Part 1

:00:27. > :01:05.London. The hand of friendship after 26 miles. A sight to behold. It's

:01:06. > :01:09.every single year. The warmest of welcomes to you this beautiful

:01:10. > :01:14.Sunday morning. That music will have signified one thing - it's London

:01:15. > :01:18.Marathon Day. The most inspiring day in the British sporting calendar.

:01:19. > :01:23.The day you sit back and be amazed, amazed at how fast the elite runners

:01:24. > :01:27.go and it's mind-blowing. The truth be told, it's the slow ones that

:01:28. > :01:34.capture our imagination. Their stories behind those brutal 26-2

:01:35. > :01:38.miles. Plumbers, doctors, nurses and accountants. The list goes on and

:01:39. > :01:43.on, but today they all have to share top billing, because Britain's

:01:44. > :01:48.greatest-ever distance runner is taking on Britain's greatest

:01:49. > :01:55.distance race. I'm Mo Farah. This will be my first marathon. I'm

:01:56. > :02:08.Victoria Paul. Tracey Jones. Kate Smith. Debbie Clarke. My number is

:02:09. > :02:16.53. 1496. 18,000. 31... 553. I'm sorry! This is my first marathon.

:02:17. > :02:22.This is my first. And my last. It's my first because I've only just

:02:23. > :02:29.turned 18. I'm 78. I ran my first in 1985. This is my first. Second.

:02:30. > :02:35.Third. Sixth. Tenth. 17th London Marathon. I've never run before. My

:02:36. > :02:39.aim is to go for the British record. Running barefoot. I want to complete

:02:40. > :02:48.it without hurting my feet. My aim is to finish without walking. Not

:02:49. > :02:53.overtaken by a dinosaur. I'm a bit slower. Jiesh sensible. My aim is to

:02:54. > :02:58.finish. This is my last time and I'm hoping to get under five hours. Four

:02:59. > :03:04.hours 45. Under three-and-a-half hours. Hopefully 3. 50. My aim is to

:03:05. > :03:10.finish. Before they pack everything away. I'm running for the pure joy.

:03:11. > :03:18.Just give us a cheer. This is for my mum and dad. I'll see you at the

:03:19. > :03:24.finish line. Can't wait. Cut it. What a day in prospect. The 2014

:03:25. > :03:28.Virgin Money London Marathon. Lots of preparations. Huge sacrifices by

:03:29. > :03:33.professional and amateur runners alike and this is the scene live

:03:34. > :03:37.here at the start in black heath. A mixture of anticipation of fear and

:03:38. > :03:41.in some courses -- quarters even terror as the moment of truth ticks

:03:42. > :03:44.ever closer. The marathon experience for many hits home when they pick up

:03:45. > :03:53.their numbers and officially register. This was the scene

:03:54. > :03:59.earlier. Thousands getting ready. No formalities for the best and Mo

:04:00. > :04:04.Farah will run. His journey into the Euan none in 90 minutes. What should

:04:05. > :04:07.we expect from the double Olympic and world champion? Does that

:04:08. > :04:11.success on the track transfer to glory on the road and what of his

:04:12. > :04:15.most recent race where he collapsed shortly after the New York City half

:04:16. > :04:19.marathon. That was only a month ago. So many questions. That's without

:04:20. > :04:24.mentioning his competitors today. One of the strongest marathon fields

:04:25. > :04:31.ever assembled. It's a mouth-watering prospect and that

:04:32. > :04:42.men's race and the masses behind is on at 10.00. Then wheelchairs at

:04:43. > :05:03.9.00. David Weir and Shelley Woods in action.

:05:04. > :05:11.That is what the runners have got in store. Although it's slightly chilly

:05:12. > :05:16.it warms up throughout the day and some of the later starters, perhaps

:05:17. > :05:25.it's getting a little too warm. A beautiful day for watching. What a

:05:26. > :05:30.day of race ing in prospect. Beautiful weather. It will be nail

:05:31. > :05:34.biting. Edge-of-the-seat stuff right from the very start. The start is

:05:35. > :05:37.being performed by two champions in the double skulls, Katherine

:05:38. > :05:41.Grainger and Anna Watkins. Good morning. What a great honour.

:05:42. > :05:46.Absolutely. Bit of a surprise. Didn't think - running the first is

:05:47. > :05:51.a bit of a shock, starting it was a real massive honour, but didn't

:05:52. > :05:58.expect it. Anna, your mindset for running this marathon, you you're

:05:59. > :06:06.used to winning -- you're used to winning, so how do you approach

:06:07. > :06:09.this? Rowers aren't run for -- built for running marathons. A few have

:06:10. > :06:13.done it before, so we have no excuse. We have to get round. Maybe

:06:14. > :06:19.some other mental toughness might help. I think we'll need it We are

:06:20. > :06:25.looking forward to the atmosphere and getting out there. Remarkable

:06:26. > :06:28.atmosphere. Who are you running for? International inspiration, which is

:06:29. > :06:34.part of the legacy charity that sprung up after 2012. I'm running

:06:35. > :06:41.for McMillan, who have nearly 1,000 runners here. Any thoughts on Mo?

:06:42. > :06:46.He's a legend. We don't expect to see any of him. Just his back. To

:06:47. > :06:50.get the British record would be a sense. It has been a 30-year record

:06:51. > :06:59.holding that. He has the whole nation behind him. Good luck. Enjoy

:07:00. > :07:03.it. 26.2 miles ahead, along the famous streets of London and past

:07:04. > :07:07.the landmarks and this year we have more cameras than ever before to

:07:08. > :07:15.bring you all the stories and actions of marathon day. The cute

:07:16. > :07:20.Sark will be the first milestone: That will be a welcome sight as will

:07:21. > :07:26.Tower Bridge be. Cunningly placed at all most half way. That is 13.1

:07:27. > :07:32.miles. From the ancient to the modern. At 18 miles it's Canary

:07:33. > :07:36.Wharf, and when they reach Big Ben it's almost in sight across St

:07:37. > :07:41.James' Park with Buckingham Palace and the Mall being the most dramatic

:07:42. > :07:45.end point you could hope for. That's what's in store and we would love

:07:46. > :08:00.you to be part of the day, even just kicking back on your sofa. Text us:

:08:01. > :08:10.Do you expect Mo Farah to win? Get in touch. It's tantalising stuff

:08:11. > :08:15.today. And with all the activity and all the people running, do they want

:08:16. > :08:28.to make you start running, then go to the website and follow the links.

:08:29. > :08:31.So, Mo Farah's time is 10.00 and it's with the messes and Helen

:08:32. > :08:36.Skelton is there. She is running. She is going to be the highlights

:08:37. > :08:40.programme and she is also reporting here at the start. She is in

:08:41. > :08:53.Greenwich Park. Helen is standing by now. Helen, are you mad? I think

:08:54. > :08:58.there's a bite of naivety in there. I have done this race before. I know

:08:59. > :09:03.how hard it is but I also know how great the atmosphere is. It's such a

:09:04. > :09:06.humbling day, that if you are lucky enough to get a place you have to go

:09:07. > :09:12.for it. I know it's going to be slow, but I'll get there. Give us a

:09:13. > :09:17.flavour of what it feels like out there, with everybody getting ready

:09:18. > :09:24.behind you. There's such a positive, lovely optimistic atmosphere. They

:09:25. > :09:29.might be a little naive too. Everybody is expectant. Nervous, but

:09:30. > :09:35.also a bit giddy on amount of Jelly Babies and sugar they are shovelling

:09:36. > :09:38.in. That is definitely a good idea. Good luck to you. I think you're

:09:39. > :09:42.going to need it. You are going to be a very busy girl that's for sure.

:09:43. > :09:48.Lots of action going on here today. Lots of entertainment for the

:09:49. > :09:52.runners and this is Stomp, the world-famous band, who started in

:09:53. > :09:58.Brighton. They've gone worldwide and they are getting everybody in the

:09:59. > :10:05.mood here. Colin Jackson is also here. He'll have a busy day. He'll

:10:06. > :10:12.be on Horse Guards Parade. Over to you. We are outside the men's tent

:10:13. > :10:16.here. There's a lot of tension. Shall we go and have a nose? We

:10:17. > :10:23.won't interfere. As you can see, the gentlemen are all preparing. Lots of

:10:24. > :10:27.activity. People strepG. People talking. Keeping themselves relaxed

:10:28. > :10:34.for the challenge ahead. There is Chris. Are you well? All the best.

:10:35. > :10:39.Chris Thompson, one of our great runners. He's on a debut. Some of

:10:40. > :10:42.the guys are just gathering themselves. There is Haile

:10:43. > :10:46.Gebrselassie, who will be pace making. He seems very cool and calm.

:10:47. > :10:52.Enjoyed the whole atmosphere. Well, we'll see if he enjoys it later on

:10:53. > :10:57.too. All the best, guys. Thank you, Colin. Helen may be doing the

:10:58. > :11:02.marathon, but Colin will never be doing it. Helen's thoughts as well

:11:03. > :11:06.as thousands of others will be on the finish at the Mall. It's one of

:11:07. > :11:10.the post breath-taking finishes to any marathon anywhere in the world

:11:11. > :11:16.and our team is based there. Steve Cram is there. We can head over

:11:17. > :11:23.there now to have a chat about mow's marathon -- Mo's marathon debut. I'm

:11:24. > :11:29.just so excited. How do you feel ahead of his first March than? --

:11:30. > :11:32.marathon? Full of anticipation. We hope it's going to be a great

:11:33. > :11:36.dayment one thing you can say, he's going to get incredible support out

:11:37. > :11:40.there. What happens in the race though is something I think we can

:11:41. > :11:49.only wait and see. He's as well prepared as he want to be, I think.

:11:50. > :11:53.But the marathon is always an unpredictable aevent. He's the best

:11:54. > :11:58.athlete we have ever seen in Britain and he's moved up to the marathon,

:11:59. > :12:05.we all know that even the best don't manage to contend with what is

:12:06. > :12:09.always a difficult event. A couple of perhaps sort of criticisms about

:12:10. > :12:20.him running this marathon - first, that he's running against a very

:12:21. > :12:25.fast field. You take the fact he ran in New York a month ago and how that

:12:26. > :12:30.will affect hum? Yeah. I think he didn't really have too many options,

:12:31. > :12:34.because if he's going to run the first marathon it had to be here in

:12:35. > :12:38.London and London pride themselves on putting a good field together. He

:12:39. > :12:42.knew what he was taking on. The New York thing, I think obviously it

:12:43. > :12:46.wasn't an ideal preparation and I think his camp probably with

:12:47. > :12:49.hindsight would they might have picked a better option. He had a

:12:50. > :12:53.chance to run in Lisbon. It was freezing cold in New York. He came

:12:54. > :12:58.down from Kenya. That fall completely messed up the race plans

:12:59. > :13:03.and didn't go to plan as it were and he had to go back and regather

:13:04. > :13:07.himself for London. I think there was maybe a little too much made of

:13:08. > :13:11.it. We have seen him in conditions like that and not feeling too good

:13:12. > :13:16.at the end of the race, so I think a lot of people perhaps who don't know

:13:17. > :13:21.him very well and certainly the media and public were shocked, but

:13:22. > :13:26.the camp weren't so worried. I would be surprised if any of the elite

:13:27. > :13:31.runners have had ideal preparation. He described it as one or two

:13:32. > :13:37.hiccoughs. You get one or two issues, but let's hope it doesn't

:13:38. > :13:41.affect him too much. Do you think it's slightly taken him by surprise

:13:42. > :13:48.how tough it has been to get ready for this event? Well, look, training

:13:49. > :13:55.for the marathon is obviously tough, but he's a 10,000 and 5,000 metre

:13:56. > :14:00.runner. I spoke to him the other day and he said he was very, very tired,

:14:01. > :14:04.the volume of work he's had to put in and to be fair, the first hurdle

:14:05. > :14:09.that he had to overcome was actually be here, because if you are going to

:14:10. > :14:14.emback on the training and he's had an incredibly busy last three years

:14:15. > :14:20.on the track, a lot of people don't get to the start line. And I guess

:14:21. > :14:25.from now on he's got to go out there and show himself and the rest of us

:14:26. > :14:28.what he can do. Don't forget this for him is a race where he's

:14:29. > :14:31.actually looking to the future. This is about deciding what he's going to

:14:32. > :14:34.do over the next couple of years, particularly looking forward to Rio,

:14:35. > :14:40.so today it's not just about today, it's about how he performs here and

:14:41. > :14:44.what that will - what that information will give him and in

:14:45. > :14:53.terms of deciding what he zn in the next Olympics. -- does in the next

:14:54. > :14:58.Olympics. Steve, thank you. Lots more from Steve and the team during

:14:59. > :15:03.the course of this morning. Month Farrow going -- Mo Farah going for

:15:04. > :15:15.the British record. Helen has news of another record attempt.

:15:16. > :15:26.aiming to be the fastest siblings. We want to do it in two and a half

:15:27. > :15:32.hours. We're hoping for the best conditions on day. Are you

:15:33. > :15:40.confident? I am, it is just a question of seeing how it goes.

:15:41. > :15:44.Thank you to the local DJ who played that June to spur you on. And you

:15:45. > :15:51.have a younger sister? She is watching at home! Named and shamed!

:15:52. > :16:04.Good luck to you, I hope you do well.

:16:05. > :16:18.From sisters are now two team-mates. Paralympic legend. And

:16:19. > :16:26.you held the flag in Athens. Danny, the marathon not really your bag?

:16:27. > :16:31.You are solidly built. It was a tough day when I did it in 2012 but

:16:32. > :16:38.I'm looking forward to it. You are a longer distance runner, this is more

:16:39. > :16:44.in your territory. So no excuses! It has been ten years since then but it

:16:45. > :16:53.is an amazing day. And raising funds for British Blind sport. And Danny,

:16:54. > :16:58.who are you running for? Sport aid. Helping people through in their

:16:59. > :17:03.transition period. It is an important jump from junior to

:17:04. > :17:09.senior. Hopefully we will get the next generation on the podium. And a

:17:10. > :17:15.quick word on Mo Farah. How do you think he will go. It will be tough.

:17:16. > :17:22.It is the greatest field of elite marathon runners ever assembled.

:17:23. > :17:30.Mechanically, whether his legs will make that transition. But the entire

:17:31. > :17:49.British population are on his side. Have a good one guys. And there are

:17:50. > :17:55.IPC Paralympic races running today. David Weir is hoping for a seventh

:17:56. > :18:01.win here today. He has one six London Marathon 's and six world

:18:02. > :18:09.titles. He came fifth here last year and says he has got his hunger back.

:18:10. > :18:14.Marcel Hug dominated the IPC World Championships last summer with five

:18:15. > :18:23.gold medals including the marathon. He has finished second three times

:18:24. > :18:27.here in recent years. Canadian Josh Cassidy won the London Marathon in

:18:28. > :18:33.2010 but had his chances launched last year through a collision. He is

:18:34. > :18:40.back and hoping for a crash free path this year. Tatyana McFadden is

:18:41. > :18:47.the stellar force in the women's's wheelchair racing. She also

:18:48. > :18:55.triumphed in Boston, Chicago and New York. She got a silver at the Winter

:18:56. > :19:01.Paralympics in cross country skiing. The capital has been kind to Shelly

:19:02. > :19:10.Woods from black hole. She has twice won the London Marathon. And she

:19:11. > :19:17.took silver in the Paralympic Games. -- from Blackpool.

:19:18. > :19:21.Well there are many ways to get ready for the marathon. Conserving

:19:22. > :19:27.energy and listening to music probably the best one. It is going

:19:28. > :19:33.to be a very busy day ahead for tens of thousands. We focus now on those

:19:34. > :19:40.wheelchair racers of very shortly. Dame tanee grey Thompson is standing

:19:41. > :19:48.by. She is going to be commentating alongside Rob Walker. You have won

:19:49. > :19:53.this marathon six times. Do you think Dave we can do it. I think he

:19:54. > :19:59.is in with a really good shot. He has had a good winter of

:20:00. > :20:04.preparation. And all the guys will be watching him. A lot of the

:20:05. > :20:14.athletes especially Marcel Hug completely changed their tactics

:20:15. > :20:22.when David Weir is in the race. I think he will take early control and

:20:23. > :20:26.put his stamp on the race. Tatyana McFadden is fresh from Sochi where

:20:27. > :20:33.she took silver medal in the cross country. What kind of athlete is

:20:34. > :20:39.she, because you have raced against her. She is amazing. She was at her

:20:40. > :20:44.first Olympic Games at aged 15 and she is now just taking marathons by

:20:45. > :20:50.storm. There are emotional reasons why she wanted to compete in Sochi

:20:51. > :20:54.because it is her birthplace. But there are quite a number of

:20:55. > :21:00.wheelchair athletes having jumped between the cross country skiing and

:21:01. > :21:04.the wheelchair racing. Because the position is quite similar. She was

:21:05. > :21:10.playing down her chances earlier this week but I think she is one to

:21:11. > :21:14.watch. And there are also three athletes from the University of

:21:15. > :21:23.Illinois where she trains so there could be some team racing there. You

:21:24. > :21:31.have got Shelley and Jade Jones from the British perspective. Jade Jones

:21:32. > :21:36.making her marathon debut. Shelley has had a tough couple of years. She

:21:37. > :21:41.reached her personal best a couple of weeks ago in this bomb. She has

:21:42. > :21:49.always been very strong. But her best chances when she is out on her

:21:50. > :21:55.own. And Jade Jones, 18, her first marathon and the one for her debut.

:21:56. > :22:00.She said such a strong winter. If she can stay with the lead pack

:22:01. > :22:06.until halfway that will be good. She could hang in there a bit longer but

:22:07. > :22:17.we are probably hoping for a top ten finish for J Jones. And you concede

:22:18. > :22:22.that the wheelchair racers are out. Tatyana McFadden looking to defend

:22:23. > :22:31.her title in London. Good morning to Rob. Good morning. A fabulous day

:22:32. > :22:38.here. Glorious sunshine. Scarcely a breath of wind. And we are a super

:22:39. > :22:44.excited about Mo Farah and Tirunesh Dibaba making her debut on the

:22:45. > :22:52.marathon. But we have brilliant wheelchair racers as well. There is

:22:53. > :22:57.Tatyana McFadden left of picture. Plenty of people there ready to

:22:58. > :23:05.support Paralympic sport taking such a big step forward. A couple of

:23:06. > :23:10.summers ago. And Tatyana McFadden was one of the stars in Stratford.

:23:11. > :23:16.She got that magnificent silver in the snow of Sochi just last month. I

:23:17. > :23:23.was there for that race and it was an incredible moment afford Tatyana

:23:24. > :23:35.McFadden. Adopted from a Russian orphanage. A very emotional day for

:23:36. > :23:46.her. Shelly Woods just towards the right of picture. Jeff Wightman the

:23:47. > :23:59.man on the tannoy just giving Tatiana McFadden her introduction to

:24:00. > :24:08.the thousands gathered. Shelly Woods, a year to forget last year.

:24:09. > :24:14.She was ill, she lost funding. But she is here and ready to bounce back

:24:15. > :24:19.in style. Marcel Hug, the silver bullet. With that distinct

:24:20. > :24:24.differential helmet. He capitalised on the absence of David Weir last

:24:25. > :24:32.year but can he hold his nerve now that the man is back. Josh Cassidy,

:24:33. > :24:39.we saw the images of his crash. Unfinished business here. And he has

:24:40. > :24:45.won it before. But the fellow with the big shoulders and the four gold

:24:46. > :24:52.medals from London is back. Listen to the reception for David Weir. He

:24:53. > :24:58.sat at home and watched last year in Lyon and said he was reinvigorated

:24:59. > :25:07.and ready to go. And he is going for the magnificent seven. You are tied

:25:08. > :25:11.for the record on six. And you would not be too upset if that record went

:25:12. > :25:18.to a man of the calibre of David Weir. I would be very happy for Dave

:25:19. > :25:22.to take that record. If I was still competing I would like to have

:25:23. > :25:27.another shot at it. But Dave is the one to watch in this race. He is

:25:28. > :25:33.going to have to take control in the first few miles and be really

:25:34. > :25:37.careful in terms of staying out of trouble. Actually at the moment the

:25:38. > :25:45.pace is a little bit slow. Ernst van Dyk there. And this bunching

:25:46. > :25:49.together at the start. But the pace is a little bit slow. It is downhill

:25:50. > :25:53.so normally it is quite quick but everyone wants to stay out of

:25:54. > :25:58.trouble. The interesting thing is going to be what do the rest of the

:25:59. > :26:07.field do. They will be aware that David is back. He is arguably the

:26:08. > :26:16.man to beat. Do they tried to go aggressive, do they change tactics,

:26:17. > :26:21.or do they believe that they can challenge they've come the closing

:26:22. > :26:27.stages. Marcel Hug races differently depending on whether David Weir is

:26:28. > :26:33.there or not. He tends to watch for his reaction. And try to respond to

:26:34. > :26:40.him. Marcel Hug deciding the pace was not as quick as he wanted. He

:26:41. > :26:47.has looked back and seeing how many men are in the lead pack. They want

:26:48. > :26:51.to try to string out the race a little. But Dave can win the race

:26:52. > :26:58.almost however he wants. He's good watching reactions and has a very

:26:59. > :27:04.fast pick-up. So you will need a couple of guys working together to

:27:05. > :27:12.make it hard for him. The very early stages, just tucking in. And the

:27:13. > :27:18.first few miles are downhill in London. It is easy to overcook in

:27:19. > :27:24.the early stages whether you are able-bodied or in a wheelchair.

:27:25. > :27:29.Glorious sunshine and great news for Paralympic athletics that David Weir

:27:30. > :27:34.is back and feels as though he is able to carry on to real. Well ahead

:27:35. > :27:38.of the race we grabbed the word with the man hoping to make London

:27:39. > :27:48.Marathon history today in the sunshine. I still have goals but I

:27:49. > :27:56.want to achieve. It is getting tougher each year. The nations are

:27:57. > :28:00.getting more money and getting well equipped with technology and it is

:28:01. > :28:08.getting tougher. And I'm not getting any younger. He may not be getting

:28:09. > :28:18.any younger, but there still a of life left in those powerful

:28:19. > :28:22.shoulders. -- a lot. It was a tough summer for him last year just

:28:23. > :28:27.sitting home and watching but he has decided he is ready to carry on. He

:28:28. > :28:37.is exactly where he wants to be at the moment. They are strung out in

:28:38. > :28:54.single file. The first mile is complete. Dave Wear, Ernst van Dyk

:28:55. > :28:59.all the big names out there. It will be interesting to see if Marcel Hug

:29:00. > :29:07.tries something a bit on usual. He is happy to sit on the back of the

:29:08. > :29:14.pack at the moment. So long to go for those guys. We now return to the

:29:15. > :29:23.start. And the next set of IPC racers. The IPC athletics marathon

:29:24. > :29:41.World Cup taking place for the second time. We have some really

:29:42. > :29:43.good visually impaired athletes. London is the only big-city marathon

:29:44. > :29:50.that offers these athletes the opportunity to compete here. These

:29:51. > :29:58.fields may not seem as large as -- and competitive but it is a great

:29:59. > :30:01.step forward for Paralympic athletics that these guys are here

:30:02. > :30:08.and part of such a big, famous occasion. So we have visually

:30:09. > :30:14.impaired athletes running with their guides. And they are out onto the

:30:15. > :30:22.course. In this crisp spring sunshine. Some very good athletes.

