London Marathon 2024: Preview, schedule, how to watch top runners in elite races live
It's only April, but there’s already talk of a world record chase at the 43rd edition of the London Marathon, the third stop of the Marathon Majors.
Rightfully so: the British capital - which this year will host the event on Sunday 21 April - has been synonymous with fast times, especially for the women.
Three of the four fastest women in history are leading the charge to lower the women’s-only world record of 2:17:01 set at the 2017 London Marathon, including world record holder Tigst Assefa and Olympic silver medallist Brigid Kosgei, who held the previous mark until last September.
The men’s field is equally fast and is headed by the third-fastest marathoner in history Kenenisa Bekele, and includes former New York Marathon winner in Tamirat Tola.
Read on to discover the top runners to watch, the race schedule, and how to follow the races live on Olympic Channel via Olympics.com and other broadcasters.
London Marathon 2024: Stellar women’s elite field targets Mary Keitany's world record
Given the pretty fast field assembled for this edition, the goal for the elite runners is to beat Mary Keitany’s women’s-only world record of 2:17:01.
After setting the world record for a mixed-gender event in Berlin last September (2:11:53), Ethiopia’s Assefa has her eyes on not just winning her second consecutive Marathon Major, but also breaking the course record.
And she will be joined by a superfast field of competitors, who are equally capable of surpassing that mark.
There's the Kenyan duo of Kosgei, the former world record holder with her 2:14:04 in Chicago 2019, and Olympic Marathon champion Peres Jepchirchir, also a record breaker having held the women’s half-marathon world record back in 2017.
Jepchirchir, the two-time Marathon Major winner, was third behind Sifan Hassan in London last year.
The two Tokyo 2020 Games medallists have both been shortlisted by the Kenyan team for the Paris 2024 Olympic marathon.
So they might not be focused on chasing fast times for now, as they seek an outright win to guarantee their spot in the team. There’s also the fourth-fastest woman, Ruth Chepngetich, the 2019 world champion, who will be seeking her first win since her back-back victory in 2022 in Chicago.
Paris tickets could also be on the line for Ethiopians Yalemzerf Yehualaw, out to repeat her 2022 London Marathon win, and double track Olympic medallist Almaz Ayana, who's hoping to make the podium after her seventh place there last year.
Keep an eye on the official starters as Jasmin Paris, the first woman to complete the ultra-endurance Barkley Marathons, will start the elite women’s race.
Kelly Holmes, who 20 years ago won a brace of gold medals in the 800 and 1500m at the 2004 Athens Olympic Games, starts the elite men’s race and masses.
London Marathon 2024: Which man will be crowned?
The men's field is equally experienced, with the elite runners returning to a course they know too well and with Olympic spots at stake for the Ethiopians as well.
Since 2016, Ethiopian legend Bekele has managed to finish the race three times, with his best finish being runner-up in 2017. The three-time Olympic medallist finished fifth in 2022 and he previously shared with Olympics.com that he's still chasing his peak over the distance.
The 41-year-old has not topped the podium since his near world record at Berlin 2019, and has a chance to achieve victory if he can keep compatriots Tola and double world marathon silver medallist, Mosinet Geremew, at bay.
Another potential contender in London was Geoffrey Kamworor. who came close to match his best at last year’s race when he finished second behind the late Kelvin Kiptum. Kamworor was a last minute withdrawal due a persistent hip irritation.
Rio 2016 Olympian Callum Hawkins and Emile Cairess lead the British men in this year’s race.
2024 London Marathon schedule (all times in BST)
Races will start in staggered times from Greenwich in the morning on Sunday 21 April. Currently the UK time zone is British Summer Time, which is 1 hour ahead of the Greenwich Mean Time (GMT). The start times for the different races are:
- 09:05 - Elite wheelchair men’s and women’s races
- 09:25 - Elite women’s race
- 10:00 - Elite men’s race and mass start
The first people across the finish line will be the elite wheelchair winners, who are due to pass Buckingham Palace at around 10:30am on Sunday.
The winners in the elite women's category are due to finish the course after 12:40 am BST, with the fastest men expected to complete the course shortly after 12:03 am
How to watch the 2024 London Marathon
The race will be televised around the world via the marathon's official broadcast TV and livestreaming partners.
Olympic Channel will air the London Marathon in China, Japan, New Zealand and MENA territories live via Olympics.com here.
In the host nation the event will be live on the BBC One TV channel, and online BBC iPlayer, with Eurosport and Discover also showing the race in parts of Pan Europe and Asia. FloTrack will broadcast the race in North America and Australia, while SupersSport has rights in most of Africa.
Full details of international broadcast and livestream coverage is here on the official London Marathon 2024 website.