Tens of thousands of London Marathon runners have set off from Greenwich Park as they take on this year’s gruelling 26.2-mile race.
More than 50,000 people - a record number - will be running through the capital on a dry and bright day with temperatures tipped to reach 12C.
Ahead of the race, a 30-second applause was held in memory of last year’s elite men’s race winner Kelvin Kiptum, who died in a car accident in February at the age of 24.
He set a new London Marathon record of two hours, one minute and 25 seconds last year with his third win, and set a new world record of two hours and 35 seconds in Chicago in October.
This year’s race will be the first time that wheelchair and non-disabled athletes have received the same prize money for a marathon.
All four winners of the elite races will receive £44,000, with the runner-up receiving £24,000 and third place £18,000.
David Weir, who will be racing his 25th consecutive London Marathon on Sunday and has won eight times, said he had not expected the change to happen in his lifetime.
THE 2024 TCS LONDON MARATHON IS AWAY! 🙌
— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 21, 2024
Dame Kelly Holmes gets us started with the elite men followed by around 50,000 mass participants all of who have their own unique story.
There's nothing like Marathon Day. 🎉#LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/w62w15buJs
Event director Hugh Brasher said the event will be “more inclusive than before” with support for more than 200 disabled participants as well as a faith space and a quiet space for neurodivergent participants in the finish area.
There are female urinals, sanitary products available for anyone who needs them, and a family support area which includes a private breastfeeding area.
Jasmin Paris, the first woman to complete the ultra-endurance Barkley Marathons, will start the elite women’s race at 9.25am on Sunday before Dame Kelly Holmes, who won two gold medals at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, starts the elite men’s race and mass event at 10am.
Among the runners will be 20 MPs and peers, the most in the event’s history, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Kym Marsh’s son-in-law, a Ted Lasso star, a former hostage in Iran, refugees and parents of children diagnosed with cancer are among those running this year’s marathon for charity.
Mikey Hoszowskyj, the son-in-law of TV presenter and actress Kym Marsh, is running the marathon for Prostate Cancer UK in honour of his wife’s grandfather, Dave Marsh.
When Mr Marsh was diagnosed with incurable prostate cancer in 2021, he is said to have been determined to spread awareness of cancer to as many men as possible.
Mr Marsh, who died in January this year, was described by his grandson-in-law as “a giant of a man” who people would look to for comfort and advice”.
“He was such a big believer in raising awareness throughout his illness,” Mr Hoszowskyj said, adding: “No matter how ill he was, he would make the day lighter and brighter.”
Mr Hoszowskyj, 31, is married to Ms Marsh’s daughter Emilie, 26, and the couple have two children, Polly, seven, and Teddy, five.
He will be flanked by 190 runners aiming to collectively raise about £375,000 for the charity.
Also running is Anoosheh Ashoori, 70, a former hostage who was detained for nearly five years at Evin prison in Iran.
The British-Iranian businessman is fundraising for Hostage International for what will be his third London Marathon since his release in March 2022.
“I think I’m still stuck in the 1970s rather than being 70, and I am very excited about the marathon,” he said, adding: “I used to run with my friends in Evin prison, so sometimes I feel they are here with me, running by my side.”
One of those running for Young Lives vs Cancer is Phil Dunster, best known for his role as Jamie Tartt in Ted Lasso.
Mr Dunster is running in memory of his cousin’s four-month-old son Rory, who died from medulloblastoma, a type of cancerous brain tumour.
He said of the charity: “Their amazing social workers are there from the moment of diagnosis to make sure children and young people with cancer and their families get the right care and support at the right time.”
Charlie Saunders, from Tiverton, Devon, is also giving back to the charity that helped his daughter, Mary, after she was diagnosed with leukaemia aged one.
Mr Saunders described the cancer diagnosis as an “overwhelming, confusing and perplexing time”, and said he was deeply grateful for the knowledge and experience of their Young Lives vs Cancer charity social worker.
Mary is now a “confident, fun-loving little girl with a brilliant sense of humour” who wants to be a vet when she grows up.
Sam Hull, 44, from Bromham, Bedfordshire, is running in memory of his father, who died in August last year, and raising funds for Sue Ryder in recognition of the support his family received.
Mr Hull, who previously broke the Guinness World Record for fastest marathon dressed in school uniform, has set his sights this time on the world record dressed as a tennis player, which currently stands at three hours, five minutes and 30 seconds.
Maria Ward, 52, from Bingley, West Yorkshire, is also raising money for Sue Ryder in appreciation of the bereavement support she received after her husband, Arran, died from a heart attack in November 2022.
“Arran always loved being outside and I know if he was here now he would be so supportive and encouraging,” she said, adding: “I can see his face when I am out running, spurring me on.”
Edward Ndiritu, a wildlife ranger from Kenya, is running to raise money and awareness for the Tusk wildlife conservation charity and the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, where he works.
Sasha Sargent is fundraising for Anthony Nolan, a stem cell transplantation charity to which she donated stem cells in 2011 that helped save a stranger’s life.
Ms Sargent signed up to Anthony Nolan’s donation register when her niece was diagnosed with leukaemia at six months old, setting her on a path that led to attending her stem cell recipient’s wedding.
The Refugee Run Club, which supports refugees and asylum seekers to integrate through localised running communities, has five runners taking on the marathon this year.
The 2023 marathon, the world’s biggest annual one day fundraising event, raised £63 million for thousands of charities.
