London Marathon RECAP: Sir Jim Ratcliffe finishes race line as Brit makes the podium

And that's the London Marathon for another year everybody. What an incredible day, with no doubt plenty of money raised for charity.

Congratulations to everyone involved! Now time to rest up and start looking ahead - as well as training - for 2025...

It's hard enough running a marathon, let alone doing it dressed as a shoe.

This gent running for Jersey Hospice Care seems to be giving it a good go!

Christopher Eccleston has called for an end to homelessness and poverty after completing the London Marathon.

The ex-Doctor Who star, who completed the race in five hours and 21 minutes, spoke immediately after crossing the finish line.

He said: "We are trying to get people off the streets, we're trying to get a roof over their heads and lift them out of poverty."

The actor was raising money for The Big Issue.

Part one of Sir Jim Ratcliffe's day is done... but the real race starts now.

How quickly can the 71-year-old get to Wembley Stadium for the FA Cup semi-final?

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has finished his run at the London Marathon in a very respectable four hours, 30 minutes and 52 seconds.

He managed to beat the time he set last year by around two minutes.

Ratcliffe will now be rushing to make it to Wembley in time to watch Manchester United take on Coventry City in the FA Cup final.

Speaking to the BBC shortly after crossing the finish line, he said: "At my age that's probably okay.

"I've got to be quick, I need to be there at half-time. Man City are in the final again, it would be great [to reach the final]. We would definitely be the underdogs. Not for long, though!

"There are some parallels [between marathon running and football], I have to say, but it just requires some grit.

"Always in a marathon after 30k it gets difficult and I don't think we are at 30k with football yet."

Spare a thought for this bloke, who is running in one of the most elaborate costumes we have seen today.

You'd think it would be uncomfortable in there, but I dino!

Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe is, quite literally, in a race against time to attend today's FA Cup semi-final between the Red Devils and Coventry City.

The INEOS chief is past the halfway point of the marathon and is currently somewhere around Canary Wharf, according to the BBC.

He is reportedly hoping to finish in time to catch the second half of today's game at Wembley.

Last year, Ratcliffe powered through a hamstring injury to complete the marathon in four hours and 32 minutes.

A similar performance today would give him less than an hour to recover and get to Wembley for the match.

"I'm happy for winning the race today which is my fastest ever marathon," says Alexander Mutiso Munyao on BBC One after winning the men's elite race.

"At 40 kilometres in I got some pressure from [Kenenisa] Bekele but I had a lot of confidence because I trained for this race.

"I thought I had enough energy to win, that's why I kicked and I knew I would win.

"I hope to be considered in the Kenyan Olympic team because I think I am capable. Winning today has given me confidence to do better in future races."

With the elite races done and dusted, the focus has switched to the masses with around 50,000 runners pounding the streets of London.

An eclectic mix of costumes are on display in the capital, with many people running for good causes.

If any of your friends or loved ones are taking part in the marathon, you can track their progress using the official London Marathon app.

It can be downloaded for free on the App Store and Google Play.

Alexander Mutiso Munyao wins the elite men's race with a time of two hours, four minutes and 15 seconds.

Kenenisa Bekele comes home in second place ahead of British runner Emile Cairess, who books his spot on the Team GB squad for the Olympics later this year!

Mahamad Mahamad crosses the line in fourth place and will be joining Cairess in Paris after beating the Olympic qualifying time.

Peres Jepchirchir crosses the finish line to win the elite women's race, setting a new women's-only record in the process!

She clocks a time of two hours, 16 minutes and 14 seconds to beat the previous women's-only benchmark set by Mary Keitany in 2017.

Jepchirchir, the reigning Olympic champion, breaks down in tears after crossing the line in an outpouring of emotion.

The overall women's record of two hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds, held by Tigst Assefa, remains untouched.

This year, the London Marathon will make history by becoming the first to equally distribute prize money between able-bodied competitors and wheelchair racers.

