire Stick. A FloTrack subscription costs USD$29.99 a month or USD$149.99 a year.
How To Watch The London Marathon From Outside Your Country Of Residence
The team at Coach stablemate TechRadar have tested VPNs extensively and recommend NordVPN, which is easy to set up and reliable. NordVPN also comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, so you can try it before committing to a longer plan.
London Marathon Details
When is the London Marathon 2024?
The London Marathon 2024 takes place on Sunday, April 21.
What time does the London Marathon start?
The Elite wheelchair race begins at 9.15am BST, followed by the Elite women at 9.25am. The Elite men and mass race start at 10am.
Where is the London Marathon route?
The London Marathon route starts from Greenwich Park in south-east London and takes runners along the River Thames to cross at Tower Bridge. From there runners head east to run around Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs before coming back past Tower Bridge and on to the finish on The Mall near Buckingham Palace.