:30:23. > :30:32.And a certain Richard Whitehead just out of shot. He runs with the

:30:33. > :30:37.straight prosthetics and he's in a category of his own. He did 40

:30:38. > :30:41.marathons in 40 days last year and he's here as a little bit of a thank

:30:42. > :30:48.you. He's concentrating on the 200s because he can't run a marathon in

:30:49. > :30:52.the paralympics, so we are out on the course and another hero from two

:30:53. > :30:57.summers ago. Richard white head waving to the crowd. He does that

:30:58. > :31:01.famous two-gun salute and he promised me despite he's got a cold

:31:02. > :31:05.and running well outside three hours, the big guns will be being

:31:06. > :31:12.flexed around all the famous landmarks of London. And Tanni,

:31:13. > :31:18.great to see Richard here and also brilliant for these high-class

:31:19. > :31:21.visually impaired athletes to get an opportunity to compete here on the

:31:22. > :31:41.roads with the likes of mo? Mo? It's the only big-city marathon here

:31:42. > :31:44.and it's quite important for them, especially for the athletes running

:31:45. > :31:48.with the guide, to have the open running space that they do. If they

:31:49. > :31:53.are put in the main field it's a real struggle for them, so I think

:31:54. > :32:02.it's great that London's doing so much for disability sport in this

:32:03. > :32:11.way. The last of the line-ups. The women's visually impaired. Should be

:32:12. > :32:15.coming home just around three hours, maybe 3.10. The second group of

:32:16. > :32:22.World Cup athletes are out on the course and we return our attention

:32:23. > :32:31.to the elite wheelchairs and still Great Britain's Dave Weir just

:32:32. > :32:36.tucking in, in second place. Quite happy to let the rest just watch and

:32:37. > :32:40.wait. He sits up, Dave Weir. Looks around. I'm not sure you can read

:32:41. > :32:45.too much into the body language in the early stages, but he looks so,

:32:46. > :32:50.so comfortable and confident and above all, completely relaxed. He's

:32:51. > :32:54.looking great at the moment and Dave Weir tries to stay out of trouble.

:32:55. > :32:59.He might not want to do too much in the early couple of miles in terms

:33:00. > :33:03.of taking the lead and it's like cycling, in terms of drafting, he'll

:33:04. > :33:07.be in advantage sitting behind the ones in front. He's conscious of the

:33:08. > :33:14.big pack of guys there and as you go later in the race, you come around

:33:15. > :33:29.some of the roundabouts the wrong way near Shooters Hill, you want to

:33:30. > :33:34.stay out of trouble. Yamamoto was trying to take it out. Josh Cassidy

:33:35. > :33:39.is there. He put a kick in and it looks here like the leader, Dave

:33:40. > :33:43.weir, to make the chase that nobody wants to work too hard. Sometimes

:33:44. > :33:50.with wheelchair races you see one or two athletes having a probe off the

:33:51. > :33:54.front and the gruB regather. Is that a definitive move from Cassidy or is

:33:55. > :34:02.he stretching and letting Dave Weir know that he is here with intent?

:34:03. > :34:06.He's testing the course. It has taken a few breaks and you can see

:34:07. > :34:10.the difference between David Weir on left, how much gap they are taking.

:34:11. > :34:14.You can take a two or three-second gap just to build up a bit of speed,

:34:15. > :34:17.but this is the part of the course where they want to stay out of

:34:18. > :34:22.trouble. Dave needs to be at the front. Dave Weir is at the front.

:34:23. > :34:34.Cassidy in hot pursuit. Much more drama to come from the elite men's

:34:35. > :34:38.race. We shall keep you posted. Thank you, Rob and Tanni. You can

:34:39. > :34:45.watch coverage of the elite races on the red button. Don't forget to be

:34:46. > :35:07.in touch. Text us: Two people who have been inspired

:35:08. > :35:12.and who have inspired us journalist, Lucy Siegle and my favourite TV

:35:13. > :35:17.chef, I'm geeing to say it, Michel Roux junior. Lucy, first marathon.

:35:18. > :35:25.Yes. I'm both excited and terrified. It's a weird mix of emotions. How is

:35:26. > :35:29.the training? Patchy. You haven't done very much? I tried. It depends

:35:30. > :35:34.on the day and mood and so many things. I've had so much brilliant

:35:35. > :35:40.advice. Mainly about pace. Don't go too fast. Exactly. This man, you

:35:41. > :35:46.have done how many now? This is my 13th lon and 20th marathon in total.

:35:47. > :35:49.Wow. Pace. Go easy. In terms of your shape this year? Terrible.

:35:50. > :35:53.Absolutely terrible. I'm in pain before I start, so I think there

:35:54. > :35:59.will be a lot of walking involved. Just a quick word on your charities.

:36:00. > :36:04.Anthony Nolan, they basically are famous for running the bone marrow

:36:05. > :36:08.register in the UK and curing blood cancer, so so direct, so they want

:36:09. > :36:16.10,000 more donors and the money will pay for those, such a direct

:36:17. > :36:21.way of supporting a charity. For me it's Visually impaired children

:36:22. > :36:25.taking action. Helping blind or partially excite children getting

:36:26. > :36:31.into sporting activity. I'll see you both at the finish, but I'm getting

:36:32. > :36:35.a car. Over to Helen. I was going to talk to people for a distraction.

:36:36. > :36:44.You, however, are going to crochet your way around? Yes. I like to

:36:45. > :36:49.multi-task. This is industrial. Which world record are you going

:36:50. > :36:54.for? Longest chain whilst doing a marathon. Have you done it before?

:36:55. > :37:05.Yes. I set the record at 77. # metres in 2010. Well done. What

:37:06. > :37:10.would your mum make at this. She would laugh her head off. I use this

:37:11. > :37:15.to explain how dimen sha affects the brain and I'm doing this to join

:37:16. > :37:19.everybody together who is suffering with dementia and their carers. Good

:37:20. > :37:27.luck. What would she make of our friend Luke here? Luke, you are

:37:28. > :37:35.running barefoot, why? For the WWF charity. I'm part of Team Panda. We

:37:36. > :37:42.are 125 runners, running to save the rain forest. What do the pandas want

:37:43. > :37:49.you to run barefoot? It's not for that, we are trying to raise

:37:50. > :37:54.awareness. You have been training. They are pretty weathered, it's fair

:37:55. > :38:03.to say. Without being rude, the front of your feet look misshapen,

:38:04. > :38:09.is that a running thing? Is that a natural deformity. That is hour they

:38:10. > :38:13.are. Does it hurt? Yeah. This 26 miles will be particularly painful

:38:14. > :38:17.for you. Yeah, it should be, but it will be OK. I've done a lot of

:38:18. > :38:21.training. I did a 30 kilometre run in training. I know lots of people

:38:22. > :38:25.will be in awe of you, so all the very best and good luck to your

:38:26. > :38:29.feet. Thank you. They are not deformed. They're gorgeous. If you

:38:30. > :38:35.like that kind of thing. Good luck to his feet indeed. We'll focus on

:38:36. > :38:45.the women's elite and just like the men there is a track superstar

:38:46. > :38:49.making her debut. Jepkoech Jessica Chapman -- Priscah Jeptoo is the

:38:50. > :38:54.current champion. She was third in the spring of 2012, before taking a

:38:55. > :39:03.silver medal in the summer at the London Games. She is also the New

:39:04. > :39:09.York marathon champion. Two Kiplagats carry Kenyan hopes here.

:39:10. > :39:14.Florence is the half marathon world record holder and she was fourth in

:39:15. > :39:18.London a year ago. Edna, who is no relation, has been runner up here

:39:19. > :39:22.the last two years. Last summer, Edna became the first woman to

:39:23. > :39:32.successfully depend the world marathon championship title. What of

:39:33. > :39:37.the Ethiopians? Tiki Gelana won in 212, but -- 2012, but was in a sliGS

:39:38. > :39:57.last year and did well to finish at all in 16th. She is the fastest in

:39:58. > :40:05.the women's field today. Then there is Tirunesh Dibaba. There's a

:40:06. > :40:09.advantage point to watch the race. The cable cars looking absolutely

:40:10. > :40:13.wonderful in the sunshine here and it's going to be a beautiful day all

:40:14. > :40:17.the way through for the marathon runners and we are in great

:40:18. > :40:22.anticipation ahead of the women's race too. Paula Radcliffe is

:40:23. > :40:26.standing by on the Mall. Paula is the world marathon record holder and

:40:27. > :40:29.Paula, obviously excited about Mo, but what about Tirunesh Dibaba? We

:40:30. > :40:37.expected to see her last year and great to see her this year? It is

:40:38. > :40:42.exciting for us on both sides, with two track superstars coming into the

:40:43. > :40:45.marathon and the anticipation to seeious exactly how they are going

:40:46. > :40:51.to fair. On the Ethiopian side, we have the unknown quality with Tiki

:40:52. > :40:54.Gelana, who is the Olympic champion, but who had the accident last year

:40:55. > :40:59.and didn't run as well as she wanted to, but then later also dropped out

:41:00. > :41:03.of the World Championship marathon in Moscow. Not a lot known about how

:41:04. > :41:08.she is going in the -- and the shape she is in. She has been training

:41:09. > :41:12.away in Ethiopia, so we don't know about how she and Tirunesh Dibaba

:41:13. > :41:16.will run. We saw Tirunesh Dibaba rub in the -- run in Great North Run and

:41:17. > :41:20.probably didn't impress as many thought she might do there. It will

:41:21. > :41:31.be interesting to see how she goes today. Paula, you have made the

:41:32. > :41:35.transition, how tough is it? For me, personally, I think the road was

:41:36. > :41:39.something that I always loved. I always felt very at home. I never

:41:40. > :41:44.had in my mind it was going to be a transition. It was just running. It

:41:45. > :41:48.was running on the track or cross-country or on the road. I

:41:49. > :41:54.think my style though was suited to road running. My mental style of

:41:55. > :41:58.racing was also suited so I didn't see it as a big transition. If you

:41:59. > :42:03.are known as a racer on the track and have that finish and have that

:42:04. > :42:06.style that maybe works better on the track, then do you have to think

:42:07. > :42:10.about changing something when you come to the roads or is it about

:42:11. > :42:13.changing your outlook? We'll see some answers to those questions

:42:14. > :42:17.today. Traditionally some people have taken time to make that

:42:18. > :42:22.transition and I'm thinking of Haile Gebrselassie. Then other people made

:42:23. > :42:35.that transition more easily. It just does depend on the runner and on

:42:36. > :42:40.your first marathon. Paula, thank you. You better hot-foot it to the

:42:41. > :42:43.commentary box to join Steve. Good morning to Brendan. I know you've

:42:44. > :42:47.been excited about Mo and you are close to him. We'll hand over to the

:42:48. > :42:51.guys now for the start of this women's elite race and Tirunesh

:42:52. > :42:59.Dibaba, running in her first marathon. Thank you, Jonathan. As

:43:00. > :43:04.you said, Mo and the other 36,000 in about 45 minutes or a little bit

:43:05. > :43:08.more than that, but before that a fantastic women's line-up here,

:43:09. > :43:16.including Tirunesh Dibaba. We'll introduce them to you. This is Tiki

:43:17. > :43:20.Gelana, the Ethiopian record holder and she will be hoping to hang on to

:43:21. > :43:31.that today, but more importantly she is the reigning Olympic champion.

:43:32. > :43:35.Won it in the pouring rain. We saw her with that accident last year and

:43:36. > :43:43.she will be hoping for a smoother run today. What do we have in store

:43:44. > :43:55.from Tirunesh Dibaba? Three times Olympic champion and it's her

:43:56. > :43:59.first-ever marathon. Defended her World Championship brilliantly in

:44:00. > :44:06.Moscow last year, Edna Kiplagat of Kenya. She will be tough today, as

:44:07. > :44:10.ever. And what can Florence Kiplagat do? Recurrently became the world

:44:11. > :44:17.record holder for the half marathon and that's always a good indication.

:44:18. > :44:23.Somebody who many people think could run very, very quick here. Perhaps

:44:24. > :44:30.the favourite Priscah Jeptoo. The defend champion and Olympic silver

:44:31. > :44:35.medallist in the form of her life. Those are the main contenders. There

:44:36. > :44:39.is the full start list for you. One or two others to watch out for.

:44:40. > :44:47.Jessica Augusto will be hoping to do the best for the Europeans. Not too

:44:48. > :44:51.many British athletes. Emma Stepto will be there and Amy white head.

:44:52. > :44:55.There they are and Tirunesh Dibaba, so many people around the world and

:44:56. > :45:00.it's not just Mo Farah they're waiting to see. They want to see how

:45:01. > :45:02.good can that brilliant champion of the track, how good can she be in

:45:03. > :45:16.the marathon. The elite women under way. Perfect

:45:17. > :45:21.conditions. The sun shining, a slight breeze. The temperature

:45:22. > :45:30.around nine or 10 degrees at the start. And the London Marathon this

:45:31. > :45:35.year, a grandstand and it at the start to create a bit of atmosphere.

:45:36. > :45:40.But I'm not sure they need to create any atmosphere in London. And the

:45:41. > :45:50.elite women have the roads to themselves. Good morning, Brendan.

:45:51. > :45:57.We are all looking forward to Mo Farah but this race alone would be

:45:58. > :46:07.intriguing enough. It is great to see. The field we have assembled

:46:08. > :46:12.here in this women's race. We have reigning Olympic champion. And the

:46:13. > :46:19.world champion. The world was country champion. And the champion

:46:20. > :46:22.from last year. That is an incredible line-up and this will be

:46:23. > :46:28.a fascinating race. The pacemakers are off. The rest of the field have

:46:29. > :46:45.to make the decision whether to go with the pacemakers. This is a race

:46:46. > :46:47.in the true sense. Paula, you will be sitting there with a sense of

:46:48. > :47:00.anticipation are perhaps trepidation. We have athletes in

:47:01. > :47:07.this race who certainly can run under 220. Do you think the women

:47:08. > :47:11.here are in the right kind of shape to do that. I do think there is the

:47:12. > :47:19.quality in the field here to go well under 220. And to come close to the

:47:20. > :47:25.course records. The conditions are perfect. Really beautiful conditions

:47:26. > :47:31.and the streets of London looking good and ready to welcome some fast

:47:32. > :47:35.running. The women here today not quite so keen to go with the

:47:36. > :47:50.pacemakers. You sort Florence Kiplagat coming out there and just a

:47:51. > :47:56.month or so ago she took the race. One of her training partners is the

:47:57. > :48:03.pacemaker. But at the moment they are just letting that gap open up.

:48:04. > :48:11.Just giving themselves the chance to see how they are feeling and what

:48:12. > :48:14.they want to do. You cannot just have one athletes going with the

:48:15. > :48:28.pacemakers, they need to do it jointly. You can't go on your own.

:48:29. > :48:34.Just put your head down and go. I think it depends on what you're

:48:35. > :48:37.looking to get out of the race. Whether they feel they are going to

:48:38. > :48:41.attack the time. And then from the beginning you go for it. But if you

:48:42. > :48:52.are looking to win the race and want to be sure given the quality of the

:48:53. > :49:04.athletes around you. Then you go for it. Elite wheelchair athletes just

:49:05. > :49:12.going round the Cutty Sark. Marcel Hug and David Weir had a little girl

:49:13. > :49:22.at the front and then were happy to let the rest of them rejoin. The

:49:23. > :49:34.Spaniard Jim and as leading at the minute. -- Jimenez. It is a

:49:35. > :49:43.fantastic section of the course. The wall of noise is really good. You're

:49:44. > :49:57.still feeling good. It is a great part of the course and just one of a

:49:58. > :50:03.number of great London landmarks. A little girl off the front from David

:50:04. > :50:17.Weir. But quite happy to be back in the pack. A little cagey in these

:50:18. > :50:26.early exchanges. Plenty more to come. Already at Cutty Sark. The

:50:27. > :50:35.women just getting warmed up. And further back down the course as they

:50:36. > :50:38.approached the second mile or so, it is an odd start in the London

:50:39. > :50:43.Marathon because the first few miles they have to wait and not panic too

:50:44. > :50:57.much because the pace goes up and down. The pack at all together now.

:50:58. > :51:02.I have been down here all week. There has been so much chat about

:51:03. > :51:12.what could happen, what might happen. And I think Mo Farah and

:51:13. > :51:17.Tirunesh Dibaba have caused that. What do we think the winning time

:51:18. > :51:23.might be is always the chat. But I have never known so much intrigue

:51:24. > :51:31.around both races. Which is a good thing. Interestingly it is that

:51:32. > :51:38.anticipation and this year they have managed to create tremendous

:51:39. > :51:47.anticipation for this race. Sport is about anticipating. Turn up and

:51:48. > :51:56.watch it right from the start is the answer to that. There are already

:51:57. > :52:04.some indicators that the athletes are running together. And quite

:52:05. > :52:16.happy to let the champion lead them along. Priscah Jeptoo. When they are

:52:17. > :52:29.are all around you, there is safety in numbers.

:52:30. > :52:47.An interesting early break away in this wheelchair race. The gap was

:52:48. > :52:53.larger than it currently appears. The rest of the pack have now closed

:52:54. > :52:59.the gap. And for people watching wheelchair racing for the first or

:53:00. > :53:05.second time, we do see more probes off the front in wheelchair races

:53:06. > :53:10.then you would expect with the elite women able-bodied. It is a bit more

:53:11. > :53:19.like cycling so you're trying to take some speed out of people. It is

:53:20. > :53:34.very much like the coalition in cycling. -- the peloton. I think

:53:35. > :53:39.people are just trying to make it hard for Dave at this point but he

:53:40. > :53:44.has been smart, not chasing down the pack and letting other people take

:53:45. > :53:55.the lead. Marcel Hug and David Weir, just watching them there.

:53:56. > :54:03.Marcel Hug has gone right back into the pack. Not bothered at all. And

:54:04. > :54:16.David Weir looking very composed. He has closed the American right down.

:54:17. > :54:22.It is a beautiful day in London. Big Ben standing resplendent as ever.

:54:23. > :54:28.Watching the youngsters taking part in the mini marathon. All the

:54:29. > :54:36.different colours to note the different age groups. Most of the

:54:37. > :54:40.older ones have already finished. And what a day for them. Big crowds

:54:41. > :54:47.down on the embankment. Getting their chance to sample the

:54:48. > :54:54.atmosphere and said that they run on the same roads is their heroes. And

:54:55. > :55:04.so many of our current champions started their careers with this

:55:05. > :55:10.race. Finishing their just inside 16 minutes. Mo Farah has also run the

:55:11. > :55:24.mini marathon and gone on to great things. So we are back with the

:55:25. > :55:27.women. And the pacemakers, we think about seven or eight seconds at

:55:28. > :55:42.least ahead of this group. They have been given a job to do. Florence

:55:43. > :55:48.could look at just looking across their two Edna Kibler get, asking

:55:49. > :55:57.what they are doing, just staying back there or going ahead. The plans

:55:58. > :56:02.have gone up the window. I have been in situations for example in New

:56:03. > :56:05.York where the wind is strong and you're falling off pace at the

:56:06. > :56:11.beginning. But here they have perfect conditions and they need to

:56:12. > :56:17.make a decision now. If time is coming into the equation or if they

:56:18. > :56:25.are just going to be racing. In marathons you do not raise a lot

:56:26. > :56:32.coming in. They're running around 530 pace and just taking their time

:56:33. > :56:37.to see exactly, there is some fear from the Kenyans about the kind of

:56:38. > :56:46.shape that Tirunesh Dibaba is in. Trying to work it out. The elite

:56:47. > :56:50.women and elite men have a lot of interest for big athletics fans. If

:56:51. > :56:55.you want to stay with the elite women we have coverage of that all

:56:56. > :57:02.the way through on the red button. The same with the elite men as

:57:03. > :57:05.well. But here on BBC One we will try to give you the whole flavour of

:57:06. > :57:13.what the London Marathon is about including the elite races. The

:57:14. > :57:17.London skyline looking resplendent. A mixture of the ancient and modern.

:57:18. > :57:23.We always talk about how difficult the marathon is. But for my next

:57:24. > :57:30.guest I expected to be a walk in the park. You have gone to the south

:57:31. > :57:39.pole, guys. Are you going to take this easy? This is running with the

:57:40. > :57:50.wounded and I think it is going to be harder. I was with Prince Harry

:57:51. > :57:57.this week. He went to the South Pole with you guys. Add he said you did

:57:58. > :58:13.note training apart from sleeping in a tent! ! We are a charity

:58:14. > :58:19.supporting the wounded back into work. We do these expeditions to

:58:20. > :58:25.show how remarkable these men and women are. Dominic was good to be

:58:26. > :58:30.with, he did all the cooking in the South Pole. Ivan, you are completely

:58:31. > :58:37.blind. How difficult was it for you across that to rain. We had high

:58:38. > :58:43.wind and it was just pretty tough. But with the help of the team we

:58:44. > :58:51.adapted and overcame. We just took guard time and skied through it. --

:58:52. > :58:58.took our time. It was a race to the South Pole. We are settling scores

:58:59. > :59:03.today! I was in the Commonwealth team and the UK keeps saying that

:59:04. > :59:12.they won. Maybe we will settle the score today. With Prince on your

:59:13. > :59:17.team you have to say that you one! Weird go to hell and now. She has

:59:18. > :59:27.also been to the South Pole. -- Helen. CJ, a lot of people know you

:59:28. > :59:39.from the quiz show eggheads. But your back ground is back in. -- is

:59:40. > :59:48.acting. Have you had any time to fit in marathon training. My best time

:59:49. > :59:54.was 316. I was hoping to break 310 this year but then I injured my

:59:55. > :00:05.foot. I'm not going to beat personal best. We have designed a little quiz

:00:06. > :00:18.for you. What was the world record time from 2000 for Paula Radcliffe.

:00:19. > :00:24.Three hours 25. That is amazing! Who won the first London Marathon, men

:00:25. > :00:31.and women. I have done some research on this! Dick Beardsley. And Joyce

:00:32. > :00:41.Smith. Who has the course record for the men. Emmanuel Mutai. Two hours

:00:42. > :00:46.and four minutes and 40 seconds. The ultimate question, what is my middle

:00:47. > :00:58.name. Lovely. So smooth! All the very best today. Thank you very

:00:59. > :01:04.much. Impressive knowledge from CJ interest. -- CJ there. Mo Farah in

:01:05. > :01:08.his first-ever marathon, but out on the roads, it's the women. We'll see

:01:09. > :01:13.how Tirunesh Dibaba is getting onment back to the commentary team.