A £243,000 prize pot has been allocated to the top four races: elite men’s, elite women’s, men’s wheelchair and women’s wheelchair.

The winner of each race will take home a healthy £44,000 each and the runners-up will pocket £23,700, with £17,800 on offer for third place.

The elite men's race is still wide open, with Addisu Gobena at the front of the leading pack.

We're almost at the halfway point in that one.

Meanwhile, there could well be a new world record in the elite women's race.

The leaders are on course to finish around three minutes faster than the current benchmark of two hours, 17 minutes and one second.

Former record holder Brigid Kosgei has been left behind, with Tigst Assefa looking comfortable at the front.

Catherine Debrunner wins the elite women's wheelchair race in an utterly dominant display.

She was comfortably ahead for much of the contest and could have freewheeled over the line if she wanted.

Marcel Hug crosses the line to claim victory in the elite men's wheelchair race for the fourth year in a row.

He clocks an impressive time of one hour, 28 minutes and 35 seconds.

Daniel Romanchuk comes home in second place after a valiant effort, with David Weir and Tomoki Suzuki not too far behind.

Catherine Debrunner is around four minutes clear in the women's wheelchair race and, at the moment, looks on course to win.

The elite men's race is underway as some of the world's fastest distance runners lead some 50,000 people off the start line.

The streets of Blackheath are packed with runners in all sorts of bright colours and wacky costumes.

Around 500,000 people applied to take part in this year's event but the vast majority missed out, with the lucky ones set to enjoy a memorable afternoon in the capital.

Kenenisa Bekeke, a legend of long-distance running who is set to compete in the elite men's race in just a few minutes, has paid tribute to the late Kelvin Kiptum.

"All of us miss him," said Bekele. "Even within his short time, he has been setting an amazing history.

"The course record is also under his name and we are all remembering him.

"We put him in a special place in our heart because within a really short time he has done a lot for our sport."

The elite women's race is just a few minutes old and there is plenty of excitement for this one.

Many are calling it the greatest field ever assembled at the London Marathon, with race director Hugh Brasher suggesting it could be a tougher race than the Olympics.

"I have no idea who’s going to win but it’s going to be an incredibly competitive event," he said.

"This will be a harder marathon to win than the Olympic marathon in Paris, I’m pretty certain of that."

Tigist Assefa will be hoping to beat her existing world record time after running last year's Berlin Marathon in two hours, 11 minutes and 53 seconds.

Assefa is up against former record holder Brigid Kosgei, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir and Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who won the London Marathon two years ago.

The elite men's wheelchair racers are off and running in the first event of the day.

British legend David Weir is aiming for his ninth London Marathon victory as he takes to the city streets for the 25th successive year.

Marcel Hug, who hails from Switzerland, is the defending champion after shattering his own course record in 2023.

Endurance athlete Russ Cook, also known as the 'Hardest Geezer', is running today's London Marathon just weeks after completing the biggest challenge of his life.

Worthing native Cook recently became the first man to run the entire length of Africa, from the southernmost point to the northernmost tip in Tunisia.

It took him 352 days and saw him cover a whopping 9,940 miles while tackling border crossings and dealing with armed robbers along the way.

Speaking to the BBC this morning, Cook said: "It was an amazing experience but it’s amazing to be back.

"Hopefully [it will feel easy] but I think we are going to find out how badly damaged the body is today. It’s my first run since I’ve been back."

By Charlie Malam

The London Marathon will honour Kelvin Kiptum on the start line for the men's elite race today.

Race director Hugh Brasher has confirmed: "It will be 30 seconds of applause. We want to celebrate the man.

"There will be a VT (video tape) played and we will be doing this in conjunction with the BBC in terms of what they'll be doing."

The 24-year-old, a father-of-two, died in Kenya in February. Kiptum and his Rwandese coach Garvais Hakizimana died in a road crash.

Kiptum won the London Marathon last year and went on to break his compatriot Eliud Kipchoge's marathon world record.

