Here's how to watch the London Marathon 2023 from anywhere, with live streams and free options.
This year's London Marathon elite line up is quite special. It's Sir Mo Farah's last marathon (“This won’t be my last race, but it will be my last marathon," he said), and four of the fastest male long-distance runners in history to go head-to-head – but which one will come out on top?
The star studded line up include Kenenisa Bekele (ETH), the second-fastest man ever with a PB of 2:01:41, and Kelvin Kiptum (KEN), the winner of the 2022 Valencia Marathon and the fastest marathon debutant in history (2:01:53). Also present are Birhanu Legese (ETH, PB 2:02:48) and Mosinet Geremew (ETH, PB 2:02:55), making London of the most exciting marathon majors this year.
Among the top females are the defending champion and world 10K record holder Yalemzerf Yehualaw (ETH), the marathon world record holder Brigid Kosgei (KEN) and the Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir (KEN). Yehualaw said her "preparations have gone very well,” so there is hope we'll see a superb battle for the first place!
The BBC forecasts "light rain and gentle breeze" for Sunday, with lows of 9°C and highs of 13°C. As long as there aren't any major downpours, the weather looks perfect for a good race!
According to the London Marathon website, 197 countries will have some sort of coverage of the event, with BBC showing the TCS London Marathon across BBC1, BBC2, Online, iPlayer and Red Button on Sunday, 23 April 2023.
We're sure you'll be inspired to take up running after watching the London Marathon 2023, so check out T3's best running shoes and best women's running shoe roundups. We also have a guide for the best running headphones and the best running watches – essential running gear for training and racing.
Anyway, back to how to watch the London Marathon 2023. There are various free options; if you can't access them the usual way, you can use a VPN to bypass geo-restrictions.
How to follow the London Marathon 2023 from anywhere in the world for free
One of the best (and cheapest) ways to follow the action on the London Marathon 2023 is to download the London Marathon app (Android / Apple). You can track participants’ progress, keep up-to-date with the Elite Leaderboard, and find results in the app. Get more information about the app here (links to the London Marathon website).
Please note: You will need to download the new 2023 Official TCS London Marathon App, so if you have the 2022 version, please delete it now.
What time does the London Marathon 2023 start?
The London Marathon 2023 takes place on Sunday, 23 April 2023, and the starting times are as follows:
08.30am BST: Mini London marathon
08.50am: Elite wheelchair races
09.00am: Elite women's race
09.30am: Elite men's race and mass start
[CHECK START TIMES]
- Mini London Marathon: 8:30 AM BST/ 9:30 AM CET/ 0:30 AM PT/ 3:30 AM ET
- Elite wheelchair races: 8:50 AM BST/ 9:350 AM CET/ 0:50 AM PT/ 3:50 AM ET
- Elite women's race: 9:00 AM BST/ 10:00 AM CET/ 1:00 AM PT/ 4:00 AM ET
- Elite men's race and mass start: 9:30 AM BST/ 10:30 AM CET/ 1:30 AM PT/ 4:30 AM ET
The official cut-off time for the London Marathon 2023 is eight hours. A specially recruited group of 50 ‘Tailwalkers’ will move along the entire London Marathon route at an eight-hour pace, starting at the back of the final wave on all three starts: Blue, Green and Red. If you’re unable to maintain this pace, a Tailwalker will drop back, move with you onto the pavement and support and guide you through to the Finish Line at whatever pace you’re able to maintain.
How to watch the London Marathon 2023 in the UK
The BBC's schedule for Sunday 23 April 2023 is as follows:
Coverage starts on BBC One, BBC iPlayer and online at 08:30 BST. According to BBC, presenter Gabby Logan will be joined by special guests and celebrities throughout the day, with commentary provided by Steve Cram, Andrew Cotter, Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson and Paula Radcliffe.
Programming will also be available on the iPlayer and behind the Red Button.
How to watch the London Marathon 2023 from anywhere else in the world
If you live anywhere else in the world or are out of the UK on holiday or business, you can still get access to the live stream - simply use the best VPN around to get past those geo-restrictions. A streaming VPN is a very handy thing, as it means you can hop on a server within the US, UK or anywhere else, and it will switch your IP address to make it appear as if you're browsing right from the comfort of your own home.
- VPN - standing for virtual private network - offers security and anonymity as you browse online, using set protocols to encrypt your data and make it unreadable to outsiders.
- As a part of that, you can also switch your IP address, which identifies your location.
- Most VPNs offer a list of locations where their servers are based to join. Connecting to them switches your IP to appear as if you're browsing from that country/city. In turn, you can then access content locked to that country.
- When it comes to finding a VPN, you should make sure you find the best one that's suitable for your chosen device, with VPN providers offering compatibility for a ton of devices, including VPN for Mac and even a range of fairly nifty free VPNs.
- Once you've made the decision for the most suitable VPN for your device and your means for using a VPN, sign-up and install it.
- To live stream Wimbledon 2022, all you need to do is select a UK server from its list of available servers and connect. You'll then be able to hop over those geo-restrictions, with the likes of BBC iPlayer opening its online gates to you.
- We also want to ensure your money is well spent, so we would recommend going for a VPN that offers a risk-free trial. ExpressVPN is one of many providers that has a 30-day money-back guarantee.
- New to VPN? Find out how to use a VPN to unblock geo-restrictions