:01:14. > :01:17.-- getting on. Back to the commentary team. We are approaching

:01:18. > :01:21.three miles. Just beyond actually and we have got a race on here. The

:01:22. > :01:27.two pacemakers who have been given the job of leading the real eliters,

:01:28. > :01:30.Kiplagat and Tirunesh Dibaba and others have stuck to their task and

:01:31. > :01:34.running the pace they're supposed to, but they haven't engaged with

:01:35. > :01:37.that, but with the help of one of the others who is meant to be

:01:38. > :01:44.running a little slower they're getting back up to that group. You

:01:45. > :01:51.see the chatting going on there. Here they are. They've use phase

:01:52. > :01:56.three to -- pace three to get them back to where they are. Finally,

:01:57. > :02:00.this race is under way. And that's the five kilometre mark they've just

:02:01. > :02:05.gone through. You know there is so much talent in the leading group, if

:02:06. > :02:10.the pacemakers go down the road and the right pace when you look around

:02:11. > :02:13.and you see the people who have won championships, Olympics and worlds,

:02:14. > :02:17.one of the great ones of all time, Tirunesh Dibaba, there's definitely

:02:18. > :02:20.a place for you in that group. You wouldn't want to be out on your own

:02:21. > :02:26.and leading, because the biggest prize of all is a victory over a

:02:27. > :02:30.field of such quality as this. Winning it is the first thing. The

:02:31. > :02:34.time will be secondary and the race doesn't really need to get going

:02:35. > :02:40.until they get past the half-way point and the pacemakers are doing a

:02:41. > :02:43.better job, Paula? Yes, they are. They've stuck to the pace and the

:02:44. > :02:46.first two did do the job they were asked to do over the first couple of

:02:47. > :02:51.miles. What they didn't do was look around and realise that the pack

:02:52. > :02:56.wasn't going with them. And I'm not quite sure why the other girls once

:02:57. > :02:59.they decided wanted to catch up, couldn't use that downhill third

:03:00. > :03:03.mile and to it on their own, without engaging the help of pace three, who

:03:04. > :03:07.is supposed to be back with the group further back and running

:03:08. > :03:13.there. She is done her job and -- has done her job and listened to the

:03:14. > :03:18.instruction it looked like Florence and Edna Kiplagat. They brought the

:03:19. > :03:34.pack up. She needs to find the metre she is supposed to be raying. --

:03:35. > :03:38.racing. The first five kilometres, we are we are talking about the

:03:39. > :03:43.women-only course record. You went off quicker than that, almost a

:03:44. > :03:50.minute quicker when you ran 2. 17.42, so the first station. Tiki

:03:51. > :03:54.Gelana had the collision with Josh Cassidy last year. Hopefully

:03:55. > :04:00.everybody is safely through that now. Conditions today, we have

:04:01. > :04:05.mentioned it a couple of times, Paula, when you say perfect,

:04:06. > :04:12.temperatures will get up to perhaps 15 or 16 and by the time the women

:04:13. > :04:17.fin we are told - it was chilly. We were standing outside there early

:04:18. > :04:23.on, but it's the day like this and we don't get too many and it's a

:04:24. > :04:43.huge opportunity. I'll come back to that shortly. Back to Jonathan.

:04:44. > :04:52.Coverage continues on the red button. But alongside me now, my two

:04:53. > :04:58.guests, the stuff of any younger son's fantasy. A Liverpool legend

:04:59. > :05:03.and a female Game of Thrones star. Both of you running in your first

:05:04. > :05:09.marathons? First experience. Very nervous. You? Yep. How has training

:05:10. > :05:13.gone? Good. All right. Yeah. I think training has been fine. Trying to

:05:14. > :05:16.fit it in in among work has been quite difficult. I got up to 22

:05:17. > :05:20.miles so I'm confident of a complete, but maybe not a completely

:05:21. > :05:27.good time. The thing for you, Michael, you were only ever good

:05:28. > :05:35.over ten yards and then the hamstring went? Give me 20. I have

:05:36. > :05:37.adapted my muscles from fast to endurance-based muscles, so it's

:05:38. > :05:43.been tough, but I think I've got there. A word on your charities? I'm

:05:44. > :05:47.running for Barnardo's. 200,000 young people and families and

:05:48. > :05:54.children helped by them every year, so proud to be wearing the vest.

:05:55. > :06:01.Three for me. Alder Hey Hospital in Liverpool, Manchester Royal Eye Hot

:06:02. > :06:08.and prostate Cancer UK. Dominic West he turned down Game of Thrones,

:06:09. > :06:12.apparently. I need to check this rumour. Who would he have been? I

:06:13. > :06:17.don't think I can say that. We have got plenty more years. He could come

:06:18. > :06:22.and join us. Will you be back in time for the Liverpool match? That's

:06:23. > :06:27.the challenge. Good luck to both of you. I'm saying nothing about

:06:28. > :06:33.Chelsea! We'll head back to the band stand with Helen. This is Jonny and

:06:34. > :06:39.Sean. They probably look like lots of other runners, nervously lining

:06:40. > :06:44.up. Their story is slightly different. Look. I'm Jonny and I

:06:45. > :06:50.live in North Yorkshire and I'm 44 years of age. I lived a perfectly

:06:51. > :07:00.normal life with my family and Sarah, Jack and Archie. Up until

:07:01. > :07:09.September 2010 when I was diagnose with leukaemia, AML, which turned

:07:10. > :07:15.our lives completely upside down. I knew I was relying on someone who I

:07:16. > :07:19.had never met and I didn't know if they would find a match and it was

:07:20. > :07:29.hard. It was a really difficult period. I got a letter from Anthony

:07:30. > :07:32.Nolan and I just knew that this was going to tell me that I was the

:07:33. > :07:40.match and they wanted me to proceed to final testing and everything.

:07:41. > :07:45.When the consultant told me they had found a donor. I knew it was me that

:07:46. > :07:54.was chosen to save this person's life. Life suddenly feels like

:07:55. > :07:58.living again. There's hope. It's the easiest and best thing I've ever

:07:59. > :08:08.done in my life and probably the best thing I'll ever do. We can't

:08:09. > :08:31.wait to just embrace this person and say a huge thank you. Thank you very

:08:32. > :08:35.much. I don't have to thank me. I wanted to get it out of the way.

:08:36. > :08:40.It's OK. You've got to meet my family. Wife Sarah. Hello. How

:08:41. > :08:49.exciting to run the Marathon with the person who saved your life.

:08:50. > :08:53.Well, it's incredible. You've been through a lot over the last couple

:08:54. > :08:57.of years. How will this compare and how will you fair doing this? This

:08:58. > :09:01.is going to be ever bit as tough to be honest, but in a different way.

:09:02. > :09:06.It's just so good having Sean with me to do this. With the atmosphere

:09:07. > :09:11.of the day and it will make it a lot easier, but it's going to be hard.

:09:12. > :09:17.It's an emotional day but especially for you two. Do you think it will

:09:18. > :09:22.get to you? I think if I do it will be OK because I've got my momentum

:09:23. > :09:25.next to me. I have to look next to me and what he's been through and

:09:26. > :09:29.this is a great way so celebrate the last two years and his health and

:09:30. > :09:33.being friends and everything. It seems like you have formed a bit of

:09:34. > :09:37.a friendship and you are sharing bags and things like that. An

:09:38. > :09:40.unusual bond? Yes. It's very difficult to explain, because it's

:09:41. > :09:43.not something you would ever experience before. When you meet

:09:44. > :09:46.someone for the first time and you know he saved your life it's a

:09:47. > :09:50.feeling that I can't really describe. All I can tell you is we

:09:51. > :09:54.are going to be friends for life now. Your families are both here and

:09:55. > :09:58.they must be very proud? I hope so. I think my boys and wife are very

:09:59. > :10:02.proud today. They are all in London to support us and hopefully will see

:10:03. > :10:06.us at two or three stages around the course and then at the end. After

:10:07. > :10:11.what you two have already done, I think people will forgive you for

:10:12. > :10:15.having a pint and a pie? Definitely. A glass of champagne possibly as

:10:16. > :10:19.well and just the support we have had from everyone has been

:10:20. > :10:23.unbelievable. Everyone has been saying how proud we should be and I

:10:24. > :10:27.want to say how easy the whole thing was and I would recommend anyone to

:10:28. > :10:31.sign up because it's that easy. I know lots of people are proud and

:10:32. > :10:38.glad that you did. I hope you manage to enjoy it and get around with it a

:10:39. > :10:42.smile on your face. What a great and moving story. Jonny and Sean, we'll

:10:43. > :10:47.catch up with them through the race. Stomp are in action. They are

:10:48. > :10:51.getting everybody in the mood. It really is part of the magic of

:10:52. > :10:56.London Marathon day. There is nothing quite like it. I remember

:10:57. > :11:00.David Coleman's words in 1981 in the first one and he said, "I think this

:11:01. > :11:04.is going to be a massive success." How right he was. Amazing elite

:11:05. > :11:10.races under way already. We are counting down to the Mo Farah race.

:11:11. > :11:14.His first-ever Marathon and the anticipation. You can just answer it

:11:15. > :11:18.and almost taste it. How will our great British champion do? We'll

:11:19. > :11:24.find out very, very shortly. Back to the wheelchair race. Rob Walker

:11:25. > :11:29.calling this one. Thank you, Jonathan. We have had a little bit

:11:30. > :11:42.of cat and mouse, as we approach the half-way stage. We had the American

:11:43. > :11:49.leading. Marcel Hug is there and Dave Weir in second. Hokinoue is

:11:50. > :11:55.going wellment so too is Ernst van Dyk. And they can get up to speeds

:11:56. > :12:01.of over 30mph. That's on the outrun from the Bridge. Quite extraordinary

:12:02. > :12:06.speeds. And this is a great part of the course in terms of spectators,

:12:07. > :12:11.because if you are trying to watch someone come over you don't have to

:12:12. > :12:17.walk too far to se them at 21 -- see them at 21 and 22. You can see here

:12:18. > :12:20.that they have become quite spread out. There's Josh Cassidy just going

:12:21. > :12:29.through shot. Just stretching his back out a little bit. Marcel Hug

:12:30. > :12:36.and David Weir. A lot of talk about this turning into a big dual between

:12:37. > :12:44.the two of them as Ernst van Dyk and Kota Hokinoue try to close the gap,

:12:45. > :12:50.but Marcel Hug and David Weir out in front at the moment. It's still all

:12:51. > :12:54.to play for here. Marcel Hug is going to do his best to prove that

:12:55. > :12:58.last year's golds weren't a fluke, but David Weir is tracking him.

:12:59. > :13:08.Looking pretty good at the moment for the fans of Dave Weir.

:13:09. > :13:13.Meanwhile, back in Greenwich, last-minute preparations, last visit

:13:14. > :13:21.to the loo. Get your baggage on the buses. Fasten the laces, apply the

:13:22. > :13:33.Vaseline. Maybe get the suncream out today? Always a wonderful sight.

:13:34. > :13:38.Look at that. Now they really are motoring. The leaders had to really

:13:39. > :13:46.pick up in the third mile. We reckon they ran just outside five minutes,

:13:47. > :13:52.and they ran a 5. 13 and another 5.06. You can see Jeptoo and Edna

:13:53. > :13:59.Kiplagat, the smaller of the two. Florence and Edna is closest to the

:14:00. > :14:14.camera and behind them we have Tiki Gelana and Tirunesh Dibaba and then

:14:15. > :14:19.they get into a different rhythm and then all of a sudden you are running

:14:20. > :14:23.5.08s and it's already a fairly early test even for Tirunesh Dibaba?

:14:24. > :14:27.It is. Straightaway the pace picked up there in the third pile and you

:14:28. > :14:32.could see decisions -- mile and you could see decisions having to be

:14:33. > :14:36.made. Jeptoo straight up and she is going with whatever they're dog. She

:14:37. > :14:42.was the one -- doing. She was the one who was asking why they weren't

:14:43. > :14:47.going. Florence Kiplagat isn't sure and ed ma is just running -- Edna is

:14:48. > :14:50.running cautiously. Tirunesh Dibaba was struggling a little when the

:14:51. > :14:58.pace picked up. She was sitting on the back of the group. Now she looks

:14:59. > :15:11.more comfortable. When the 5.08 went in she struggled to make that jump.

:15:12. > :15:22.She seems to be taking time out to get back on things and see how she

:15:23. > :15:27.is feeling. A quarter of the race completed. And all the talent have

:15:28. > :15:40.all gathered there are now. They have all made the decision, all gone

:15:41. > :15:50.with it and that is enough. You can keep track on the red

:15:51. > :15:54.button. And a big thanks to all the volunteers who work here to make

:15:55. > :16:00.this day go smoothly. It really does run like clockwork. We have already

:16:01. > :16:05.met a few of them. Lot of famous faces choose to run the London

:16:06. > :16:14.Marathon and we have picked out a few of them. We have Olympic gold

:16:15. > :16:21.medallist Catherine Grainger. Hoping for a time of three and a half

:16:22. > :16:27.hours. Quiz king CJ taking on the marathon today. Game of thrones

:16:28. > :16:33.start Natalie wants to complete in around four hours. And former

:16:34. > :16:40.England foot taller Michael Owen. Our very own daredevil Helen Skelton

:16:41. > :16:48.giving himself -- herself forward a half hours to finish. And Hugo

:16:49. > :16:54.Taylor has a four hour target. Amy Williton struts her stuff, her aim

:16:55. > :17:04.is for and a half hours. England World Cup rugby winger Lewis Moody

:17:05. > :17:08.has four hours in his sights. Jenny Faulkner hoping to finish in three

:17:09. > :17:15.and a half hours. And Michel Roux hoping to make his way around in

:17:16. > :17:24.three hours 45 minutes. And they are the famous face runners today. And

:17:25. > :17:28.we have trackers on all those celebrity runners so we will be able

:17:29. > :17:33.to watch them as they go along including our very own Helen

:17:34. > :17:45.Skelton. I have been getting some last-minute tips. Paul, how old are

:17:46. > :17:52.you? 89. I am 86. She is a youngster! How many marathons have

:17:53. > :18:00.you done. This is my 23rd London. This is my 18th London but I have

:18:01. > :18:07.done a few others as well. You feeling confident about this. I'm

:18:08. > :18:16.feeling happy. We will get there. I do not expect to win it! Mo Farah is

:18:17. > :18:21.in it this year, let him have it. He needs something. Top tips for

:18:22. > :18:34.staying fit as you accumulate the years? I do not know what you mean!

:18:35. > :18:39.I have always been, before I ran I was a long-distance walker. So I'm

:18:40. > :18:45.out most days, if I'm not running I'm walking. I just like being out

:18:46. > :18:52.doors. Just keep doing it. And do not overdo it. We will not all be

:18:53. > :19:01.elite and fast but go out and do what you can do and enjoy it. She

:19:02. > :19:06.frightens the life out of me! I am going to run with these pair because

:19:07. > :19:14.they are entertaining! They are doing something right! If you are at

:19:15. > :19:23.home eating your toe -- you're too old, and again! What fantastic

:19:24. > :19:31.scenes as the masses get ready to go. Including Mo Farah. And in about

:19:32. > :19:37.ten minutes' time that begins. You can continue to watch the women's

:19:38. > :19:42.race and the wheelchair race on the red button. But Mo Farah is about to

:19:43. > :20:23.make his marathon debut. Well he will be out on the start

:20:24. > :20:31.shortly. The double world champion. How will he fair. We caught up with

:20:32. > :20:37.him earlier this week. It is gold! This is world domination

:20:38. > :20:42.for Mo Farah. He is the world champion. The last three months has

:20:43. > :20:49.been hard to prepare for the marathon. It is not easy to stop you

:20:50. > :20:53.cannot just go out there, it is challenging. Last time most people

:20:54. > :21:00.saw you was in the New York half marathon. Have you recovered from

:21:01. > :21:07.that. I have recovered. I used so much energy to get back up. And it

:21:08. > :21:15.was cold as well. But I'm fine and in training and it has been really

:21:16. > :21:18.good. All athletes sometimes step into the unknown and this is a big

:21:19. > :21:34.step for you. Are you more nervous than normal. A bit. I could have a

:21:35. > :21:39.great race or I could run 2.06. That would be below your expectations? I

:21:40. > :21:49.always set myself a high standard. And the first step is definitely to

:21:50. > :21:56.break the record. Are you familiar with the second half of the course.

:21:57. > :22:05.I watched a couple of races. Last year and previous years. So I know a

:22:06. > :22:09.little bit. How is it different in terms of approaching this race

:22:10. > :22:16.compared to what you have done on the track. I know there will be

:22:17. > :22:31.quite a lot of surges. The guys will want to get rid of me. So after ten

:22:32. > :22:38.or 12 miles race will break. Heading towards the finish line could there

:22:39. > :22:41.be a thought back to the young mole Farrah and the mini marathon. Did

:22:42. > :22:51.you ever think this would happen to you. I thought of doing it not

:22:52. > :22:55.dreaming of winning! It has been some journey from those mini

:22:56. > :23:01.marathon days. He's just doing some gentle limbering up. The first sight

:23:02. > :23:14.of the great man. So many people here to support him including his

:23:15. > :23:22.old PE teacher. He is with Colin. A big array of people supporting Mo

:23:23. > :23:26.Farah. They are very noisy! Alan Wright is next to me. How old was he

:23:27. > :23:36.when you met him. He was 11 years old. Looking very different to how

:23:37. > :23:40.he looks today. And how talented dude you think he was right at the

:23:41. > :23:45.beginning did you spot that he was to be a great athlete? I would not

:23:46. > :23:52.go that far. He was very talented and did some amazing things in those

:23:53. > :23:56.days. I always said look out for him but people said you cannot tell at

:23:57. > :24:03.that age. But I had a feeling about him and I was right. He has won the

:24:04. > :24:09.mini marathon and he is now here doing the main business. What to

:24:10. > :24:16.think his chances. If anyone can do it against that kind of field then

:24:17. > :24:21.he can. He has proved that he can do it in the past. He is a competitor.

:24:22. > :24:30.Guys, how do you think he is going to do? They think he is going to do

:24:31. > :24:34.it! All eyes on Mo Farah for sure but he is far from the favourite. He

:24:35. > :24:43.faces many multitalented rivals today. Stephen Kiprotich is aiming

:24:44. > :24:52.to break the 11 year stranglehold that Kenyon and Ethiopian athletes

:24:53. > :24:59.have had on the London Marathon. Tsegaye Kebede is the reigning

:25:00. > :25:10.champion and won the race in 2010. He has twice been runner-up. The

:25:11. > :25:16.Kenyan challenge is Wilson Kipsang. A winner here in 2012 and also the

:25:17. > :25:20.world record holder and Olympic bronze medallist from London.

:25:21. > :25:32.Emmanuel Mutai was runner-up last year and set the London Marathon

:25:33. > :25:42.course record in 2011. Geoffrey Mutai recently beat Mo Farah in the

:25:43. > :25:53.New York half marathon. Another Kenyan to watch is Stanley by what.

:25:54. > :26:02.-- Stanley Biwott. And that is the formidable elite men's field

:26:03. > :26:07.awaiting Mo Farah. Nothing like a gentle start to your marathon

:26:08. > :26:17.career! Five of the fastest marathon runners in history. Just a few last

:26:18. > :26:23.thoughts, Brendan, are you optimistic or pessimistic about Mo

:26:24. > :26:32.Farah's chances today? I think he has an Everest to climb. Is it a

:26:33. > :26:39.step too far? We are here to find out. And Paula, you have made this

:26:40. > :26:46.transition, what would your advice be for him at the moment? I think he

:26:47. > :26:51.knows what to do now. He has to go out and just run the race. He has

:26:52. > :26:56.made the right decision coming in facing the field that he has. You

:26:57. > :27:01.may as well go for it here in London against the best. And whoever wants

:27:02. > :27:09.it the most, he is going to want it the most because he is on home soil

:27:10. > :27:15.with this support. Steve Cram, what does success looked like, perhaps he

:27:16. > :27:20.will not win it? He said success was beating the British record held by

:27:21. > :27:24.Steve Jones but I think he wants more than that. He needs to know

:27:25. > :27:29.from today whether he is going to run a marathon at the Olympic Games

:27:30. > :27:42.in 2016. He needs some indication one way or another. It really is a

:27:43. > :27:48.tantalising prospect. Sit back and enjoy the Virgin Money London

:27:49. > :27:54.Marathon with us. The waiting is finally over.

:27:55. > :28:01.The elite runners act as a kind of barrage barrier blocking those

:28:02. > :28:07.gathering behind them. Is it the gathering storm for Mo Farah will

:28:08. > :28:11.the sun be shining on his marathon career, who knows. This man knows

:28:12. > :28:16.all about it. The world record holder Wilson Kipsang. Geoffrey

:28:17. > :28:24.Mutai who beat him in the New York half marathon just three weeks ago.

:28:25. > :28:36.And a man who knows how to win here in London, Tsegaye Kebede. He thinks

:28:37. > :28:41.he can win it again this time. The world champion, Olympic champion,

:28:42. > :28:48.loves running here in London. Not the quickest on paper but he does

:28:49. > :28:51.know how to win big races. Another former London winner and a man who

:28:52. > :29:05.has run the quickest around this course. Emmanuel Mutai. And listen

:29:06. > :29:14.to the welcome for Mo Farah. CHEERING.

:29:15. > :29:31.The field is just the best we have ever seen. Tsegaye Mekonnen. Samuel

:29:32. > :29:37.Tsegay. Chris Thompson and Scott Overall running for Great Britain.

:29:38. > :29:46.And others looking for Commonwealth and European places in the summer.

:29:47. > :29:49.34 years we have gathered in Greenwich to watch one of the

:29:50. > :29:56.world's greatest sporting spectacles. And this year Mo Farah

:29:57. > :30:17.has just added a little bit of spice. We are on our way! The London

:30:18. > :30:23.Marathon and all that it offers. At the front, in the middle, at the

:30:24. > :30:31.very back. Every single one of them setting out on their own personal

:30:32. > :30:48.journey. One of the world's great sporting spectacles. On a perfect

:30:49. > :30:53.day here in London. Perhaps a British champion? Perhaps somebody

:30:54. > :31:00.who can continue the success he's had on the track, but today it's not

:31:01. > :31:13.all about Mo, but about 36,000 others, who make the London Marathon

:31:14. > :31:17.a special occasion and day. Although years ago, Brendan, you sat here for

:31:18. > :31:23.every single one, but I'm not sure even the great David Coleman, who we

:31:24. > :31:26.sadly lost this year, David with his great wisdom and vision and the

:31:27. > :31:31.likes of Chris bray Cher and the rest of the team, all of the people

:31:32. > :31:36.who have helped to create this and they are will not share any of them

:31:37. > :31:39.in their wildest dreams could have envisaged all these years forward

:31:40. > :31:49.what it has become nottious here in Britain, but around the world.

:31:50. > :31:54.That's right. 34 years and we've seen 888,000 people finish the

:31:55. > :31:59.Marathon and these shots heralds the start of bring. What a beautiful day

:32:00. > :32:04.and magnificent occasion and wonderfully organised event. The

:32:05. > :32:07.Chief Executive of the London Marathon must be thrilled when he

:32:08. > :32:11.sees these sights. People queuing up to get over the start line. That's

:32:12. > :32:15.all well and good, because when they cross the start line the computer

:32:16. > :32:21.chips will trigger and their official times from start to finish

:32:22. > :32:25.will be recorded and tabulated and the rulingTS will be on-line this

:32:26. > :32:32.afternoon. What a change it's been over the 34 years. What a spectacle

:32:33. > :32:35.of colour and doesn't London look magnificent. We look at the

:32:36. > :32:39.enthusiasm and the runners from all around this country and in deed --

:32:40. > :32:46.indeed many, many countries around the world and they come here for the

:32:47. > :32:50.annual pilgrimage to Greenwich. I hope they don't get too excited

:32:51. > :32:53.about Mo. We are all excited about that, but this is what the London

:32:54. > :33:00.Marathon is all about. Look at the colours. You said there's been so

:33:01. > :33:06.many changes. One thing never changes - 26.2 miles is hard work.