He did so at the Chicago Marathon last October with a time of 2:00:35.

A large number of major roads will be closed in London today, while there are also parking restrictions across the whole marathon route.

Westminster will see some of the longest and most extensive closures, being the ending point of the races.

The Mall and Marlborough Road have been closed since Thursday and will be reopened at 6pm on Monday.

In Blackheath, Southvale Road, Hurren Close, Collins Street and Baizdon will be closed to traffic until around 1pm.

Further travel restrictions are in place in Wapping, Tower Bridge, Greenwich and the Isle of Dogs.

You can find a full list of road closures in London here.

Here's a full list of the famous faces that we know are taking part in today's London Marathon...

Sir Jim Ratcliffe (Man Utd part-owner)

Romesh Ranganathan (comedian)

Ruth Wilson (actor)

Phil Dunster (actor)

Emma Barton (actor)

Jamie Borthwick (actor)

Joe Kellaway (martial artist)

Tom Grennan (musician)

Charlie Hodgson (former rugby union player)

Shane Williams (former rugby union player)

Aimee Fuller (Winter Olympian)

Danny Crates (Paralympian)

Izzy Christiansen (former women's footballer)

Richard Whitehead (Paralympian)

Harry Judd (musician)

Eve Muirhead (Winter Olympian)

Christopher Eccleston (actor)

Natalie Pinkham (presenter)

Chris Robshaw (former rugby union player)

Chloe Meadows (reality TV star)

Chris Newton (former Olympian)

Ali Jawad (Paralympian)

Darren Turner (racing driver)

James Cracknell (former Olympian)

Gary Rowett (football manager)

Perri Shakes-Drayton (former Olympian)

Jake Quickenden (TV personality)

Jamie Jones-Buchanan (former rugby league player)

Jamie Peacock (former rugby league player)

Jenni Falconer (radio presenter)

Joel Dommett (TV presenter)

Laura Hamilton (TV presenter)

Joshua Patterson (TV personality)

Lauren-Nicole Mayes (actor)

Lawrence Robb (actor)

Ryan Hand (TV presenter)

Emily Clarkson (podcast host)

Suzanne Shaw (TV personality)

Adele Roberts (radio DJ)

Mark Wright (TV personality)

Vassos Alexander (radio presenter)

Louise Minchin (radio presenter)

Josh O'Connor (actor)

Marcus Mumford (musician)

Chris Evans (TV personality)

Sophie Raworth (BBC newsreader)

The course has remained largely unchanged since the London Marathon was first held in 1981.

Starting in Greenwich Park in Blackheath, runners will pass the Cutty Sark around six miles in before going over Tower Bridge and through the tower blocks of Canary Wharf.

They will then go back through the city and along Victoria Embankment by the Palace of Westminster before ending up on The Mall.

Spectators can watch the action from pretty much anywhere along the 26.2-mile stretch, but some viewing points are better than others.

Those at The Highway will see the runners go past twice while Tower Bridge will provide spectators with the chance to see them cross the halfway point.

The green space near the Cutty Sark maritime museum will offer riverside views as the runners pass by, while those wanting to take in the final stretch can do so at St James’ Park.

For spectators with disabilities, there are accessible viewing points at the Cutty Sark, Canary Wharf, Rainbow Row, Tower Hill and Victoria Embankment.

A full interactive map of the London Marathon route can be found here.

Hello and welcome to Express Sport's live coverage of today's London Marathon, with over 50,000 runners set to take to the capital's streets.

The action will get underway at 9.05am with the elite wheelchair race, while the women's race is due to start at 9.25am.

The elite men's race will be up next at 10am, with the masses starting the 26.2 mile journey shortly afterwards.

Plenty of famous faces will be among the participants, including the likes of Manchester United part-owner Sir Jim Ratcliffe, comedian Romesh Ranganathan and musician Tom Grennan.

We'll be bringing you the latest updates throughout the day, so grab a coffee and stay tuned...