RUNNERS have crossed the finish line in the biggest ever London Marathon.
More than 50,000 participants, including a host of celebrities and politicians, hit the ground this morning with police also out in force, and an army of cycle responders also deployed.
The 26.2 mile route was the same as in recent years, starting at Blackheath and ending at The Mall - taking in Big Ben, Tower Bridge and Buckingham Palace.
Temperatures of up to 13C were predicted - and while rain was not forecast in the capital, there was a northerly breeze and quite a lot of cloud.
Among the general participants to catch the eye this year were Jason Byrd, who carried a washing machine on his back.
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Meanwhile, Marcus Mumford, 45, from Worcester, ran the fastest marathon while dressed as a tap, adding to his accolade of fastest marathon dressed as a toilet in 2014.
"I'm working my way around the bathroom items", he said, adding: "People didn't really know what I was. I was called a weather vane, radio station. It's all in aid of Water Aid - a fantastic charity."
David McNab was also attempting to run the fastest marathon in a rhino costume to raise awareness for the animals.
He said the current rhino record stands at four hours six minutes.
"I worked as a ranger in South Africa for a long time so I know the trouble that rhinos are in," he said.
"They need all of the help they can get, and it's a really cool thing to do, I think.
"(The costume) is about 10kg and it's a little bit uncomfortable. It's going to be a big challenge, but that's part of it."
Steve Edwards, 61, from Longborough, Gloucestershire, crossed the finishing line to cement the fastest aggregate time to run a thousand marathons.
He ran his first marathon in 1981 and has since achieved the feat in 25 countries, including running the London iteration 26 times.
"It's a nice number to finish on," Mr Edwards said.
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Britain's bravest mum Becky Sharp - who was critically injured after pushing her baby's pram out of the way of a hit-and-run driver - was spotted greeting her husband Dan with a kiss at the finish line.
He decided to take part in the gruelling event for the first time having been 'inspired' by his wife's recovery from life-changing injuries.
"Hardest Geezer" Russ Cook, who this month became the first person to run the entire length of Africa, is also taking part.
He crossed 16 countries as he ran the equivalent of 385 marathons during the mammoth journey - and was yesterday spotted at a non-league football match.
Among the celebrities taking part were McFly drummer and former Strictly Come Dancing contestant Harry Judd.
The 38-year-old recorded a video of himself amid the run and described the atmosphere as "amazing".
Comedian Romesh Ranganathan made his Marathon debut.
Britain's richest man Sir Jim Ratcliffe also ran for a second year in a row.
Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick had already run the London Marathon but did it for a second time for an EastEnders storyline.
Their characters Honey and Jay are running in memory of Jay’s wife Lola who died of a brain tumour in a storyline from 2023.
After revealing her diagnosis with ulcerative colitis in December 2023, The Only Way Is Essex’s Chloe Meadows took the marathon in support of Crohn’s and Colitis UK.
Also among the runners were 20 MPs and peers, the most in the event's history, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt.
Chief Superintendent Louise Puddefoot, who leads policing in London this weekend, said before the event, the Met has been working closely with the event organisers, the event security team, British Transport Police and City of London Police to plan for the day.
She continued: “People can expect to see a visible and engaging policing presence across London, including at transport hubs and other busy and crowded areas. This is a whole policing effort with lots of our specialist officers on hand to support as needed.
“Any attempt to disrupt the marathon will be dealt with swiftly and robustly.
"Where any protest crosses the line into criminality, we will respond quickly to remove and arrest activists as appropriate, and return things to normal as soon as possible so everyone can enjoy the event."
The elite and wheelchair races set off at staggered start times, from 9.05am, with the mass runners starting at 10am.
Kenya’s Peres Jepchirchir won the women's elite race with a new world record ahead of this summer's Paris Olympics.
She was in tears as she crossed the line with a time of 2 hrs 16 mins and 16 secs.
Kenyan runner Alexander Mutiso Munyao has won the men's race.
The 24-year-old fell to his knees as he crossed the finish line, having recorded a time of 2hrs 4mins 1sec.
British runner Emile Cairess also made it onto the podium in third place.
Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner, both of Switzerland, won the men’s and women's wheelchair races.
However, the London Marathon is full of runners of all ages and abilities - with the ballot for 2025 already open.
Last year's competitors finished with an average time of 4 hours and 6 minutes - an improvement of 12 minutes from 2022.
The average time for women is 4hr 57min 26sec. For men the average time is 4hrs 21min 9sec.