:33:07. > :33:11.It's a real challenge. Whether you are an Olympic champion, world

:33:12. > :33:16.record holder or whether this is the first event of this type you've ever

:33:17. > :33:19.taken on and you're not sure if you'll get to the finish line. It

:33:20. > :33:24.doesn't patter. They'll all know at the end of the day they've taken

:33:25. > :33:31.part in one of the world's greatest sporting event. Even the elite

:33:32. > :33:35.athletes, they know they're going to get there, but they don't know what

:33:36. > :33:39.it's going to be like. The journey is what it's all about. Happy 80th

:33:40. > :33:46.for Jean. I remember the first one, all the T-shirts were grey and

:33:47. > :33:51.dark-blue and black. We were in colour, but now look at them.

:33:52. > :33:57.Yellow, the bright yellows. What a wonderful sight. The skies overhead.

:33:58. > :34:01.Sat here for 34 years, Steve, and I feel one of these days I should run

:34:02. > :34:06.in it, but it was probably a few years ago when I should have done

:34:07. > :34:16.it. There is still time! Never say never! The first year they've had a

:34:17. > :34:19.grandstand at the start line, because it's a spectacle. Everybody

:34:20. > :34:24.wants to see the finish, but you get all of the excitement and all of the

:34:25. > :34:28.anticipation. We have the three different starts. It's all organised

:34:29. > :34:44.very well. Marshalled brilliantly. It will take maybe the best part of

:34:45. > :34:52.20 minutes for most people to cross the start line. Those who gather in

:34:53. > :34:55.Greenwich Park I'm pretty sure have been having a lovely morning

:34:56. > :34:59.relaxing and this year for once, haven't had to keep all of their kit

:35:00. > :35:02.on until the last minute. They've been able to prepare themselves

:35:03. > :35:07.perhaps a little bit earlier and enjoy the sunshine. The directions

:35:08. > :35:17.are come through the park, turn left and you've got 26 miles to go. Look

:35:18. > :35:20.at that. Hugh, the son of the founder, Chris has taken over as

:35:21. > :35:24.race director and he'll be absolutely thrilled with the way

:35:25. > :35:29.it's processing. The women's elite race is well under way and the men

:35:30. > :35:32.are being led by the great one, as a pacemaker, never seen him before,

:35:33. > :35:39.the great Haile Gebrselassie, but the important part of the London

:35:40. > :35:48.Marathon, most of them, are still in Greenwich Park. This is the

:35:49. > :35:52.attraction. It's not just the 26 miles. That in itself is a wonderful

:35:53. > :35:58.challenge for anybody to take on, but it's being part of this event.

:35:59. > :36:04.It's being part of that huge, huge group of people down there. I don't

:36:05. > :36:09.think it's very easy to describe what it's like. I've done it myself

:36:10. > :36:12.on a couple of occasions and the camaraderie and the people coming

:36:13. > :36:15.together. Never met and they'll make friends on the route and they'll

:36:16. > :36:20.give their life stories at times when things get a little bit tough.

:36:21. > :36:26.They'll look for support from spectators. People around you. Some

:36:27. > :36:30.of them become life-long friends. There's something about the energy

:36:31. > :36:33.of being together and participating together of running together and

:36:34. > :36:37.doing what you've just said and sharing your experiences and

:36:38. > :36:41.stories. Even sharing the water. I remember the famous line of David

:36:42. > :36:46.Coleman in the first when he said, "The hand of friendship." Well, the

:36:47. > :36:50.hand of friendship has crossed this eventment it's not just the elite

:36:51. > :36:54.runners, who cross the line as they did in the first, but these people

:36:55. > :36:58.setting off. They all know how tough it is. They all know the best way to

:36:59. > :37:03.do it is doing it together and the sharing that comes out, I can see a

:37:04. > :37:18.Sunderland shirt, but right in the middle of the shot. Sorry! He's got

:37:19. > :37:23.as many miles to go as Sunderland have points, 25. I did say I wasn't

:37:24. > :37:38.going to mention it. He happened to be there. I know it's been a tough

:37:39. > :37:42.year, but you're brave. Moving on! There you can see perfectly the red

:37:43. > :37:48.and blue start. We have seen the elite athletes who have headed on

:37:49. > :37:56.their way. And they all come together. They approach Woolwich.

:37:57. > :38:04.Three or four miles down the road. We'll look at exactly where they are

:38:05. > :38:08.going. Three separate starts. The green and the blue merge and it's a

:38:09. > :38:14.little while before the red joins them. Fast miles through two, three

:38:15. > :38:21.and four and down to the river. Past the Woolwich Barracks and they start

:38:22. > :38:28.heading up to the Cutty Sark, which is one of the great images of the

:38:29. > :38:38.London Marathon. Restored in recent years. Then a few of the toughest

:38:39. > :38:41.miles and through Rotherhithe eventually. At this point they'll

:38:42. > :38:45.start to get a little bit of a glimpse of Tower Bridge. Then they

:38:46. > :38:50.know there that they're just about half way, about 20 kilometres over

:38:51. > :39:01.the Bridge. Then it's the half-way point. You turn right. And head to

:39:02. > :39:08.Canary Wharf. And the glass spires of the financial district. Not quite

:39:09. > :39:16.as many twists and turns, but it's a little fiedly through -- fiedly --

:39:17. > :39:23.fiddly through there. This is for the elite athletes for the big

:39:24. > :39:28.breaks. It's not far to go then the Tower of London and then they go to

:39:29. > :39:37.the Embankment and see Big Ben and then this is really a run for home.

:39:38. > :39:44.The finish like is in the Mal. -- Mall. Paula, you can bring us

:39:45. > :39:48.up-to-date with the women. The first change was we lost the Olympic

:39:49. > :39:53.champion. It's been a relentless pace. Tirunesh Dibaba still there.

:39:54. > :39:59.Jeptoo and Florence and Edna still there. Trying to hang on, but no

:40:00. > :40:05.Tiki Gelana. She dropped off and ran about six or seven miles when they

:40:06. > :40:11.started running consistent paces, which would give them a time, so

:40:12. > :40:24.moving in a very good pace and she immediately dropped off. Followed a

:40:25. > :40:41.mile or so later by the other two, Tsegaye Kebede -- Tadese tad and

:40:42. > :40:48.Aberu Kebede. There is the pace. It's almost world record. You have

:40:49. > :40:51.the course record at 2. 15. After two miles, they were not quite sure

:40:52. > :40:56.and the last six miles has been world record pace, which is

:40:57. > :41:00.significant? Definitely. That's why it did the damage and we saw people

:41:01. > :41:04.drop off. We saw Tirunesh Dibaba react well and cover that. Moving

:41:05. > :41:08.from the 10,000 metres, she would still find that pace at this stage

:41:09. > :41:12.very manageable, but she didn't have any hesitation moving away with this

:41:13. > :41:17.group and now it is Edna Kiplagat who is struggling to stay on that

:41:18. > :41:32.pack and it looks as though no too long we might see the group of three

:41:33. > :41:38.breaking away. Meanwhile, the first race on schedule to finish is the

:41:39. > :41:44.men's elite wheelchairs. This is Ernst van Dyk. We have a breakaway

:41:45. > :41:49.group of four. Hokinoue from Japan. David Weir is still in the group. So

:41:50. > :41:54.too Marcel Hug. Interestingly, Tanni, Ernst van Dyk is the one who

:41:55. > :41:59.hasn't looked plaverle comfortable and -- particularly comfortable, and

:42:00. > :42:02.yet here he is opening up ten metres. Is he deciding that he can't

:42:03. > :42:08.afford to leave it to a sprint because he knows there's not enough

:42:09. > :42:11.in the arms? That's right. He has been letting others cover the

:42:12. > :42:15.breakaways and I think this is much more about how confident he feels,

:42:16. > :42:20.because you don't want to be with Marcel Hug and David Weir coming

:42:21. > :42:23.around that final turn and Ernst van Dyk has been comfortable racing out

:42:24. > :42:27.on his own and racing hard rather than being in a pack, but

:42:28. > :42:31.interestingly, Dave's been very smart and not spent a lot of time at

:42:32. > :42:37.the front, even when Hokinoue has tried to force him through. He has

:42:38. > :42:40.ignored every attempt to make him feel guilty. But he's pulling in the

:42:41. > :42:44.gap a little. He has barely been at the front David Weir, but he has

:42:45. > :42:51.done the sensible thing you would suspect so far and covered every

:42:52. > :42:55.gap. No sooner were we talking about Ernst van Dyk and that gap has been

:42:56. > :42:59.closed and once again the lead four are together and they are miles

:43:00. > :43:05.clear of the rest of the field, so barring disasters, the winner will

:43:06. > :43:08.come if this four. Will it be The Magnificient Seven for David Weir?

:43:09. > :43:20.We won't have to wait long to find out. Canary Wharf looking brilliant

:43:21. > :43:24.and shining in the sunshine today. We hope that you are going to sit

:43:25. > :43:29.with us and enjoy the wheelchair race. The women's elite and men's

:43:30. > :43:33.elite and the masses. We want to hear from you. If you have anybody

:43:34. > :43:35.out there running who you want to pass on your best wishes to, text

:43:36. > :43:54.us: Please, please get involved because

:43:55. > :43:58.we are here for a good few hours and there are so many good people out

:43:59. > :44:05.there and their stories. We have some that we already know about. We

:44:06. > :44:11.have got so many people out there and if we can we would love to say

:44:12. > :44:18.hello. Somebody who I don't have to say good luck to and I hope she is

:44:19. > :44:27.going to do a good job, good luck Helen Skelton. Everybody is excited

:44:28. > :44:30.for Mo Farah. Are they as excited to be setting off? I want to get on

:44:31. > :44:35.with it and get it under way, because as soon as you start running

:44:36. > :44:40.and the sooner you get closer to the finish line. I do feel nervous. I

:44:41. > :44:44.feel a bit sick. And I can't wait to see my family cheering on the

:44:45. > :44:48.sideline, because that will help me out and get me through. I have got

:44:49. > :44:54.to hand over the microphone. It's lick my safety blanket -- like my

:44:55. > :44:58.safety blanket. Helen's doing the best thing. There's no better way to

:44:59. > :45:03.know what this is all about than to take part. Helen will be fine. We

:45:04. > :45:06.are expecting her around four-and-a-half hours, but she has

:45:07. > :45:14.set herself a real task and working hard and running hard too.

:45:15. > :45:24.Early on in the men's race, we wanted to see a fast race. And one

:45:25. > :45:38.of the people who has been given the job to make it first, the pacemaker,

:45:39. > :45:48.Haile Gebrselassie. He has run 4.36 for the first mile. I asked him why

:45:49. > :45:53.he was doing pacemaking and he said he had broken 26 world records over

:45:54. > :45:58.the years and had some top athletes helping him to do that so he thought

:45:59. > :46:06.it was his turn to give them some help. And the great Haile

:46:07. > :46:13.Gebrselassie, pacemaker. That is a world first. But he is going to run

:46:14. > :46:18.to the halfway point. Mo Farah decided not to go with that pace and

:46:19. > :46:27.settled for a bit of a slower opening. He is in the second group

:46:28. > :46:36.following another pacemaker. That is sensible from Mo Farah. He has

:46:37. > :46:42.decided to let the main field get away and do their thing whilst he is

:46:43. > :46:47.doing his own thing. So a scientific approach to it. That has been his

:46:48. > :46:56.approach in the last few years. Picking up the drinks. There was a

:46:57. > :47:06.decision to be made for him and the other athletes. The others have gone

:47:07. > :47:13.with the early pace. The front group has already split into two. We are

:47:14. > :47:19.interested to see if the front group would maybe go a little bit slower.

:47:20. > :47:31.But they really have attacked it early. Haile Gebrselassie leading

:47:32. > :47:44.that. And this is why I think for Mo Farah the plan is they want to hit

:47:45. > :47:48.halfway in a good time. And he is gambling a little bit that these

:47:49. > :48:06.guys are going to Cilic other up a little bit. Hats off to them if they

:48:07. > :48:14.do not. -- chew each other up. Some great talent in that group led by

:48:15. > :48:22.Haile Gebrselassie. At the age of 41 he still has ambitions. He wants to

:48:23. > :48:32.run a marathon next week in an age best time. I hope the message going

:48:33. > :48:36.out to the spec taters on the route is not that Mo Farah is losing, but

:48:37. > :48:42.that he is running his own race. He has chosen to run a more

:48:43. > :48:50.conservative race. It is his first one and it is not surprising. This

:48:51. > :48:57.is a loaded field. The athlete who beat Mo Farah in the World

:48:58. > :49:02.Championships, Ibrahim Jeilam running right next to him. They know

:49:03. > :49:06.each other well. Is Mo Farah going to judge it right? Is the leading

:49:07. > :49:12.group going to slow down and what is going to happen to Mo Farah beyond

:49:13. > :49:16.the 20 mile mark. We're pretty sure he will be in great shape

:49:17. > :49:21.approaching 20 miles but does he have the physical make-up to

:49:22. > :49:26.translate from a great 10,000 metre runner to a great marathon runner.

:49:27. > :49:35.It is an interesting baptism but a bit of about two some of fire. -- a

:49:36. > :49:43.baptism of fire. All the leading runners in this event have dismissed

:49:44. > :49:48.his chances. He Haile Gebrselassie said that the champion from last

:49:49. > :49:55.year as the one to beat. And he knows a little bit about marathon

:49:56. > :50:00.running. Tirunesh Dibaba is still in contention in the women's leading

:50:01. > :50:04.group and she said that Hayley gebrooselassy has been fantastic in

:50:05. > :50:09.the help that he has given her. And he is now paying a little back to

:50:10. > :50:17.the sport that he has graced so magnificently over the years. Well

:50:18. > :50:31.it is a very good pace that has been set. Emmanuel Mutai there. The world

:50:32. > :50:37.record holder, Wilson Kipsang. Meanwhile at the tower, this race

:50:38. > :50:42.has developed into the four big names we might have expected.

:50:43. > :50:48.Tirunesh Dibaba still with this group. What kind of pace are they

:50:49. > :51:03.running? Pretty much getting growth to the women's course record pace at

:51:04. > :51:10.this stage. To begin with we wondered if Tiki Gelana was just

:51:11. > :51:20.holding off. But drifting further back now. All the women look

:51:21. > :51:24.comfortable. For me Priscah Jeptoo looks the most comfortable. Tirunesh

:51:25. > :51:28.Dibaba just watching a comfortable at the moment. In the press

:51:29. > :51:33.conference she spoke about the advice that Haile Gebrselassie had

:51:34. > :51:43.given her and how much help that had been. Her longest run has been 35

:51:44. > :51:46.kilometres. She has put the work in and she is coming out fired up a

:51:47. > :52:02.little bit by the defeat in the Great North run and once to prove

:52:03. > :52:09.something here today. -- wants to. And there is Tiki Gelana. Hoping

:52:10. > :52:13.that something happened at the front with those athletes ahead of her. It

:52:14. > :52:21.looks like it is going to be a hard slog for her in the second half of

:52:22. > :52:31.the race. They are almost halfway. Meanwhile, Charlie Chaplin! So many

:52:32. > :52:45.characters out there. Not really a day to wear fancy dress. Getting a

:52:46. > :52:54.great cheer at the start. Charlie Chaplin did not used to run, he just

:52:55. > :53:12.used to walk quickly! Still moving through. Streaming through, to be

:53:13. > :53:20.honest. A bit late for Halloween, isn't it? ! The last few getting

:53:21. > :53:27.across the start line. Building up to the first big finish. Still this

:53:28. > :53:41.leading for in the elite men's wheelchair race. Marcel Hug leading.

:53:42. > :53:52.David Weir on second place. Kota Hokinoue in fourth place. Marcel Hug

:53:53. > :54:07.you suspect is just waiting to see what David Weir is going to do.

:54:08. > :54:14.Tanni Is inside me. -- beside me. I imagine Marcel Hug is frustrated at

:54:15. > :54:21.the moment. David Weir in a really good position. And unless they can

:54:22. > :54:27.make him hurt it is looking good for him right now. David Weir races with

:54:28. > :54:31.soft gloves. All the other guys racing on plastic gloves with a

:54:32. > :54:40.rubber covering so any change of pace, David Weir can hear what is

:54:41. > :54:44.happening. So he puts in more power rather than hand speed. So by the

:54:45. > :54:50.time they react to him it is usually a bit late. So those soft gloves

:54:51. > :54:58.stop the others from knowing what he is doing. And it is not just about

:54:59. > :55:03.the win today but the significance of Mo Farah's marathon going forward

:55:04. > :55:09.to the next Olympic Games. But here they will be curious to see if David

:55:10. > :55:14.Weir has lost any of his power with that self-imposed exile last year.

:55:15. > :55:18.And at the moment it looks as if he is answering those questions and

:55:19. > :55:24.saying I am back and I am as good as I was two years ago. And in two

:55:25. > :55:32.years' time if you want to beat me you really will have to be at the

:55:33. > :55:36.top of your game. He really needed a break last year, there was so much

:55:37. > :55:41.pressure on him. He just needed to be a town with his family and

:55:42. > :55:48.getting his training right. He did a couple of races on the road, not

:55:49. > :55:51.really on track. He raced in Sydney and has raced in Lisbon where he

:55:52. > :55:57.came third. He has been playing a waiting game and he has got a lot of

:55:58. > :56:04.nerve. He does not panic or get stressed out. He is just watching

:56:05. > :56:09.where everyone is. I had a chat with him on Friday and asked him about

:56:10. > :56:17.Marcel Hug winning in his absence last year. I said to him you think

:56:18. > :56:21.that he has turned a corner and gain some confidence. He just looked at

:56:22. > :56:31.me with a wry grin and said that Marcel Hug one and he said but I was

:56:32. > :56:36.not there. Marcel Hug has so much talent but he does raise differently

:56:37. > :56:41.when David Weir is in the field. I think it is because Dave we are can

:56:42. > :56:48.win the race in so many different ways. He can kick short and hard, he

:56:49. > :56:52.can wind up gradually. So he can win in a lot of different ways whereas

:56:53. > :56:59.Marcel Hug likes to take it out a little bit earlier. Getting right

:57:00. > :57:05.down to the nitty-gritty here. The last few corners. And when is the

:57:06. > :57:10.Sprint going to come? Can David Weir secure his seventh title and become

:57:11. > :57:17.the greatest wheelchair performer in London Marathon history. Marcel Hug

:57:18. > :57:21.is bare. He wants to continue the dominance he enjoyed last year.

:57:22. > :57:33.Ernst van Dyk in third. Marcel Hug leading. Reminiscent scenes from the

:57:34. > :57:39.Paralympic marathon two years ago. David Weir is digging and pushing.

:57:40. > :57:48.Still a two metre deficit. Shoulders burning. Marcel Hug is holding him.

:57:49. > :57:58.And Marcel Hug has taken it. David Weir second. Ernst van Dyk third.

:57:59. > :58:03.And that confidence has got him across the line. A pat on the back

:58:04. > :58:09.for Marcel Hug from David Weir. Not good enough for gold today but this

:58:10. > :58:15.tees up some great battles for the years to come. Perhaps David Weir

:58:16. > :58:22.will use this as even more motivation as the long road to

:58:23. > :58:26.Brazil takes another step forward. That was a fantastic race from

:58:27. > :58:35.Marcel Hug in terms of not panicking. He just kept accelerating

:58:36. > :58:39.away. And that is going to change the racing for the season. A great

:58:40. > :58:47.push from Dave but just not good enough today. Still tied as the

:58:48. > :59:05.record-holder. But what a significant mystery -- victory for

:59:06. > :59:09.Marcel Hug. The undoubtedly would have been feeling a little sore and

:59:10. > :59:16.tired from the big win that he enjoyed in Paris. But arguably this

:59:17. > :59:22.is the biggest victory in Marcel Hug's career. He has finally proved

:59:23. > :59:25.he has not been afraid to take on David Weir come the big occasion and

:59:26. > :59:48.at last he has been able to beat him when the pressure is on.

:59:49. > :59:59.So the wheelchair race complete. Still finishing in front of us here

:00:00. > :00:09.where the crowds are beginning to gather at The Mall. Just beyond five

:00:10. > :00:13.miles and when they go past six miles there is that little kink in

:00:14. > :00:21.the course that takes them around the Cutty Sark. Mo Farah was about

:00:22. > :00:34.27, 28 seconds behind the leading group who have gone off very quickly

:00:35. > :00:42.indeed. There Mo with his great rival, Jeilan. He was pass inside

:00:43. > :00:46.Japan. He beat Mo Farah in the world championships and finished second to

:00:47. > :00:52.him last year, so he's decided, I know Mo and I'm sticking with Mo.

:00:53. > :00:56.Letting the experienced guys go out and fight it out among themselves.

:00:57. > :01:00.They have gone out hard, Brendan? Well, they have. They went quick and

:01:01. > :01:06.Haile Gebrselassie for the first time as a pacemaker has done an

:01:07. > :01:10.exuberant job. He has let them along at all most course record pace and

:01:11. > :01:15.the crowds are seeing the great man who has graced this sport since he

:01:16. > :01:18.was world champion 20 years ago. 1993 was the first world title. We

:01:19. > :01:24.have been privileged to have him in this sport. Moving up 10,000 metres

:01:25. > :01:29.and world record holder at the Marton. Probably seeing him --

:01:30. > :01:33.marathon. Probably seeing him for the last time in a major

:01:34. > :01:38.competition. He's providing a service for the others to the

:01:39. > :01:43.half-way point. There they are, look at the crowds. In a moment they'll

:01:44. > :01:48.get really excited when they see the man they came to watch, Mo Farah,

:01:49. > :01:55.coming into suTy Sark. -- Cutty Sark. There is the third group and

:01:56. > :01:58.Chris Thompson and Marc Overmars. Chris Thompson -- Scott Overall.

:01:59. > :02:02.They are looking for good Chris Thompson -- Scott Overall.

:02:03. > :02:08.Scott running well there in the orange. Between this group and the

:02:09. > :02:11.group we saw, we are looking for Mo. This is going to be great for the

:02:12. > :02:18.crowd. The crowd are getting warmed up as they step into this area. And

:02:19. > :02:23.in that group you can sense by the way the crowd are reacting Mo right

:02:24. > :02:27.in the middle that group. That's the second group. Allowing the athletes

:02:28. > :02:31.upfront. Running at course record pace. Mo running just slightly

:02:32. > :02:36.slower than course record, but don't get too excited, Mo, relax and keep

:02:37. > :02:44.going. From half way. It's when you need to make your decisions. There's

:02:45. > :02:48.Mo Farah and Ibrahim Jeilan. He's the Ethiopian world champion and

:02:49. > :02:53.he's leading the Great Britain. The crowd are coming out to watch Mo.

