Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Record numbers run London Marathon including stars and people in costume

Runners cross Tower Bridge during the TCS London Marathon (Aaron Chown/PA)
Runners cross Tower Bridge during the TCS London Marathon (Aaron Chown/PA)

A record number of people ran in the London Marathon on Sunday, including politicians, actors in character and amateurs in costume.

More than 50,000 people ran the 26.2-mile course through the capital on what was a dry and bright day, which saw highs of 12C.

Runners of all ages completed the route for charity, with a number breaking records in costume.

Lee Baynton, 39, from Essex, clocked the fastest-ever marathon in an inflatable costume while raising money for a local hospice.

Warren Parish, 41, from Cannock, beat the Guinness World Record for the fastest marathon dressed as a cheerleader.

Famous faces taking part included comedian and TV presenter Romesh Ranganathan, who ran for suicide prevention charity Campaign Against Living Miserably, and actress Ruth Wilson, who ran for Alzheimer’s Research UK.

Comedian Joel Dommett ran in the Piranha costume first worn by this year’s Masked Singer winner, McFly’s Danny Jones.

TCS London Marathon 2024
Actress Ruth Wilson ran for Alzheimer’s Research UK (John Walton/PA)

Jones’s bandmate Harry Judd also took part this year, running for the Children’s Trust.

Speaking to the BBC while running, Judd said: “The atmosphere is amazing.

“The crowds are out in their thousands, and loads of amazing runners have charities donned on their T-shirts.”

“Hardest Geezer” Russ Cook, who finished running the entire length of Africa on April 7, ran in support of the Running Charity.

TCS London Marathon 2024
Matt Hancock, who ran for the Assisted Learning Foundation, wrote on his Instagram that he was ‘absolutely thrilled’ to have finished the marathon in under four hours (John Walton/PA)

EastEnders actors Jamie Borthwick and Emma Barton ran in character as part of a brain tumour storyline.

Last year the BBC One soap said goodbye to Lola Pearce-Brown, played by Danielle Harold, following her diagnosis with a glioblastoma multiforme.

Borthwick, 29, who plays Lola’s husband Jay Brown, and Barton, 46, who portrays Honey Mitchell, ran the marathon in honour of Lola.

Also among the runners were 20 MPs and peers, the most in the event’s history, including Chancellor Jeremy Hunt and former health secretary Matt Hancock.

Mr Hunt, who ran for Royal Surrey Hospital, said it is more painful to lower inflation than it is to lower his marathon time.

While Mr Hancock, who ran for the Assisted Learning Foundation, wrote on his Instagram that he was “absolutely thrilled” to have finished the marathon in under four hours.

TCS London Marathon 2024
‘Hardest Geezer’ Russ Cook, who finished running the entire length of Africa on April 7, ran in support of the Running Charity (John Walton/PA)

In the elite races, Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir, from Kenya, beat the women’s-only world record to win in two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds.

The men’s race was won by fellow Kenyan Alexander Munyao in two hours and four minutes, ahead of 41-year-old track great Kenenisa Bekele.

Switzerland’s Marcel Hug won the men’s wheelchair race for the fourth year in a row, with a time of one hour, 28 minutes and 38 seconds, while Catherine Debrunner, also Swiss, won the women’s wheelchair race with a time of one hour, 38 minutes and 52 seconds.

This year’s race is 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.

TCS London Marathon 2024
Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir, from Kenya, crosses the finish line beating the women’s-only world record and winning the London Marathon in two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds (John Walton/PA)

British Paralympian David Weir, who came in third place, previously said he had not expected the change to happen in his lifetime.

Event director Hugh Brasher said the event was “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 were female urinals, sanitary products available for anyone who needed them and a family support area, which included a private breastfeeding area.

There was a 30-second round of applause before the race 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.

The 2023 marathon, the world’s biggest annual one-day fundraising event, raised £63 million for thousands of charities.