:02:54. > :02:59.He's not losing, he's just in the second group. There are a couple of

:03:00. > :03:11.people between the group, including the Olympic champion, kip kip kip --

:03:12. > :03:15.Stephen Kiprotich. He went on to win the World Championship marathon last

:03:16. > :03:21.year, so he's gone off at a quicker pace than he would normally do. He

:03:22. > :03:24.doesn't have fast races to his name. He has goad medals. That's an

:03:25. > :03:30.interesting dilemma for Mo because if you are going to run the marathon

:03:31. > :03:36.in the Olympics you don't necessarily have to run 2.03.

:03:37. > :03:41.Kiprotich hasn't done that, but he has won the last two gold medals at

:03:42. > :03:46.the major championships. It's not just about turning up to London,

:03:47. > :03:49.Berlin and Chicago and run a wick time, it's about -- quick time, it's

:03:50. > :03:55.about understanding the event and when to make the move. When there

:03:56. > :04:04.are no pacemakers and Kiprotich has shown he is good at that. There is

:04:05. > :04:07.more to it than can you run fast? Haile Gebrselassie won the Games and

:04:08. > :04:12.then moved up to the marathon and really did it right and managed to

:04:13. > :04:16.win and break a world record. He wanted to be Olympic champion. That

:04:17. > :04:18.was the driving force. That's a big driver for the Ethiopian athletes

:04:19. > :04:33.because of their great history. Haile Gebrselassie still talks about

:04:34. > :04:38.other athletes, but when he talks about the first winner he talks

:04:39. > :04:42.about him with real reverence. He has never won the London Marathon.

:04:43. > :04:46.Everywhere else he has won big races, including the world record in

:04:47. > :04:50.Berlin, but never able to win the London Marathon and he says in the

:04:51. > :04:53.springtime in London, pollen levels and the blossoms on the trees

:04:54. > :04:57.affected him a little and he didn't enjoy it as much as he wanted to,

:04:58. > :05:01.but desperate to run the Olympic Games and he want selected by the

:05:02. > :05:10.team. The Games for Ethiopia marathon was a disappointment for

:05:11. > :05:15.the men. They didn't do well. Kebede didn't run the Games because he

:05:16. > :05:20.wasn't selected, so overall the strength of distance running, I'm

:05:21. > :05:26.thinking about Tirunesh Dibaba. She has done amazing things in the sport

:05:27. > :05:35.and she would love to win a gold medal at the Games and her - people

:05:36. > :05:39.from her town, Tiki Gelana both won golds in the marathon. They'll be

:05:40. > :05:43.watching that group and included in there is Tirunesh Dibaba. She

:05:44. > :05:47.eventually wants to win the Games and the marathon. It's a lot of

:05:48. > :05:50.people. She as got the abill and talent. Today, we are beginning to

:05:51. > :05:55.find out if she has got the aptitude to show that prowess that she has

:05:56. > :06:01.shown on the track and at shorting distances and can she translate to

:06:02. > :06:07.the maR tonne? Thing -- Marathon? Things are looking good. Paula,

:06:08. > :06:13.Tirunesh Dibaba is in the group. Tiki Gelana isn't. She went off the

:06:14. > :06:18.back fairly early. They haven't done anything to get rid of her yet. We

:06:19. > :06:24.have had a steady pace. Good pace. Steady. I'll break off to Rob for

:06:25. > :06:30.the moment. Thank you, Steve. Marcel Hug has taken the men's elite

:06:31. > :06:39.wheelchair title. With a surprise upset for David Weir. He was in

:06:40. > :06:42.second play. We are looking at the runaway leader, Tatyana McFadden.

:06:43. > :06:49.Storming away here to what should be, judging by the last time split,

:06:50. > :06:53.a new course record. She is the defending London Marathon champion

:06:54. > :06:58.and what a story this young woman has produced. She was living on the

:06:59. > :07:01.floor of a Russian orphanage and there was no money for a chair. She

:07:02. > :07:07.was crawlling around on her hands and knees. Then her adopted mother,

:07:08. > :07:12.Debbie, who was working for the US Department of Health and Justice

:07:13. > :07:17.adopted her, brought her back to the United States. And she has since

:07:18. > :07:20.conquered all and we'll be -- we'll be back to see her crowning moment

:07:21. > :07:29.when she gets to the finish in just a couple of minutes' time. The news

:07:30. > :07:36.from the men is there is a big gap developing between this group and Mo

:07:37. > :07:42.Farah. Just around the Cutty Sark or there abouts, that Mo was a good 45

:07:43. > :07:49.seconds behind, so he's losing about 15 seconds every five kilometres.

:07:50. > :07:55.Could well be well over a minute behind or at least a minute behind

:07:56. > :08:01.at halfway. There he is. Getting plenty of support. Mo's just running

:08:02. > :08:05.a little slower than he had asked for and he is saying to Jeilan,

:08:06. > :08:11."Come with me here." He'll need some company here. Let's watch this. It's

:08:12. > :08:14.a worrying gap at this point if he wants to think about coming in the

:08:15. > :08:19.top three here. It absolutely is. I would have been happier seeing him

:08:20. > :08:30.in this group just up ahead here, which should be including Stephen

:08:31. > :08:35.kip kitsch who - Kiprotich, who is pretty good. We need to see Mo here.

:08:36. > :08:40.What we have seen is the dancher of having -- danger of having the two

:08:41. > :08:44.pace groups going through-way 30 seconds apart. Where do they split?

:08:45. > :08:49.There isn't that much difference per mile pace. In the beginning mile it

:08:50. > :08:54.was difficult to judge. What we have also seen is one of the pacemakers

:08:55. > :08:58.steps off way too early and not Haile Gebrselassie, but I think we

:08:59. > :09:01.have seen a little bit of inexperience for Haile Gebrselassie

:09:02. > :09:05.and sitting in the press conference, so many people were saying that they

:09:06. > :09:12.really benefitted from the fact he's in the race and Kebede likes it and

:09:13. > :09:18.have him helping and it was a big thing, but he is used to racing and

:09:19. > :09:31.running how you feel. He's not used to hitting pace split and I know he

:09:32. > :09:37.was worried. Here comes Tatyana McFadden. As I was saying earlier,

:09:38. > :09:43.adopted from a Russian orphanage and now proudly flying the flag for the

:09:44. > :09:48.United States. Six golds in the blazing sunshine of Lyon last summer

:09:49. > :09:55.and then changed her focus and she was desperate to compete in her

:09:56. > :10:00.country of birth. She used all her winnings to pay for her biological

:10:01. > :10:08.family to be there. So both her adopted mum and her biological mum

:10:09. > :10:13.were there in Sochi to see her great silver and the crowd are responding

:10:14. > :10:20.here. The performance of a great, great champion. A new course record

:10:21. > :10:25.and the list of accolades for Tatyana McFadden goes on and on. She

:10:26. > :10:30.has defended her title in fine style and the athletes in second and third

:10:31. > :10:35.are not even in sight. Tanni, I hope you won't mind me saying, but surely

:10:36. > :10:39.now Tatyana is on her way to securing her status at the

:10:40. > :10:44.greatest-ever female wheelchair racer? Superb racing from Tatyana.

:10:45. > :10:47.At the press conference a couple of days ago she was talking down her

:10:48. > :10:51.chances, saying that she wasn't sure her technique in her chair would be

:10:52. > :10:56.up to the race, even though her fitness was great. The fact that she

:10:57. > :10:59.broke such a long way ahead and she just decided she was strong enough

:11:00. > :11:02.to go and obviously her fitness is not in doubt, but also the technique

:11:03. > :11:11.in the chair looks good, so great position for the rest of the season.

:11:12. > :11:16.A contrast in the battle for second and third, McFadden's was a time

:11:17. > :11:37.trail. We have Manuela Schar in second place. She is the reigning

:11:38. > :11:44.world champion. There is also Wakako Tsuchida. She beat her last year.

:11:45. > :11:55.Schar is an yunT rate -- underrated athlete. Last year a brilliant gold

:11:56. > :11:59.medal. Schar in second and Wakako Tsuchida comes home in third. A word

:12:00. > :12:05.for the Japanese athlete. This is ten years after her paralympic title

:12:06. > :12:10.over 5,000 metres, so tremendous appetite for the sport, but not

:12:11. > :12:24.quite good enough to beat Schar into second place.

:12:25. > :12:31.At the front of the women's race we only have one pacemaker left trying

:12:32. > :12:36.to keep this going and to be fair, the pace making has been even. The

:12:37. > :12:41.last five miles have been all run at about the same pace, around the low

:12:42. > :12:49.5. 20s and that's meant they've been able to settle. Edna Kiplagat and

:12:50. > :12:52.Priscah Jeptoo and Florence Kiplagat and Tirunesh Dibaba will be pleased

:12:53. > :12:56.that the pace has evened out. The question will be at some point in

:12:57. > :13:01.the next two or three miles are any of these and it won't be Tirunesh

:13:02. > :13:04.Dibaba, but the other three, who is feeling good and who is starting to

:13:05. > :13:08.try to think about winning this race? Absolutely. I think now as we

:13:09. > :13:15.move into this stage of the race, if you look at that pack of four in the

:13:16. > :13:20.race itself, you've got Edna looking very, very comfortable and moving

:13:21. > :13:24.into known territory for her. She knows this stage of the race very

:13:25. > :13:29.well and you have Florence and Tirunesh Dibaba who are probably -

:13:30. > :13:33.Florence is better known for the half marathons and Tirunesh Dibaba

:13:34. > :13:38.will only have raced as far as the half marathon and now she is going

:13:39. > :13:42.to get the questions asked, how is she feeling mentally and handling

:13:43. > :13:46.that? Is she thinking too far ahead to the finish or just thinking at

:13:47. > :13:52.this staining about letting the kilometres and miles tick away to

:13:53. > :13:58.get closer to the finish stage which is into her territory again? In the

:13:59. > :14:01.meantime, I think Mo Farah was maybe listening to us and the crowd

:14:02. > :14:06.because he has picked up the pace. He has moved away from Jeilan. He

:14:07. > :14:10.wanted him to come with him. He realised he was maybe going too slow

:14:11. > :14:15.and just outside 30 minutes through the first ten kilometres and that's

:14:16. > :14:21.the Olympic champion and Sigei who picked up and he picked up a medal

:14:22. > :14:26.at the recent world half marathon and Mo is saying, "Come on, work

:14:27. > :14:30.with me." He hasn't got it from Jeilan. He knows he is a long way

:14:31. > :14:41.adrift. There are the times. He wouldn't want the gap to get much

:14:42. > :14:45.bigger. They may slow down at the front. The likelihood is they won't,

:14:46. > :14:49.but Mo, to me, looks like he is getting into it. The first ten

:14:50. > :14:53.kilometres took his time and he realised that he needed to move into

:14:54. > :14:57.a different rhythm here. He's running smoothly and comfortably

:14:58. > :15:02.here. The interesting thing is, he's never been in I race like this and

:15:03. > :15:06.he's there and the race is happening down the road and all his whole

:15:07. > :15:17.career Mo has been in races where he has been in sight of the leaders.

:15:18. > :15:23.It is not the smoothest thing, but it is a new experience for Mo Farah.

:15:24. > :15:28.You look at the world record holders, the champions, the winners

:15:29. > :15:34.at New York, they are all there and Mo Farah was practising over the

:15:35. > :15:38.last few weeks. Paula Radcliffe was helping him, to get his drinks.

:15:39. > :15:45.There he is, getting ready. He sees the table and he slows down. See how

:15:46. > :15:50.important it is. Did you teach him that? There was a big discussion

:15:51. > :15:56.going on about whether he was going to pick up his own drink or take it

:15:57. > :15:59.from someone. And that is not as simple a decision as it sounds. If

:16:00. > :16:05.you take it from someone, you might think it would be easier but it can

:16:06. > :16:10.be harder. At the last minute, he switched. Yesterday, he was going to

:16:11. > :16:15.have someone handed to him. He looked smoother in training. But

:16:16. > :16:21.that is always the case because of the nerves. You are worried about

:16:22. > :16:26.whether you get a drink or not. If you are worried about Mo Farah

:16:27. > :16:32.setting off, I have been doing some sums. It has been confirmed by our

:16:33. > :16:35.statistician. He ran the last five Kay as quick as the leaders. He has

:16:36. > :16:41.picked up his pace. They have settled a bit, but he is still 45

:16:42. > :16:48.seconds behind. Do not think he would have wanted the gap to get any

:16:49. > :16:52.bigger. If he has any intention of being involved in the latter stages.

:16:53. > :16:59.Mo Farah, running at the same pace as the leaders, that he has probably

:17:00. > :17:07.expended less energy in the early stages. So he is warming to the

:17:08. > :17:11.task, shall we say. There's a lot of talent in that group, as Brendan was

:17:12. > :17:21.saying. They all look pretty comfortable at this point. A good

:17:22. > :17:27.pace being set at the front. The crowds are always huge at Cutty

:17:28. > :17:38.Sark. You still have time if you are watching somebody going through. You

:17:39. > :17:41.can end up on the other side and even get to the finishing line in

:17:42. > :17:50.time to welcome loved ones, friends. It can be a busy day for

:17:51. > :17:53.spectators, Steve. Getting to the Cutty Sark and then under the tunnel

:17:54. > :18:05.and then another tube to the finish. You can see people with backpacks

:18:06. > :18:08.on, setting off to do that. And there is the event moving through,

:18:09. > :18:18.to great applause. Absolutely phenomenal. Tiki Gelana, way down

:18:19. > :18:24.the field. Jessica Augusto, running well here today. Getting ready to

:18:25. > :18:27.run further, running for Portugal in the European Championships later

:18:28. > :18:31.this year. Tiki Gelana, rumoured to be in the best shape of her life,

:18:32. > :18:42.has not been the same since the Olympic Games. She has not run a

:18:43. > :18:50.great time since the Olympics. And then there is a massive gas after

:18:51. > :18:54.Augusto. -- massive gap. We saw the two other Ethiopians, that she is a

:18:55. > :18:59.long way back. Even though the leaders are slowing, Tiki Gelana is

:19:00. > :19:04.not running a good race obviously, but be leaders are not attacking

:19:05. > :19:13.this yet. They are not attacking this. We can see them settle down.

:19:14. > :19:18.They are settling a little bit, looking around, waiting for someone

:19:19. > :19:26.to make a move. But Tiki Gelana is three minutes back. She will not

:19:27. > :19:33.make it up. Probably the next two we are going to see have dropped off

:19:34. > :19:38.that group early on. I do not think we are seeing anyone picking massive

:19:39. > :19:45.inroads upwards, other than maybe get their role, running steadily. I

:19:46. > :19:49.cannot see them catching the leaders unless they fall apart quite badly.

:19:50. > :20:01.These are the two athletes you are talking about, and they have been

:20:02. > :20:06.together since the pace picked up. They decided they did not want to go

:20:07. > :20:15.with the lead pack, having their own private race. Further down the road,

:20:16. > :20:22.meanwhile... For the first time, one of them has decided to have a goal.

:20:23. > :20:25.It had to break at some point. The pacemaker is finally going. Florence

:20:26. > :20:36.Kiplagat is the one who has decided to give it a push. Jeptoo, either

:20:37. > :20:39.she has made a significant move to the front of this group or she has

:20:40. > :20:44.gone to the back. We need to find out. Looking back down the road, I

:20:45. > :20:50.cannot see her. It is more likely that she has moved ahead and

:20:51. > :20:58.Florence Kiplagat... No, that is the pacemaker. We are either looking at

:20:59. > :21:09.a breakaway off the front group of three, or a group of three who have

:21:10. > :21:14.dropped back. Jeptoo has been in such wonderful form over the last

:21:15. > :21:17.couple of years. Most people were expecting her to run well. She might

:21:18. > :21:27.even be the favourite running into this. We will check what has

:21:28. > :21:33.happened to her. Dibaba is hanging on well. The Kiplagats are testing

:21:34. > :21:42.her. Not related of course, Florence and Edna. Edna, the World

:21:43. > :21:45.Championships Florence Kiplagat, ran the fastest half marathon ever. --

:21:46. > :22:03.the World Champion. Shelly Woods coming in to the

:22:04. > :22:14.finish. She has Diana Roy for company behind her. She will be

:22:15. > :22:20.disappointed with her time. Coming up to one hour 54 minutes. She had a

:22:21. > :22:27.great PPM Lisbon this year. She had been ill, but she was full of

:22:28. > :22:30.confidence coming here. By her own high standards, I think she will be

:22:31. > :22:36.a little disappointed with sixth place. She is coming home ahead of

:22:37. > :22:47.Diana Roy. There you can see, just under one hour and 55 minutes. I

:22:48. > :22:50.think she will need to regroup and we gather for the rest of the

:22:51. > :22:58.season. She is a gutsy young performer and she had a very tough

:22:59. > :23:01.year. But there is definitely bigger and better to come from Shelly

:23:02. > :23:10.Woods. She has won this before in 2004. And 2012. But it was not to be

:23:11. > :23:14.today. And there is plenty of hard work required for her for the

:23:15. > :23:24.remainder of the season. She will certainly be up for the challenge.

:23:25. > :23:28.Congratulations. Tirunesh Dibaba up working hard to try to stay with

:23:29. > :23:36.foreigners Kiplagat. Making a bold move. I know that her camp were

:23:37. > :23:41.saying before this race that she was in great shape but she had obviously

:23:42. > :23:51.done a lot of preparation work for the race in Barcelona. Barcelona is

:23:52. > :23:56.where Florence Kiplagat... Tirunesh Dibaba has dropped her drink, which

:23:57. > :24:00.means another ten or 15 metres have disappeared for her. And think she

:24:01. > :24:03.probably did the right thing to get her drink because it is very

:24:04. > :24:10.important, but look at that. All of a sudden, Edna Kiplagat's experience

:24:11. > :24:16.has come on. Let's turn this 20 metres into 50 metres. All that

:24:17. > :24:21.happened was that Tirunesh Dibaba knocked her drink on the floor. She

:24:22. > :24:26.was sensible enough to pick it up. She is now just blowing the drink

:24:27. > :24:36.away, but we have spoken about the difficulty of this. The more

:24:37. > :24:44.experienced runners grab a drink, but then Dibaba trotters. She picks

:24:45. > :24:50.it up, which is wise. She knows how much running she has to do. --

:24:51. > :24:55.Dibaba drops hackers. We are looking at perhaps the greatest female

:24:56. > :25:00.distance runner of all time, now being tested and challenge in her

:25:01. > :25:03.debut marathon by the World Champion marathon runner and the world

:25:04. > :25:07.record-holder for the half marathon. It is no mean task to take on these

:25:08. > :25:14.athletes, running together, talking to each other. If anything, helping

:25:15. > :25:18.each other. Around the corner, Tirunesh Dibaba, whose ambitions lie

:25:19. > :25:23.in the marathon. A country with such ambition at the marathon. This one

:25:24. > :25:30.is the most accomplished female distance runner of all time in terms

:25:31. > :25:33.of her record. And they think that is significant because questions

:25:34. > :25:36.were being asked Tirunesh Dibaba by the two at the front. And they

:25:37. > :25:41.immediately responded by picking up the pace. It means two things. She

:25:42. > :25:45.is now dealing with playing catch up, and also with the mental

:25:46. > :25:53.difference of running on your own as opposed to hanging on the back of a

:25:54. > :26:03.group of three. We have been looking on the computer with our cameras and

:26:04. > :26:07.we cannot find a sign of Jeptoo. But we will confirm that. One minute she

:26:08. > :26:14.was with the group and then all of a sudden, she was no longer there.

:26:15. > :26:19.That is not the sign of an elite athlete. The must be something wrong

:26:20. > :26:26.because she came into this race in good shape, so she would not

:26:27. > :26:31.disappear that quickly. There must be a problem for her. And a real

:26:32. > :26:36.problem for Tirunesh Dibaba, watching the two Kenyans trying to

:26:37. > :26:41.extend their lead, trying to take advantage in the way that Geoffrey

:26:42. > :26:46.Mutai did in the New York half marathon when Mo Farah fell. They

:26:47. > :26:50.know the danger. Perhaps surprised that she was there in the first

:26:51. > :26:57.place. Certainly, they will take any opportunity they can. Florence

:26:58. > :27:01.Kiplagat, picking up the pace. Maybe that affected the concentration of

:27:02. > :27:05.Tirunesh Dibaba? She is probably not losing much more ground at the

:27:06. > :27:12.minute. Probably just needs not to panic. She is running a good race.

:27:13. > :27:19.Don't panic, but at the same time, since she dropped the bottle, the

:27:20. > :27:23.Kiplagats picked up the pace. Some of that, I think, was to take

:27:24. > :27:26.advantage of the fact that she had dropped a couple of seconds in

:27:27. > :27:33.picking up her bottle. She needs to not panic and just work gradually

:27:34. > :27:36.back. I think Edna Kiplagat, if it had happened to her, and would be

:27:37. > :27:41.confident that she would be able to reel that in but with Dibaba, I have

:27:42. > :27:46.a question, is she able to push yourself when the gap becomes

:27:47. > :27:50.significant? And it is, really. She has to work to be able to do that.

:27:51. > :28:00.She might be able to pull on different landmarks, but once it

:28:01. > :28:02.gets into the twisty part of the chorus, she might lose sight of

:28:03. > :28:07.them, and then it becomes even harder. The significance of this is

:28:08. > :28:12.that this is the greatest female distance runner of all time, trying

:28:13. > :28:17.to move up from success at 5000 and 10,000 metres. She has won

:28:18. > :28:21.everything available to her and she is trying to make one last step will

:28:22. > :28:26.stop can she successfully moved to the marathon? Some of the answers

:28:27. > :28:30.will be unveiled today the world of distance running, this is a star of

:28:31. > :28:36.distance running. This is an athlete who has been winning medals for many

:28:37. > :28:40.years. She has always wanted to move to the marathon. She wanted to do it

:28:41. > :28:44.last year but she could not. And the crowds are gathering along Tower

:28:45. > :28:49.Bridge, giving support to these athletes, including Mo Farah. Look

:28:50. > :28:53.at that, I have never seen as big a crowd. It gets bigger and better

:28:54. > :28:57.every year. And they really produce a show. Some fantastic athletes in

:28:58. > :29:02.that leading group. The world's greatest athletes. I'm looking for

:29:03. > :29:09.Haile Gebrselassie, the pacemaker, the greatest of all time. He said he

:29:10. > :29:14.would not get much past half way. According to that short, he did not

:29:15. > :29:28.get to have way. They are on course record pace, perhaps. They were

:29:29. > :29:30.going quicker. I did think that Haile Gebrselassie looked as though

:29:31. > :29:39.he was warmer than the others. The good news is that not far behind Mo

:29:40. > :29:43.Farah is making inroads. Whether he is working too hard at this part of

:29:44. > :29:48.the race, he has made big inroads into the lead group. They have been

:29:49. > :29:53.running about four hours and 51, and that has given him the chance to get

:29:54. > :29:58.back into the race. Mo Farah will not be too far away from his target

:29:59. > :30:03.time. He's going to be slower than intended but not too far away. And

:30:04. > :30:07.he will be so excited by the crowds and the reception he is getting on

:30:08. > :30:11.Tower Bridge. They are really cheering for him, making a real

:30:12. > :30:14.noise. And Mo Farah, he is an excitable person. He does not want

:30:15. > :30:21.to get too excited but he knows that the crowd are right behind him. He

:30:22. > :30:24.is asking the other athletes to come alongside him and give him a hand.

:30:25. > :30:32.At the end of the day, they are too far away from the pacemakers. The

:30:33. > :30:35.Eritrean runner beside him is happy to follow Mo Farah. He thinks the

:30:36. > :30:42.cheers of him. Isn't that magnificent? Our greatest ever

:30:43. > :30:45.distance runner running a very good race. A lot more to come here today

:30:46. > :30:50.from Mo Farah and we are all waiting in nervous anticipation. The great

:30:51. > :30:56.ones are up at the front. The experts are at the front. Mo Farah,

:30:57. > :30:59.a debutante in the marathon, moving on through. Can this great track

:31:00. > :31:03.runner become a great marathon runner? We will get a few clues

:31:04. > :31:12.today but we will not get all of them. He's working hard. He's asking

:31:13. > :31:16.Sigei to come around. I'm not quite sure why the two pacemakers are

:31:17. > :31:20.running that far ahead. They should be just ahead and he should be able

:31:21. > :31:24.to work with them and use their pace-making services. He is the

:31:25. > :31:31.pacemaker and he's quite happy to sit there. He's not prepared to do

:31:32. > :31:36.any of the work. He's trying to drop back and run with him. Does he think

:31:37. > :31:44.he's got eyes in the back of the head? He has just past 20

:31:45. > :31:48.kilometres. He ran five seconds quicker for that five second than

:31:49. > :31:52.the leaders did, but that's hard as well. He's having to pick up the

:31:53. > :31:56.pace in the middle of the race here just to try to get back in contact

:31:57. > :31:59.and I think there are some men in the lead group who are having an

:32:00. > :32:02.easy time. They are going slower than perhaps was initially

:32:03. > :32:07.suggested. They must be just about at the half-way point. The Shard

:32:08. > :32:46.there. That's 20 kilometres. The man who has run the fastest

:32:47. > :32:51.marathon is Jeffrey mute tie. -- Geoffrey Mutai. You get to see them

:32:52. > :32:58.here and on the way back. Just to let you know his target time was 62.

:32:59. > :33:06.15 at the halfway point, so he's obviously well down on that. But I

:33:07. > :33:11.think the leaders will have been slower than intended. Mo is

:33:12. > :33:16.struggling to get his message to the pacemakers. I think he was trying to

:33:17. > :33:22.get the camera bike to ask them to slow down. There he is through the

:33:23. > :33:33.halfway point. If Mo was trying to plan the way to attack a first

:33:34. > :33:40.marathon go through in 63 is pretty much perfect, but he trains on his

:33:41. > :33:45.own quite a lot. But he could use the two guys in front who are being

:33:46. > :33:51.paid to do that job. He needs to assess. They need to look behind.

:33:52. > :33:57.They should run with Mo and if he wants to go. Isn't that a problem?

:33:58. > :34:01.The trouble is the guys get told what they're supposed to do. They

:34:02. > :34:06.get paid. Everybody knows, pacemakers are paid and they get

:34:07. > :34:10.told to go through in a time so it's a dilemma. They are only doing what

:34:11. > :34:14.they've been asked to do, but they should use a little bit of common

:34:15. > :34:19.sense to say, "He's not quite at that pace, let's drop back and try

:34:20. > :34:24.to take him through." I think Brendan, he's only 35 to 40 seconds

:34:25. > :34:28.behind the lead group and he'll start to see them. When you go

:34:29. > :34:31.through the twists and turns through Canary Wharf, that is a big thing

:34:32. > :34:35.and you think they're not that far away. You probably worry that there

:34:36. > :34:39.are so many in this group. However, none the less, things are looking

:34:40. > :34:43.better than they were five miles ago. They'll peel off like this, but

:34:44. > :34:48.they won't all peel off. Mo will have to run faster. If you think

:34:49. > :34:52.about the first half, he has run 63 minutes, which is great. It's on

:34:53. > :34:56.schedule for a British record and that's what he said he wanted to do,

:34:57. > :35:00.but he's had to run hard in the second half of that opening half

:35:01. > :35:05.because of the early pace. He's had to run hard to get there in that

:35:06. > :35:09.scheduled time, so let's hope he doesn't pay too much for that,

:35:10. > :35:15.because this group has got some really tough marathon runners in it.

:35:16. > :35:20.We'll look at an incident earlier. We have just managed to turn this

:35:21. > :35:26.around. This was Mo just before we saw him. Another drinks station.

:35:27. > :35:30.Grab it, no, missed it. Tirunesh Dibaba went back to get it and Mo

:35:31. > :35:36.didn't. What would you have done? He couldn't, because it fell down the

:35:37. > :35:41.other side of the table, so he wasn't able to do that. That may

:35:42. > :35:44.have been when we were saying he was asking the camera bike to slow down,

:35:45. > :35:49.I think he was asking for the bottle to be brought to him, which they are

:35:50. > :35:56.not allowed to do. It did happen to me once. It's the time not to panic.

:35:57. > :36:03.He has eight bottles on the course. He can pick up the supplement that

:36:04. > :36:13.will be available on the course which is there. There is Mo Farah's

:36:14. > :36:17.wife there. Interestingly, Mo working hard now and settling down,

:36:18. > :36:21.having missed the drink. It's getting very technical here with

:36:22. > :36:28.pacemakers and drinks stations and catching drinks and picking them up.

:36:29. > :36:31.The big story is that Mo is about 40 seconds behind the leading group.

:36:32. > :36:36.The leading group has real stars among it. Their pacemaker is doing a

:36:37. > :36:41.good job and they're working to keep them together and keep the pace

:36:42. > :36:45.together. As I'm looking at Mo, we are getting information that Kipsang

:36:46. > :36:50.is moving to the lead and there's Mo trying to get another drink. He

:36:51. > :36:53.missed his own drink and his own specific drink and trying to get a

:36:54. > :36:57.bottle of water from the crowd, because he obviously needs it. As

:36:58. > :37:01.they keep going, it's getting warmer and the real testing time in the

:37:02. > :37:05.marathon is coming up fairly soon. Not quite just yet. But there's a

:37:06. > :37:10.lot of running to do, but Mo is still in the race, as the race

:37:11. > :37:15.changes its tempo. Kipsang, the world record holder, hits the front.

:37:16. > :37:18.Ignores the pacemaker and goes dashing past and starts to really

:37:19. > :37:24.work them. Now, this is going to be interesting. The group's starting to

:37:25. > :37:29.get smaller. One or two will fall off because there's too much effort.

:37:30. > :37:34.Now the world record holder for the marathon comes along and really

:37:35. > :37:41.shows it. Can he try to win this one? Wilson Kipsang, who broke the

:37:42. > :37:44.world record in Berlin last year, now declaring his intention. There

:37:45. > :37:48.are too many in the group for his liking. He doesn't want to be in

:37:49. > :37:52.among them. He wants space on the road. I remember he did this in the

:37:53. > :37:58.rim licks. He was leading -- Olympics. He was leading in London.

:37:59. > :38:02.By 25 seconds. He went off really hard in the first half in London. He

:38:03. > :38:07.really did pay for it. This has been - I think this is a steady pace for

:38:08. > :38:14.these guys and they've been waiting for somebody to make the move. I

:38:15. > :38:20.think Kebede is tucked in there and Mutai looks comfortial. Kipsang, I

:38:21. > :38:25.think they all look good and he garners most respect at the moment.

:38:26. > :38:29.Kipsang deciding that OK, guys, you want to come with me, I'm the

:38:30. > :38:33.fastest man in the world, I am the world record holder. He's reputed to

:38:34. > :38:38.be in great shape coming into this race. He likes running here in

:38:39. > :38:42.London, he says. However, that is a pack of really, really good, strong

:38:43. > :38:48.runners and on this sort of pace they should all - most of them will

:38:49. > :38:57.be feeling great. Well, they won't all be, but Kebede is there and

:38:58. > :39:01.Mutai, Geoffrey is there and Mekonnen, the man who says he's 18,

:39:02. > :39:08.but most of us who have doubts about that. Won the woRle junior record,

:39:09. > :39:15.he's still there. You can see Emmanuel Mutai is he slipping back

:39:16. > :39:19.there? It's building up. This is fascinating. What makes it more

:39:20. > :39:23.fascinating is the gap to Mo Farah. You know this lot here won't be

:39:24. > :39:26.thinking about Mo. They'll be thinking about how to win the race.

:39:27. > :39:33.They win it in the group.s this the men's leading group. And now the

:39:34. > :39:38.lead group in the women's race. There are the two Kiplagats. The

:39:39. > :39:41.world record holder for the half marathon and reigning world

:39:42. > :39:46.champion. Terrific pedigree. Down the road we can see Tirunesh Dibaba.

:39:47. > :39:49.The great one, moving up to the marathon. So far, it's pretty good

:39:50. > :39:54.for Tirunesh Dibaba in that third spot. Has she got anything left? Can

:39:55. > :39:59.she challenge? She lost the gap when she dropped her drink and stopped to

:40:00. > :40:04.pick it up. Has he closed that? -- se closed that? -- she closed that?

:40:05. > :40:10.I don't think so, but it hasn't grown. They put in a 5. 20 and

:40:11. > :40:14.slowed down to the 3. 30 -- 5. 30 pace and that seems to be the pace

:40:15. > :40:17.that Tirunesh Dibaba is running at. That's good for her, because that

:40:18. > :40:23.means she can still see them and focus on them. As she gets near to

:40:24. > :40:28.the last five or six miles, there is more of her territory in where she

:40:29. > :40:31.starts to believe she can run strongly to the finish and gauge her

:40:32. > :40:36.race from there and work on reeling them in. If you look at her, when we

:40:37. > :40:40.watch her on the track, she is high stepping and she looks so smooth

:40:41. > :40:44.when she runs on the track. Looking at this shot from Tirunesh Dibaba

:40:45. > :40:48.and she looks ragged. She is not looking as smooth as we normally see

:40:49. > :40:51.her on the track. When we see her on the track we rarely have seen her

:40:52. > :40:54.terribly challenged on the track. She has been the champion and

:40:55. > :40:58.winning them. She has been winning big races on the track. We have seen

:40:59. > :41:04.her lose a couple of half marathons. We have seep her be beaten -- seen

:41:05. > :41:08.her be beaten. She doesn't look as smooth to me. She doesn't look as

:41:09. > :41:14.bouncy, but I don't know if that's a bad thing. You can be bouncy on the

:41:15. > :41:18.track. You don't want to bounce too much on the road because it's more

:41:19. > :41:23.inefficient and you lose energy. Maybe that's just her style for the

:41:24. > :41:27.road. She needs to worken picking up her drinks, because she is looking

:41:28. > :41:32.energy and braking and that will tell on your body. You just want to

:41:33. > :41:40.run past and try to take it with one hand if you can and practice having

:41:41. > :41:44.done it from the side of the road. Kiplagats both of them, have no

:41:45. > :41:50.problem picking up their drinks. They make sure they take on what

:41:51. > :41:55.they need and they look comfortable. They do both come from the town

:41:56. > :41:59.where Mo has been preparing, but I don't think they are training

:42:00. > :42:04.partners. Tirunesh Dibaba, this is where she has come to learn. This is

:42:05. > :42:08.her first. They don't always turn out fantastically successfully, but

:42:09. > :42:12.they can eventually be successful in the transition from 10,000 metres on

:42:13. > :42:17.to the marathon. Today, she is running a very, very good race. She

:42:18. > :42:22.is nearly two hours of run ing behind her. Just over 20 minutes to

:42:23. > :42:27.go. Can she really do on the roads as she as done on the track?

:42:28. > :42:32.We'llified out. -- we'll find out. The women are now heading towards

:42:33. > :42:39.the final stretch, along the Ex-bankment. The men just heading

:42:40. > :42:43.into -- embankment. The men are heading into Canary Wharf. They are

:42:44. > :42:48.settling down after the little bit of a nibble at the front from the

:42:49. > :42:51.world record holder, Wilson Kipsang. They've all just settled again.

:42:52. > :42:58.Eaver time they do that, that's good news for Mo. Here he is. Mo just

:42:59. > :43:03.emerging from that tunnel. Mo at the moment time-wise on schedule for a

:43:04. > :43:14.British record. Let's not forget he said that was the minimum target.

:43:15. > :43:19.Two hours and seven and 13 seconds. Steve Jones, how many years ago,

:43:20. > :43:29.I'll have to do the maths. It's 1985. 29 years. 18-and-a-half

:43:30. > :43:34.because it was October in Chicago. Mo Farah well under that. He may

:43:35. > :43:39.have the European record in his sights. I think he's around about

:43:40. > :43:47.the 2.06. 20 mark. The European record is 2.06. 36. It's going to be

:43:48. > :43:51.a long hard run now, because I think that lead pack have picked up.

:43:52. > :43:55.They'll make some moves. They may come back to him, but it's a big gap

:43:56. > :44:02.between him and the rest of the group. He needs something to work

:44:03. > :44:06.with. He wanted a have good race and at the moment he's having it. He

:44:07. > :44:09.said he could run well today and not be in contention but still be

:44:10. > :44:13.satisfied. He wants to run a good time and he's on schedule. He's on

:44:14. > :44:24.schedule for a British record. But he's looking at some of the tough

:44:25. > :44:34.men here. Competitive. It's a strong pack. They are used to having a

:44:35. > :44:38.different and difficult mid-race, but from the halfway point they're

:44:39. > :44:41.getting serious and this is a competitive race and it's unlikely

:44:42. > :44:49.that enough of them will drop off. Mo will be able to speed up maybe.

:44:50. > :44:52.We'll hope and wait. Information-wise up and down the

:44:53. > :44:56.course, one significant thing is these guys aren't festally going to

:44:57. > :45:01.get a hold on information about how Mo is closing on them and how much

:45:02. > :45:04.closer he's getting. He is going to be get ing information because

:45:05. > :45:07.people in the crowd will be clocking the time difference between the

:45:08. > :45:12.leaders and him and handing that to him and if it's coming down will

:45:13. > :45:15.help him to sort the momentum. It was was coming down, I think it

:45:16. > :45:19.might be going in the opposite direction. They've just run a 4. 30

:45:20. > :45:22.mile, which is one of the quickest miles. Almost 20 seconds faster than

:45:23. > :45:34.more recently. Mo Farah is going to have to stick

:45:35. > :45:37.to his game plan. As far as the other British men are concerned,

:45:38. > :45:44.Chris Thompson and Scott Overall, running very well indeed. Just

:45:45. > :45:49.outside 65 minutes. That is setting them up nicely indeed for hopefully

:45:50. > :45:54.a good second half. Chris, running his first marathon. The two grew up

:45:55. > :46:04.competing against each other in their early years. Scott Overall ran

:46:05. > :46:15.so well in Berlin. Three years ago, he ran two hours, 10.52. Looking to

:46:16. > :46:21.break his personal best. The messages being passed on, more is

:46:22. > :46:25.coming. And he certainly is. That Mo Farah is coming. To me, knee is

:46:26. > :46:36.looking smooth. His last mile time, five minutes. Presumably that is the

:46:37. > :46:40.leading group. From 4.325 minutes would be a jump. Certainly, these

:46:41. > :46:46.miles can be run fast. You can get some good speed. That might count

:46:47. > :46:52.but I'm not sure they would have slowed down that much unless they

:46:53. > :46:56.are really marching. I've not seen crowds like this before at this

:46:57. > :47:02.stage of the race. Sometimes it is a lonely path. But here they are,

:47:03. > :47:06.coming up to the 16 mile point. Mo Farah, following the pacemaker,

:47:07. > :47:12.running in the middle-of-the-road, getting support from the crowd.

:47:13. > :47:19.Thinking about this stage of the race. Betty running to go, but it

:47:20. > :47:23.looks to me as though he is going to run a very good race. Why not sure

:47:24. > :47:29.if it will be good enough to trouble these athletes. -- at I am not sure.

:47:30. > :47:33.There is enough of them with experience of running fast and

:47:34. > :47:40.winning races, being competitive at the late stages. There is enough

:47:41. > :47:44.experience among them and Kebede, the former Olympic bronze medallist

:47:45. > :47:48.at last year's champion, he knows there are many of them there and he

:47:49. > :47:54.wants to do something about it. On the other screen, the two Kiplagat

:47:55. > :47:58.women, Florence Kiplagat who recently broke the world record for

:47:59. > :48:11.the half marathon and Edna Kiplagat, double World Champion. Then the

:48:12. > :48:15.road, it looks like the gap to Dibaba is quite significant. A

:48:16. > :48:19.significant point of the race for her. Can she go as strongly as she

:48:20. > :48:25.has done? If she does, this is a solid debut for the great athlete

:48:26. > :48:28.that Tirunesh Dibaba is. She is accomplished on the track. She has

:48:29. > :48:33.been pretty good at the half marathon. She suggested that she was

:48:34. > :48:38.going to run further. She has trained hard. We have not seen

:48:39. > :48:42.outside of Ethiopia for a while. She has taken advice from Haile

:48:43. > :48:46.Gebrselassie and he has been happy to provide her with that advice. Now

:48:47. > :48:52.she is translating that shorter distance ability into a solid

:48:53. > :49:00.performance. Is it over yet? An update on the British women in the

:49:01. > :49:07.elite race. Many of them contesting sports at the European Championships

:49:08. > :49:13.and Commonwealth games. Amy Whitehead and Emma Steptoe, very

:49:14. > :49:24.close together in 15th and 16th. Both of them under the qualifying

:49:25. > :49:32.time. Emma Steptoe, heading for two hours and 34. So that gap is not

:49:33. > :49:35.getting any bigger. It is not really a winning gap for either of those

:49:36. > :49:40.two. They will be thinking about each other but they have to be aware

:49:41. > :49:44.of the fact that Tirunesh Dibaba is only ten seconds adrift. The danger

:49:45. > :49:49.is that as they battle it out, and they will because each one of them

:49:50. > :49:53.wants to win it. They will not run as a team now. As they get into the

:49:54. > :49:59.last few miles, it is about who wants to win the race. If somebody

:50:00. > :50:03.cracks and falls apart, then Tirunesh Dibaba is in a position to

:50:04. > :50:14.pick them up. And even to work back towards them. Florence Kiplagat one

:50:15. > :50:20.your last marathon, Paula. She ran a personal best there. When I saw her

:50:21. > :50:25.on that day I thought this was the future of women's marathon running.

:50:26. > :50:28.She has had an off period since then but recently, breaking the world

:50:29. > :50:32.record for the half marathon, Florence Kiplagat is a class athlete

:50:33. > :50:39.in every sense. She is running strongly now. But she has the World

:50:40. > :50:43.Champion for company. We are seeing a significant race. Yes. And we are

:50:44. > :50:46.seeing a different style with the injuries and strength of the

:50:47. > :50:55.championship winner. Another one with injuries and strength, and a

:50:56. > :51:02.very good racing brain, is Kebede. He is controlling the mens rea s.

:51:03. > :51:09.Geoffrey Mutai is just buying Tim. We saw a while back, I'm not sure

:51:10. > :51:15.whether Kebede missed his bottle, but he was able to take one. We have

:51:16. > :51:20.seen those two working together. Supporting themselves in this race.

:51:21. > :51:26.It is turning into an Ethiopia versus Kenya battle at the front of

:51:27. > :51:33.the race. It might be a battle but it is one that has not been joined

:51:34. > :51:48.yet, as it were, 4.534 that mile. So much talent. -- 4.53 four that mile.

:51:49. > :51:51.And Mo Farah, we will get a real indication of how far back he is. At

:51:52. > :51:57.least he has the pacemaker to work with. And the crowd is giving no

:51:58. > :52:04.such great support. 17 miles. Not even at the part where people say

:52:05. > :52:07.the race really begins. That is Richard Whitehead just ahead of him,

:52:08. > :52:13.one of our Paralympic heroes from 2012. They said he was suffering

:52:14. > :52:20.from a cold coming into this but enjoying the atmosphere. And wonder

:52:21. > :52:28.whether Mo Farah realises who it is. Maybe not. Focusing on his job. But

:52:29. > :52:37.Richard Whitehead noes have it is. Richard Whitehead, glancing over,

:52:38. > :52:40.wishing Mo Farah well. He told me at the press conference that he was not

:52:41. > :52:44.worried about winning. He was going to flex his guns and enjoy himself.

:52:45. > :52:52.He is certainly doing that at the moment. A marvellous competitor. He

:52:53. > :53:00.calls himself a porn marathon manner -- therein marathon runner but there

:53:01. > :53:06.was unfortunately no category for him to train for the Olympics. He

:53:07. > :53:09.trained themselves as a 200 metre runner but he says that he would go

:53:10. > :53:23.back to marathon running after he finishes as a short distance runner.

:53:24. > :53:32.Meanwhile, a brilliant defence of chipped tooth's title. He is looking

:53:33. > :53:41.behind him. But he is miles clear. -- Chentouf. It was absolutely

:53:42. > :53:48.roasting in France. 35 degrees plus. He ran 2.24 dead last year. He is

:53:49. > :54:00.looking pretty good here, Chenttouf. The world Marathon cup champion.

:54:01. > :54:05.This is an impressive performance. This is a massive opportunity for

:54:06. > :54:09.these guys to race in a tented field. There was not that many races

:54:10. > :54:14.on a big-city marathons, that they are able to compete in like this. I

:54:15. > :54:20.wonder whether other events like Chicago and Boston and New York will

:54:21. > :54:32.follow suit? London is the first. As you say, what a brilliant moment for

:54:33. > :54:39.Chenttouf, being roared home. He is moving on. But is never as many

:54:40. > :54:44.people watching this kind of race at the end of an IPC marathon. But

:54:45. > :54:50.Chenttouf is soaking up the applause and deservedly so. Once again, he is

:54:51. > :54:54.having his day in the sunshine here. On this most famous of courses.

:54:55. > :55:03.Amazing to think that he only started competing in 2008. And he

:55:04. > :55:07.has really taken the world of visually impaired distance running

:55:08. > :55:11.by storm since then. And he was looking for three gold medals in Rio

:55:12. > :55:15.in two years' time. And judging by the space, and would bet against

:55:16. > :55:19.them? Slightly slower than the time he produced 12 months ago but

:55:20. > :55:23.considering he arrived late and had some issues getting to London, that

:55:24. > :55:29.was another classy, classy performance. And it is important to

:55:30. > :55:32.remember that the weather can make a massive difference. These guys have

:55:33. > :55:40.limited vision so bright sunshine makes it quite tough to run.

:55:41. > :55:45.Chentouf has left absolutely everything on that course. And

:55:46. > :55:50.another winner has crossed the finish line. How will these two

:55:51. > :55:56.elite able-bodied races finish? It is getting ever so exciting and ever

:55:57. > :56:01.so tense. The men's race is getting living.

:56:02. > :56:05.Kebede is starting to push. It is not about the pacemaker is any more.

:56:06. > :56:10.It is about the men who think they can win this. Emmanuel Mutai,

:56:11. > :56:16.struggling earlier at the back of this group. Stanley Biwott, who was

:56:17. > :56:27.imperious last year, on the far side. And our Cheryl also in that

:56:28. > :56:38.group. -- Arshero. And Wilson Kipsang, nearest to us. Mo Farah, we

:56:39. > :56:41.think he is about 50 seconds behind. I think he is working hard. He's

:56:42. > :56:45.getting into the part of the marathon where you will find out

:56:46. > :56:52.what it is all about. All of them training is making it a struggle. By

:56:53. > :56:56.some contrast, Chris Thompson is two minutes behind and looking good. He

:56:57. > :57:08.has pulled away from Scott Overall, 40 metres behind him. His first-ever

:57:09. > :57:13.marathon. Chris, heading for 2.10. He is running a good race. He is

:57:14. > :57:23.still running a good race, Scott Overall, but looking as though he is

:57:24. > :57:28.starting to struggle. Good to see Chris, less so for Scott, dry would

:57:29. > :57:32.like to see running with the group. Chris is running with a good group

:57:33. > :57:37.who are experienced marathon runners. And you can work with them.

:57:38. > :57:42.They have been training together and they have probably both said in the

:57:43. > :57:46.lead up that Chris would hope to come in a minute or so ahead of

:57:47. > :57:52.Scott. It is not unexpected that he has broken away at this point. And

:57:53. > :58:03.he also has the luxury of being able to come in and really take his time

:58:04. > :58:08.to work into it. Running a negative split here today, which it looks

:58:09. > :58:12.like he is able to do. Scott Overall and Chris Thompson working well. At

:58:13. > :58:19.the front of the women's race, maybe a little break to create some

:58:20. > :58:26.daylight between the two Kiplagats. Florence and Edna, the World

:58:27. > :58:29.Champion. Edna Kiplagat, many people were thinking that might be too much

:58:30. > :58:33.firepower in this race for her but you have to hand it to her, when the

:58:34. > :58:38.chips are down, you get a good performance from her. The fact that

:58:39. > :58:47.the pace is not as quick as many predicted is playing into her hands.

:58:48. > :58:52.She is further adrift than she was. Along the embankment, the crowds are

:58:53. > :58:55.roaring them along. They are looking at the world record-holder for the

:58:56. > :59:00.half marathon. They are looking at the world marathon champion and,

:59:01. > :59:03.further down that road, to the greatest female distance runner of

:59:04. > :59:09.all time, having a very interesting step up to the marathon. There are

:59:10. > :59:12.the Kenyans, Edna and Florence Kiplagat. Florence was the former

:59:13. > :59:18.world cross-country champion and is the Kenyan 10,000 meter

:59:19. > :59:24.record-holder. 30 minutes and 11 seconds for 10,000 metres. Further

:59:25. > :59:30.down the road... This is the short run Big Ben. The 25 mile marker.

:59:31. > :59:44.Getting inside the last two kilometres. Into the territory

:59:45. > :59:48.that... We will see how much Florence Kiplagat has got left. And

:59:49. > :59:56.also Dibaba. She is within shooting distance if she has enough left. She

:59:57. > :00:02.maybe, but is she aiming at them in her mind? They are getting

:00:03. > :00:07.competitive. We're looking at a great race between the two of them.

:00:08. > :00:15.Turning around Big Ben, being greeted all the way. That is a great

:00:16. > :00:22.shot. The greatest female distance runner of them all. I would say she

:00:23. > :00:25.is having a successful transition. Probably not what she wanted but

:00:26. > :00:29.there is nothing much wrong with running behind those two. Who is

:00:30. > :00:36.going to win its? Edna Kiplagat has one year before. Is she going to be

:00:37. > :00:40.second again, or is she going to be able to prevail? And Florence

:00:41. > :00:47.Kiplagat, faster over shorter distances, turning here. We really

:00:48. > :00:50.have a race. They might be team-mates from the same country but

:00:51. > :00:55.there will be no love lost here. Winning the London Marathon is a big

:00:56. > :00:59.prize. And I'm so thrilled at the crowds watching this. They are

:01:00. > :01:08.seeing some great races and great athletes. This is a great race. It

:01:09. > :01:12.is. It's still a fast race too. Both are, I think, delaying making a

:01:13. > :01:16.move. Either because they're both testing each other and finding it's

:01:17. > :01:22.pretty much the same, but also the pace means they can't inject a

:01:23. > :01:26.massive surge and it's about gauging the efforts. Is it going to be a

:01:27. > :01:30.sprint finish? I remember once only once in your career, Paula, you

:01:31. > :01:36.getting involved in a sprint finish. It makes the last couple of miles,

:01:37. > :01:43.which for many of your races, it was about the time and performance, but

:01:44. > :01:46.if you stopped coughing - Let her alone she is struggling at the

:01:47. > :01:50.moment. I think what is interesting here, as you were saying, Brendan,

:01:51. > :01:54.you started to talk about track speed when you get into this sort of

:01:55. > :02:00.thing and think about it. They'll know and Edna, were she to finish

:02:01. > :02:04.second that will be three years in a row, so she is going to be highly

:02:05. > :02:09.motivated at this point, but it doesn't win you races and Florence,

:02:10. > :02:13.I any for the half marathon when she was preparing for that, did a lot of

:02:14. > :02:17.speed work and did a lot of quicker work than you would normally do for

:02:18. > :02:21.a marathon. That was a couple of months ago, but she's had another

:02:22. > :02:25.period of training since then. She just might have a little bit more in

:02:26. > :02:29.her legs in terms of speed, but you have to be strong enough to use it.

:02:30. > :02:34.You do. That's the point I was trying to make before I started

:02:35. > :02:51.choking and coughing. It's not about sprinting. It's about changing the

:02:52. > :02:57.pace and changing the Kayed -- cadence a little bit. Who is going

:02:58. > :03:02.to make the first move? Florence, the smaller figure and Edna the

:03:03. > :03:06.taller figure, moving there nicely now. Who will make the first more

:03:07. > :03:12.and who has the finish in their legs? Obviously, a yard or two at

:03:13. > :03:17.this point matters, but a big move is what we need here. The great

:03:18. > :03:21.athlete that Tirunesh Dibaba is, she has found two Kenyan athletes

:03:22. > :03:27.stronger and faster over the marathon, but I don't think this is

:03:28. > :03:34.the career -- end of her career. This will be the start of another

:03:35. > :03:39.glorious chapter. The move from the 10,000 and three Olympic gold medals

:03:40. > :03:44.and five World Championship golds and four world cross-country world

:03:45. > :03:48.medals up to the marathon. Less than 6 unmetres remaining in the women's

:03:49. > :03:52.race. Two of them locked together, with the safe distance ahead of

:03:53. > :03:58.Tirunesh Dibaba, who is beginning to move up. She is. You can tell she is

:03:59. > :04:03.thinking, "I'm here to finish here and it's my part of the race." It's

:04:04. > :04:08.a big gap. It doesn't look so big, but it's ten seconds or month and

:04:09. > :04:14.with just about 400 to go, come on who is your money on here? We hope

:04:15. > :04:19.for a sprint finish. We haven't had one since 1997. It's not Tirunesh

:04:20. > :04:23.Dibaba any more because she looked behind and she is happy in third.

:04:24. > :04:29.She is happy with this day and settling for that. It's down to the

:04:30. > :04:35.front two. It's a great step for Tirunesh Dibaba. They are moving in

:04:36. > :04:40.less than 385 to go and two Kiplagat girls from Kenya. Stretching out

:04:41. > :04:45.now. This is going to be a sprint finish. The world champion is going

:04:46. > :04:48.first and Florence cannot respond. The world half marathon record

:04:49. > :04:54.holder, who you might think might have a little bit more in her legs,

:04:55. > :04:58.just has to watch as the tall figure of Edna Kiplagat, the two-time world

:04:59. > :05:03.champion, she has been second here in London on the last two occasions.

:05:04. > :05:09.This time it's for victory. She still has work to do. She has 100

:05:10. > :05:13.metres to go. That gap is getting bigger. Florence Kiplagat, nothing

:05:14. > :05:18.she can do about this. Worked so hard. Pushed the pace on. The two

:05:19. > :05:23.that worked together to get away from Tirunesh Dibaba, but the

:05:24. > :05:29.victory this time goes to the world champion Edna Kiplagat of Kenya. She

:05:30. > :05:33.wins the 2014 London Marathon. Florence Kiplagat takes second place

:05:34. > :05:38.and outside 2. 20. They slowed in the second half of the race.

:05:39. > :05:44.Kiplagat, Florence, looks very, very tired. Edna will be delighted. What

:05:45. > :05:49.a debut from Tirunesh Dibaba. As breped an said, maybe more to come

:05:50. > :05:52.from the -- Brendan said, maybe more to come from the Queen of the track,

:05:53. > :06:00.showing that she has got perhaps a future ahead of her in the marathon.

:06:01. > :06:04.The key question will be whether she liked it or whether she enjoyed it,

:06:05. > :06:09.because she has the talent to move to the marathon. It's whether she

:06:10. > :06:13.mentally wants to put herself in that place where you have to be

:06:14. > :06:17.strong. She knew that coming in and she was testing it and she also knew

:06:18. > :06:21.this course. Florence Kiplagat has run here before, but knowing the

:06:22. > :06:34.final bends and around the corners can be a big advantage here. That

:06:35. > :06:44.Tadese, who will take fourth place. She has stuck to her task very well

:06:45. > :06:47.indeed. Finishing strongly. Outside her personal best, but good

:06:48. > :06:58.performance. Less than a minute outside, but good run for her. Feysa

:06:59. > :07:05.Tadese there. Fourth place. While all that's been happening, about

:07:06. > :07:10.seven miles back down the road I can tell you that there - well less than

:07:11. > :07:15.six miles, taf moved on a bit, there have been some changes in the men's

:07:16. > :07:19.race. -- they've moved on a bit, there have been some changes in the

:07:20. > :07:22.men's race. We had a period where the pace was steady. Nobody really

:07:23. > :07:38.pushing on from the lead group. There you can see them.

:07:39. > :07:55.Mo Farah still on British record pace. Don't forget that. It's 2.07.

:07:56. > :07:59.13. This is how it looks. Kipsang, while we were watching the women, he

:08:00. > :08:05.put in a big surge and it's pulled that lead group apart and Stanley

:08:06. > :08:11.Biwott is the only man with him. Geoffrey Mutai is giving chase and

:08:12. > :08:14.Kebede hasn't been able to go with this, but it could well be that

:08:15. > :08:18.given the fact it's been - I don't think this is rash and I don't think

:08:19. > :08:22.this is too athletes who have overcooked this, who have made a bad

:08:23. > :08:28.decision. These are the two men who perhaps have the race between them.

:08:29. > :08:33.I think Kipsang is the man who came in here talking the bigger race.

:08:34. > :08:38.Acting as though he was the one who was coming here to run fast. He said

:08:39. > :08:45.he would run 2.04 and control the race. Now he's injected the pace and

:08:46. > :08:51.it is only Stanley Biwott who as gone with him. He has moved up a

:08:52. > :08:56.gear and controlling it now. Thises with similar to last year. Stanley

:08:57. > :09:02.Biwott was in contention, but now it's a case that last year he was

:09:03. > :09:06.pushed too hard. Mo is relishing the crowd. About a minute behind the

:09:07. > :09:10.leading group, so it's a significant step in the right direction by Mo

:09:11. > :09:15.Farah. It's been a strange experience for him. When he runs on

:09:16. > :09:20.the track he can control the races these days. He's got such a

:09:21. > :09:25.reputation and ability. But this race is a new step. He can't control

:09:26. > :09:30.it. There is Chris Thompson, runner up in the European championships a

:09:31. > :09:36.couple of years ago, behind Mo Farah. Listening to Chris the other

:09:37. > :09:41.day, he was saying different things to Mo. He wanted to run more more

:09:42. > :09:44.thans but he wanted the first one to be a positive experience and he

:09:45. > :09:49.wasn't going to take the risks. Paula is right, he is moving better.

:09:50. > :09:54.It's always difficult to tell, but he has run 2.10ish from the

:09:55. > :09:59.beginning, so, so far, so good for Chris Thompson. He's been coached by

:10:00. > :10:03.Alan Storey and he helped Mo through the early transition years and he

:10:04. > :10:07.was a great coach for Mo and others in the past. He knows how to coach

:10:08. > :10:10.marathon runners and you're dead right, Steve, he needs to have a

:10:11. > :10:15.positive experience and this looks like it. Over the years, I have

:10:16. > :10:19.talked a lot to Chris and he has always said one day he'll be a good

:10:20. > :10:22.marathon runner and he has felt his ability and experience would show.

:10:23. > :10:27.Well, today, he's having a really good one. So is Mo Farah. He's

:10:28. > :10:31.having a really good one too, it's just the expectation and the hype

:10:32. > :10:35.around Mo Farah, people may think he's going to be disappointed with

:10:36. > :10:40.this, but the move to the marathon by Mo, this is an interesting move.

:10:41. > :10:43.He's a good runner and it's a good performance. He has to try to hold

:10:44. > :10:51.it together, but we are will being overhead and the world -- looking

:10:52. > :10:55.overhead and the world record holder is there. Things haven't changed in

:10:56. > :11:01.the last few miles and this will be strong and fast. 1 hour 40 on the

:11:02. > :11:07.clock. Still plenty of running left and for things to change. At this

:11:08. > :11:16.stage that is when things do change. I can tell you that Mo is slowing

:11:17. > :11:20.slightly to the point where his pace is slipping towards that British

:11:21. > :11:25.record. He just needs to be strong in the last few miles if he's to be

:11:26. > :11:31.rewarded with that title. That's an athlete working hard there. He's

:11:32. > :11:37.finding out what the marathon is all about. He's doing very well. His

:11:38. > :11:42.first taste of what this is all about. But he needs to hold it

:11:43. > :11:46.together. Last 25 minutes or so, the crowd will be very important to help

:11:47. > :11:51.him on his way. The crowd are going to be very important and the

:11:52. > :11:55.training and the backlog he's put in. He needs to go back now. You can

:11:56. > :11:59.see the strain and the grimaces starting to show. He needs not to

:12:00. > :12:03.panic and think back to the long runs that he has done out in Kenya

:12:04. > :12:06.and the hard work there. Almost feel like he's back there working with

:12:07. > :12:10.that and not thinking about the fact that he has so far to go to the

:12:11. > :12:15.finish and what he needs to be doing. He doesn't need to think

:12:16. > :12:18.about times. One foot in front of the other and doing that as

:12:19. > :12:23.efficiently and as well as possible. It was a decision that he made

:12:24. > :12:27.himself. He wanted to run it. He started the London Marathon. He's

:12:28. > :12:32.the epitome of the marathon for the organisers and he started with the

:12:33. > :12:35.mini marathon. He won that's as a kid and he has moved on to Olympic

:12:36. > :12:39.glory and trying to run for the marathon for the reason that this is

:12:40. > :12:42.the one to run. It's the greatest marathon in the world and if you are

:12:43. > :12:53.going to be a British athlete, this is where you want to be. Mo's choice

:12:54. > :12:56.when he changed, he didn't have to move to the marathon. He doesn't

:12:57. > :13:00.have to move. He's learnt a lot about himself today. I wonder if

:13:01. > :13:04.he's in a position here where the race has happened without him

:13:05. > :13:07.interfering with it at all, and I wonder if he can safely start to

:13:08. > :13:12.step up the distances to decide that the marathon is the event for him.

:13:13. > :13:16.He is slowing and tiring and his great athletic strength and mental

:13:17. > :13:20.strength and his speed at the finish and in the middle of this race speed

:13:21. > :13:32.doesn't have advantage and the mental approach is an advantage, but

:13:33. > :13:39.he's working very hard. Meanwhile, side by side stride for stride

:13:40. > :13:46.Biwott. Not taking a drink, is that wise? You have seen he will keep

:13:47. > :13:50.pushing a little bit. Brendan mention impatient at this stage of

:13:51. > :13:54.the race and he might have been a bit smarter and tried to push on and

:13:55. > :14:00.then the fact he was leading with three miles to go and I think he

:14:01. > :14:05.finished eighth. Completely blew up. I hope for him that that is an

:14:06. > :14:10.experience he has learnt from. It looks though it is. The two are

:14:11. > :14:14.looking comfortable to me. I just am surprised they're on their own. I'm

:14:15. > :14:18.a bit surprised too. I expected it to be a bigger group. I don't think

:14:19. > :14:22.they have done any significant changes in the pace that should have

:14:23. > :14:25.broken up the pack, but maybe it's on the back of the very fast start,

:14:26. > :14:30.which might have done a bit more damage than we thoughtment Biwott,

:14:31. > :14:33.I'm surprised -- thought. Biwott, I'm surprised he didn't take a

:14:34. > :14:36.drink, but what happened to him was just running out of fuel last year.

:14:37. > :14:41.You would want to do everything you can to make sure you have some

:14:42. > :14:49.energy still there as you get into those last five or six. We have seen

:14:50. > :14:52.that happen before, Kenya, one, two, three and Ethiopia four, five, six.

:14:53. > :14:59.It's not always the case in the majors, but the Kenyans can run too

:15:00. > :15:03.many big races and run too fast in between. At the championships often

:15:04. > :15:08.the Ethiopians prevail. There we are, two very good athletes,

:15:09. > :15:16.including the world record holder Wilson Kipsang.

:15:17. > :15:23.He has been the outstanding marathon runner over the last few years. Just

:15:24. > :15:30.whispering a few words to Stanley Biwott, his less experienced

:15:31. > :15:33.compatriot. When they were talking earlier in the week, I think they

:15:34. > :15:37.loved the fact that Mo Farah was coming on to their territory. We are

:15:38. > :15:41.marathon runners, and we know what were doing and here is this young

:15:42. > :15:45.upstart. He is not going to bother us. They almost said those words and

:15:46. > :15:50.he has not bothered them. I think they were looking forward to getting

:15:51. > :15:55.out and racing. Mo Farah, don't forget, has trained in their

:15:56. > :15:58.backyard. I'm sure there's been a lot of keeping an eye on what he's

:15:59. > :16:02.doing, and rumours flying around. But as we said, you do not know

:16:03. > :16:09.until you actually come out on marathon day and race. Kipsang will

:16:10. > :16:12.definitely have developed in confidence from not seeing Mo Farah

:16:13. > :16:16.go with the first group and then not seeing him get back now. But now he

:16:17. > :16:23.has forgotten about that and he is focusing on winning the race.

:16:24. > :16:32.Mo Farah, taking his drink with them. Smart thinking. There is no

:16:33. > :16:38.point in throwing it away because he will need it. Getting loads of

:16:39. > :16:47.support. But he is slowing down. That British record, we remind you,

:16:48. > :16:53.is two hours and seven, 13 seconds. He will have to work hard now to

:16:54. > :16:58.break that record. Now we talked about the top two but behind them,

:16:59. > :17:07.the Ethiopian challenge. There is the world junior record-holder, with

:17:08. > :17:12.a very good debut at the marathon. He was asked if he was 18 at the

:17:13. > :17:15.press conference and he said yes. A little bit of mirth went around the

:17:16. > :17:22.room but that is what it says on his passport. Further up, these groups

:17:23. > :17:29.are really important in terms of what happens. For the likes of

:17:30. > :17:37.Geoffrey here, who has really slowed down significantly, it is going to

:17:38. > :17:44.be a struggle. He was in third spot not so long ago. Ahead of Kebede.

:17:45. > :17:51.They will be the next two athletes we see. Moving ahead of Geoffrey

:17:52. > :18:01.Mutai, the man who beat Mo Farah in the half marathon. There they are.

:18:02. > :18:07.They are moving well away. Working well together. So they have now

:18:08. > :18:20.moved into the battle for third spot. But do not think, in fact I'm

:18:21. > :18:28.sure they will not... They have no chance of catching the front two.

:18:29. > :18:39.Kebede, still running to a good pace. The leaders are under 2.5.

:18:40. > :18:44.Still record pace. The statistician is busy getting the times and he has

:18:45. > :18:49.told me that Mo Farah has slipped outside of British record pace. Two

:18:50. > :18:53.hours, seven minutes and 24 seconds. He is finding it tough but I'm so

:18:54. > :18:58.impressed with the crowds. Such a beautiful spring day. It almost

:18:59. > :19:03.heralds the start of spring. Once again, this beautifully organised

:19:04. > :19:10.event, the best marathon in the world. And the organising team, led

:19:11. > :19:14.by Dave Bedford, they must be thrilled at the public response to

:19:15. > :19:21.this wonderful event. We are seeing a race here. Stanley Biwott and

:19:22. > :19:24.Wilson Kipsang, the world record-holder comes to London

:19:25. > :19:31.wanting to win again. Can he? Stanley Biwott, who has promised a

:19:32. > :19:37.lot and is expected to feature. Is he going to prevail? The two of

:19:38. > :19:43.them, as in the women's race, two women locked together until the last

:19:44. > :19:47.stage. Will it be the same year? Mo Farah has no trouble the leaders but

:19:48. > :19:52.he has created a tremendous impact. Their peers. Without the support he

:19:53. > :19:57.is getting. Right now, I think he needs the support. If the analyses

:19:58. > :20:02.is race, he will find that the second 5000 metres, when a close

:20:03. > :20:08.that gap, he was working hard, working too quick. Maybe he has paid

:20:09. > :20:11.for that. This must be a strange experience for him. The Olympic

:20:12. > :20:18.champion, World Champion, so successful on the track now. He

:20:19. > :20:23.broke the 1500 metre record. No British athlete has ever held a 1500

:20:24. > :20:27.metre record, and the marathon and the 5000 metres and 10,000 metres.

:20:28. > :20:32.Nobody has done it on the marathon but can he do it? Well, maybe in the

:20:33. > :20:38.future he can. But should teach you back or should he concentrate on

:20:39. > :20:44.track running? I think he has been quite open about making that

:20:45. > :20:49.decision. We sit here, in the world of marathon running, and we have

:20:50. > :20:54.wondered what would happen. He was evens to be seventh or worse. They

:20:55. > :21:00.know what they are talking about. He still has a chance of getting in the

:21:01. > :21:05.top seven. Of course, the British record, Steve Jones might have had a

:21:06. > :21:11.flutter. But Steve Jones said it is tough. 2.7 is hard to do. If he's

:21:12. > :21:19.going to do it, you're slipping outside. Steve Jones is the toughest

:21:20. > :21:30.man on the marathon. When he set the record, he knows something about who

:21:31. > :21:33.might order might not run fast. About his decision... This is Amy

:21:34. > :21:41.Whitehead, the first of the elite women. The elite British women, of

:21:42. > :21:50.course. And we only had two women, Emma Steptoe, at 44, we will be

:21:51. > :21:53.watching out for her. The target today for those who had decided to

:21:54. > :22:03.run here, not all of our top runners have decided to run here. But for

:22:04. > :22:06.Amy Whitehead, that is just inside. 2.35 was the cut-off for the

:22:07. > :22:13.European Chevy and ships. The team will be selected tomorrow and that

:22:14. > :22:20.is a real issue. About which ones have been nominated one. Or wants to

:22:21. > :22:27.run. Ali Dixon and Louise they have qualification times. A good run from

:22:28. > :22:30.Amy Whitehead. The problem is that 2.35 is the qualifying time for the

:22:31. > :22:35.Commonwealth Games. 2.33 is the individual for the Europeans. We are

:22:36. > :22:42.unlikely to be able to put a team together because of the Commonwealth

:22:43. > :22:46.Games. I'm ancient Emma Steptoe and she is a London Marathon story. She

:22:47. > :22:53.only started running in her 30s. And over the last few years, she has

:22:54. > :23:04.started to get some proper coaching. At the age of 44, she just turned 44

:23:05. > :23:09.eight or nine days ago, and she is proof of the hard work that you can

:23:10. > :23:17.put in. Another brilliant performance from her. And without

:23:18. > :23:20.events like this, she said she would not have done what she has done in

:23:21. > :23:28.the last few years. What a brilliant run. Well done to her. We look back

:23:29. > :23:33.and she broke the British over 40s 5000 metre record on the track this

:23:34. > :23:42.year. You have to go back to the over 40s women, Priscilla Welch and

:23:43. > :23:48.Joyce Smith. 2.26. Amazing running. And now we're watching Mo Farah. We

:23:49. > :23:52.talked about his decision. The interesting thing is that his

:23:53. > :23:59.decision about the future will be made in the next couple of miles. If

:24:00. > :24:06.he runs under the British record, if he doesn't and his Time fades away,

:24:07. > :24:10.then I think that decision is pretty easy. I think Mo Farah, the greatest

:24:11. > :24:19.instant runner we have ever had on the track I think he slicks on the

:24:20. > :24:23.track. -- greatest distance runner. He's the greatest we have ever had.

:24:24. > :24:27.We to preserve him because he is brilliant on the track. But this is

:24:28. > :24:30.an experience, the marathon, which must have taken him by storm. The

:24:31. > :24:36.race has happened without him featuring. And it has been a long

:24:37. > :24:40.time since Mo Farah ran a race, maybe five years ago since he ran a

:24:41. > :24:44.race where he was not in control of the race. Today, you cannot say

:24:45. > :24:48.anything other than he has not been in control of this one. He is

:24:49. > :24:52.suffering now. Working hard. The one thing you get from Mo Farah, you get

:24:53. > :24:57.honest endeavour. He has always been a cracker. He is always grafted in

:24:58. > :25:03.races. He is certainly grafting today but I think his decision about

:25:04. > :25:09.the marathon? I think I know what I would do. He wanted to try the

:25:10. > :25:12.marathon and see what he could do. But in his mind he was thinking

:25:13. > :25:16.about going back to the track and that might be reinforced now. In

:25:17. > :25:20.fairness, the last few weeks have probably not been ideal coming into

:25:21. > :25:25.this. He was training really well but after what happened in New York

:25:26. > :25:28.and with a possible calf injury, and will have affected him. But I think

:25:29. > :25:33.he is getting answers as to whether he likes the marathon and whether it

:25:34. > :25:38.suits him. And I think when you come into it, you have to have a game

:25:39. > :25:42.plan and his game plan was to run in the second group. The truth is the

:25:43. > :25:47.first group was running the pace he thought he should be running. If you

:25:48. > :25:51.decide to run in the second group, and he realise that a point that

:25:52. > :25:57.that plan was not coming together in the way that he had thought. But you

:25:58. > :26:01.have no option. You cannot go hearing off. You have to have a

:26:02. > :26:08.plan. And there do not know whether that would affect things going

:26:09. > :26:15.forward. I suspect that if he runs 2.7 or something, that is very good.

:26:16. > :26:17.Where he is in his career, I am not sure that will be good enough to

:26:18. > :26:21.make him changes mind about moving away from the track will stop we

:26:22. > :26:27.will come back to that briefly. -- away from the track. We will come

:26:28. > :26:35.back to that briefly. These two are locked together. Not far to go now.

:26:36. > :26:39.The course record is definitely on the cards. Somewhere around about

:26:40. > :26:46.two minutes during the hours, four minutes. But two men here, either of

:26:47. > :26:51.which could win it. Wilson Kipsang, is he going to win the London

:26:52. > :26:56.Marathon again? Or will Stanley Biwott step into any area he has

:26:57. > :27:00.never been before? He won Paris a few years ago but that is not the

:27:01. > :27:08.same level. As we said earlier about Mo Farah, he has no troubled this

:27:09. > :27:10.race or these athletes. -- not troubled. He is finding out a lot

:27:11. > :27:13.about himself but as he struggles along the embankment, these guys are

:27:14. > :27:20.getting faster and faster. Personally, I have enjoyed Mo Farah

:27:21. > :27:28.coming to the marathon. But some of these guys. They like to have a big

:27:29. > :27:33.hitter. And it will have fired them up. The Kenyans came here and did

:27:34. > :27:37.not may be run as well as we expected last year. But they had had

:27:38. > :27:41.a wet season in Kenya and were not able to prepare as well as normal.

:27:42. > :27:54.This year,, the conditions have been good. On track to run 2.4. Wilson

:27:55. > :28:02.Kipsang, Mo Farah has been chatting with them. Emmanuel Mutai, I think

:28:03. > :28:04.if he said to Mo Farah that he could have beaten Emmanuel Mutai, he would

:28:05. > :28:11.have taken that one. They have fallen off that group but not enough

:28:12. > :28:14.that he has something to attack. But this might help them to get closer

:28:15. > :28:26.to that record. He has something to work with. But going back to Wilson

:28:27. > :28:30.Kipsang, he has become a big star. Mo Farah certainly is but Kipsang

:28:31. > :28:49.has his own hotel and training camp. Just like Kiplagat did. But Mo

:28:50. > :28:54.Farah, just picking up again. And Emmanuel Mutai, thinking, that is Mo

:28:55. > :28:58.Farah, I'm going to pick up a bit. He has run this before. He has run

:28:59. > :29:04.this many times, the mini marathon. As he gets into this, he will

:29:05. > :29:07.remember that. These are the streets of London and as he gets closer to

:29:08. > :29:13.the finish, he will get more of a spring in his step and pull energy

:29:14. > :29:16.from this crowd. And there is the man taking more energy from the

:29:17. > :29:23.crowd. Wilson Kipsang, relaxing and stretching. And they will be turning

:29:24. > :29:27.past Big Ben in a few moments and Wilson Kipsang, the world

:29:28. > :29:35.record-holder, is approaching Big Ben. At midday on a beautiful April

:29:36. > :29:41.morning, in the beginning of spring time, really. Almost the beginning

:29:42. > :29:47.of summertime. This man who came here with one intention, to show

:29:48. > :29:51.that the world record he set in Berlin last autumn, his form had

:29:52. > :29:55.continued. He is in the best form of his life, able to beat a very strong

:29:56. > :30:01.field. The next question, can he beat the course record. I'm sure he

:30:02. > :30:08.has that on his mind. That will be his target. As the leading athletes

:30:09. > :30:15.come along. Two hours into the marathon. Wilson Kipsang, looking

:30:16. > :30:23.good, looking comfortable. In a position he has been in before. He

:30:24. > :30:27.has won this race before. The only blip was a couple of years ago. He

:30:28. > :30:36.misjudged the marathon at the Olympics, but he knows the streets

:30:37. > :30:42.of London. He knows the streets of London were less able to give him

:30:43. > :30:47.the Olympic medal but you he is now. Showing you once again, the world

:30:48. > :30:57.record-holder. The crowds are staggering. That is a significant

:30:58. > :31:04.gap that has opened up quickly. He has injected a lot of pace quickly

:31:05. > :31:16.and Stanley Biwott has fallen apart a little bit for that to happen. He

:31:17. > :31:22.spent some time in the middle of the race just watching and waiting and

:31:23. > :31:30.maybe through a way chance for a world record today. Because the

:31:31. > :31:35.conditions are very good. Only ten men have run under two hours four

:31:36. > :31:43.minutes and 30 seconds. And Wilson Kipsang is heading for around that

:31:44. > :31:49.time. That would be a course record. He has around a ten second lead over

:31:50. > :32:00.Stanley Biwott. And then another 90 seconds behind either to

:32:01. > :32:26.Ethiopians. Tsegaye Kebede and Ayele Abshero. Tsegaye Kebede may run

:32:27. > :32:34.2.05. What you get with him is consistency. 17 marathons, he hardly

:32:35. > :32:40.ever has a bad one. Tsegaye Kebede there working for his third place.

:32:41. > :32:49.And the world record-holder Wilson Kipsang. We will see Tsegaye Kebede

:32:50. > :32:54.coming into shot. There has been a lot of talk about Mo Farah and when

:32:55. > :32:58.you look at it why would you choose to take on these athletes of such

:32:59. > :33:03.strength and consistency at the marathon. When you have owned the

:33:04. > :33:08.10,000 metres for the past few years. And I hope Mo Farah sees the

:33:09. > :33:13.sense here to let these guys stay with the marathon and he stays with

:33:14. > :33:21.the shorter distances. I would like to have him thinking about that

:33:22. > :33:25.quite quickly, Brazil in 2016 and sticking to the 10,000 metres. That

:33:26. > :33:32.is what we all want. This is too much of an unknown territory and

:33:33. > :33:35.these athletes are like gunslingers, they are so strong. And they are

:33:36. > :33:40.getting better and they are able to be competitive in the late stages.

:33:41. > :33:48.Stanley Biwott running a really solid race. And here is Mo Farah,

:33:49. > :33:56.the crowd supporting him. Coming along with Emmanuel Mutai for

:33:57. > :34:02.company. He's just going to be outside the British record. But

:34:03. > :34:14.still a very good performance. He now has to keep going because of the

:34:15. > :34:22.English record. Into the finishing straight. Wilson Kipsang, a world

:34:23. > :34:27.record-holder from Kenya. He won the London Marathon in 2012 and took a

:34:28. > :34:36.medal at the Olympics. He has come back in fine style. Wilson Kipsang

:34:37. > :34:47.is the champion. It is a new course record. Brilliant performance. He is

:34:48. > :34:51.number one in the world. And nobody can doubt it. Everybody was here.

:34:52. > :35:00.Stanley Biwott had a great race. Not one of the big names. He is going to

:35:01. > :35:09.be close to his personal best. Well done to him in second spot. Learned

:35:10. > :35:19.his lesson from last year. And the battle for third between Tsegaye

:35:20. > :35:26.Kebede and Ayele Abshero. So the world record-holder, Wilson

:35:27. > :35:31.Kipsang. One of his greatest races. He loves this course, he said he

:35:32. > :35:35.likes running in London despite of what happened in the Olympics where

:35:36. > :35:44.he just overcooked it in the early stages. And what a good job he had

:35:45. > :35:49.three passports! He was not able to get in until two days later than

:35:50. > :35:58.scheduled because his passport was stolen. One more turn for the

:35:59. > :36:08.Ethiopians. Tsegaye Kebede at the front. Not able to defend his title

:36:09. > :36:20.with a win but he is going to fight for this third spot. Ayele Abshero

:36:21. > :36:29.sitting on his shoulder. Tsegaye Kebede just kicks away, just finding

:36:30. > :36:38.that little bit extra. And he will take third spot. Ayele Abshero has

:36:39. > :36:44.run a great race but we'll have to settle for fourth place. The next

:36:45. > :36:51.people we will start to look for will include Mo Farah. Going back to

:36:52. > :36:58.Wilson Kipsang, he did not start running until he was about 26. Not

:36:59. > :37:02.the normal Kenyan story. His father used to run a little bit. But he has

:37:03. > :37:09.taken to marathon running like he was born to it. Third and fourth

:37:10. > :37:27.across the line. And now that big gap. Tsegaye Mekonnen ahead of

:37:28. > :37:40.Geoffrey Mutai. Just not able to bring the sort of form that many

:37:41. > :37:43.thought he had. He looks very tired. Tsegaye Mekonnen set a personal best

:37:44. > :37:59.in Dubai at the beginning of the year. 18 years of age. There is Mo

:38:00. > :38:04.Farah in the distance. Stretching hard, trying to catch Emmanuel

:38:05. > :38:14.Mutai. Geoffrey Mutai really starts to fade. Tsegaye Mekonnen crossing

:38:15. > :38:18.the line now but Mo Farah being cheered by the crowd. Giving their

:38:19. > :38:24.hero a big welcome. He looks so tired. That British record has

:38:25. > :38:34.gone. Is it going to be an English record? It will be. Two hours and 24

:38:35. > :38:38.Mo Farah. A tough debut and who knows what decisions will be made

:38:39. > :38:42.from it. But if he did not know that the marathon was a hard event before

:38:43. > :38:49.he came here today, he certainly does now. For anyone else that is

:38:50. > :38:54.not a bad debut. I think you will be a little disappointed. I do not

:38:55. > :39:01.think he would have set out to run that. But the point about the

:39:02. > :39:08.marathon is you just do not know until you do it. Now he knows. He

:39:09. > :39:13.has done one and he has found out what it is very hard in the middle

:39:14. > :39:19.of the race and the later stages. He has found out how good it is to

:39:20. > :39:29.taste victory in London. His last three races on the road, he has lost

:39:30. > :39:36.them all. But he did not lose a single track race in 2012. So if you

:39:37. > :39:46.need any advice, stick with the track, I think that is your future.

:39:47. > :39:52.This was a great occasion for him to come here and enjoy it and we

:39:53. > :39:55.enjoyed it. And now he will tell us all that he will not make any quick

:39:56. > :40:01.decisions, but he may give us some hints.

:40:02. > :40:08.Mo Farah alongside me. It was always going to be a baptism of fire. It

:40:09. > :40:15.was pretty tough. I am quite disappointed today. But you try

:40:16. > :40:20.things and they do not work at least you have given it a go. You had some

:40:21. > :40:26.problems with the drink station? I missed one. It was just a pace. I

:40:27. > :40:32.should have gone with the front group. I think it would have been

:40:33. > :40:38.nice to sit in the group. There was a long period in the race where you

:40:39. > :40:48.will almost in no man's land with no one to paste you. -- beware. Life

:40:49. > :40:56.goes on. Do you think you will do another marathon again. Definitely.

:40:57. > :40:59.100%. I'm not going to finish it. Brendan was saying in commentary you

:41:00. > :41:07.should maybe think about defending your title in Brazil at 10,000

:41:08. > :41:13.metres. I will give it a go but at the same time I will not finish it

:41:14. > :41:20.like this. I will be back. It is a massive experience. I would have

:41:21. > :41:25.been disappointed to do my first marathon somewhere else. The crowd

:41:26. > :41:30.is amazing. I wish I had given a little more to the crowd. You got

:41:31. > :41:34.that response from the crowd all the way round the course. I do not think

:41:35. > :41:39.anyone is disappointed with what you did. I gave it a go but I'm just

:41:40. > :41:48.disappointed I did not go out and give it a bit more, what the crowd

:41:49. > :41:54.deserved. But the field was tough. It was the strongest field ever put

:41:55. > :41:58.together by the London Marathon. So I went straight into the deep end

:41:59. > :42:04.but that is what athletics is about. With hindsight, should you have

:42:05. > :42:10.picked a race that was paste where you wanted it to be. It would have

:42:11. > :42:15.been nice but London is my city and it would have been wrong to do any

:42:16. > :42:22.other marathon. I had to do it here. Thank you for speaking to us. Thank

:42:23. > :42:27.you. Well I'm not surprised he's

:42:28. > :42:31.disappointed because he sets himself such high standards. He came here

:42:32. > :42:37.with aspirations to run well. He did not need to win but he would have

:42:38. > :42:40.hoped to content a little better than he did. He has had a few

:42:41. > :42:46.problems. A few hiccups as he said in the press conference. But they

:42:47. > :42:58.were looking forward to it. And you do not know until you have a go. It

:42:59. > :43:04.is hard, running the marathon. Making that transition is not for

:43:05. > :43:09.everyone. There are plenty of good top runners who have not made that

:43:10. > :43:13.transition. It is hard and it is something that you need to try. It

:43:14. > :43:20.is difficult to predict even from half marathon times and even seeing

:43:21. > :43:30.how they are training. You do not know until you see them out in the

:43:31. > :43:34.race. Great athletes have stepped up to the marathon and made it and

:43:35. > :43:40.others have not. At the moment Mo Farah says he will come back and run

:43:41. > :43:44.in London but you do not know when. Maybe he should stick to what he has

:43:45. > :43:49.done before. But it was a privilege to have him here today. He has added

:43:50. > :43:59.such a lot of interest to the event. We are sitting here waiting for the

:44:00. > :44:08.mass of runners to arrive here in The Mall. We have seen some

:44:09. > :44:16.fantastic races. Both competitive. And Mo Farah's debut. We will almost

:44:17. > :44:19.certainly see him again in a few years' time but he had some

:44:20. > :44:29.decisions to make in the next few weeks.

:44:30. > :44:33.We're still waiting for Scott Overall to the line. But back at

:44:34. > :44:41.Canary Wharf we have the steel band on this beautiful day. And for those

:44:42. > :44:47.spectating, they are enjoying the day but many hours to go yet. Plenty

:44:48. > :44:54.of people to cheer across the line. Many have only reached halfway yet.

:44:55. > :44:59.We will bring you all of the sites and the sounds and the colours and

:45:00. > :45:13.messages and the stories in the next two and a quarter hours or so. At

:45:14. > :45:20.Cutty Sark, they are already starting to tidy up. There is a time

:45:21. > :45:24.limit on the course, but they keep a lot of the infrastructure in place

:45:25. > :45:27.because many charity competitors may well take a long time. Usually

:45:28. > :45:35.because they are wearing something unusual. Of course, they are doing

:45:36. > :45:40.for good causes. And I'm sure that is not fancy dress. And do not think

:45:41. > :45:48.you are allowed to come in a vehicle. -- I do not think.

:45:49. > :45:58.At the front of the men's race, a new course record today. Great

:45:59. > :46:11.performance from Wilson Kipsang. A sprint finish in the women's race.

:46:12. > :46:21.That is Steve way of Bournemouth, the third Brit. Adding he must have

:46:22. > :46:26.passed Scott Overall. -- I think. He was aiming for a time of two hours

:46:27. > :46:37.and 16 minutes. His personal best was 2.19. He is going to break that

:46:38. > :46:44.significantly. The performance from him. He will be the third British

:46:45. > :46:48.man to cross the line. And this is John Gilbert not far behind. The

:46:49. > :47:00.fourth British man to cross the line. He was just about 15 seconds

:47:01. > :47:03.behind. Well done to John Gilbert. It has been an interesting day for

:47:04. > :47:11.British marathon running. Steve Jones is still the record-holder.

:47:12. > :47:19.Charlie Spedding is no wonder the English record-holder. That belongs

:47:20. > :47:28.to Mo Farah. And places for the Europeans and the Commonwealths will

:47:29. > :47:40.be decided in a couple of days. Then lives the -- Ben Livesey, another

:47:41. > :47:44.athlete who hankered outside thoughts running in the Commonwealth

:47:45. > :47:54.team. Some have opted not to be here, particularly on the women's

:47:55. > :48:17.side. The fifth British athlete to cross the line.

:48:18. > :48:26.As ever, the crowd is really big down here. This is one of the better

:48:27. > :48:30.athletes. He would have expected him to have done a better time. It is

:48:31. > :48:34.always good when some of the elite athletes, this man was a silver

:48:35. > :48:39.medallist in the half Marathon Championships. They want to finish

:48:40. > :48:46.and get to the finish line. It has not been a good day for him. He will

:48:47. > :48:56.lead his team to a gold medal, the Eritreans, at Copenhagen, just a

:48:57. > :49:05.couple of weeks ago. He is hurting, isn't he? He will find the last

:49:06. > :49:16.couple of hundred yards staff. But the finish line is right there.

:49:17. > :49:26.Tsegay finishes as the clock heads towards two hours and 20 minutes.

:49:27. > :49:33.Tirunesh Dibaba is alongside me. How was it? It was good and I am very

:49:34. > :49:38.happy. This is my fastest time. I am very happy. Paula Radcliffe, in the

:49:39. > :49:43.commentary, was talking about how good a marathon runner you could be

:49:44. > :49:47.if you enjoyed the experience. Did you feel it was something you wanted

:49:48. > :49:55.to continue to pursue? Would you like to do more marathons? Maybe.

:49:56. > :50:05.How does it compare to the track? How is it different? The difference

:50:06. > :50:14.is that it is so long. 10,000 metres, 5000 metres, it is easy!

:50:15. > :50:24.Congratulations on your first run. We look forward to seeing you again.

:50:25. > :50:27.! -- thank you very much. Scott Overall will be disappointed. He

:50:28. > :50:33.prepared well and hoped he would run with Chris Thompson. Alan Storey has

:50:34. > :50:40.coached them and they have been out in Colorado. I think he will have a

:50:41. > :50:47.good one. Scott is going to be around two hours and 21 minutes.

:50:48. > :50:56.And, well, that is a long way off his best. And John Pepper behind

:50:57. > :51:01.him. John has been a good member of our cross-country team over the

:51:02. > :51:10.years. Not a great day for Scott but he has made it to the finish line

:51:11. > :51:23.this time. No injuries this year. At his best, he can make 2.10.

:51:24. > :51:31.Look at London on a day like this. There are lots of other things to do

:51:32. > :51:35.in London today. Most people will be having their eyes firmly set on what

:51:36. > :51:38.is happening around the streets. Tourists come from all over the

:51:39. > :51:45.world to watch the race, not just to take part. And on the Mall this

:51:46. > :51:51.morning, passing various hotels with buses, people having their

:51:52. > :51:56.breakfast, or the elite athletes are staying near the tower. It was a

:51:57. > :51:59.great atmosphere even at 6am this morning as the drink stations were

:52:00. > :52:08.being put out. People were deciding their places that early. If you look

:52:09. > :52:14.along the Mall, you see the mass of union Jacks flying. The crowds on

:52:15. > :52:19.the streets, thronging Tower Bridge. There is a mass of runners. This is

:52:20. > :52:23.almost a state occasion. It is a wonderful occasion. It has never

:52:24. > :52:28.been better. Getting better all the time. The British public are

:52:29. > :52:33.responding in an amazing way. And here we are. These athletes are

:52:34. > :52:39.doing it. The entry is difficult to obtain. And the run is typical to

:52:40. > :52:47.do. But people are challenging it and the entries will flood in for

:52:48. > :52:52.this event in particular. Over the years, it is amazing how they have

:52:53. > :52:56.responded. Many hundred and 30,000 people will have finished the London

:52:57. > :53:01.Marathon in its 34 years. The idea was ringed up by Chris pressure when

:53:02. > :53:07.he went to New York and ask the question, could the city host an

:53:08. > :53:10.event of such a spectacle and scale? Every year, you see the

:53:11. > :53:21.answer to that question. Look at the crowds, just amazing. Many people

:53:22. > :53:25.watching at home will be looking out for loved ones. Don't forget to keep

:53:26. > :53:30.sending us your messages. We will be keeping an eye out for deeper we are

:53:31. > :53:36.watching for over the next couple of hours before the moment, the elite

:53:37. > :53:39.races are just about complete. -- but for the moment. And we can look

:53:40. > :53:44.forward now to the thousands yet to finish. If you are just joining us,

:53:45. > :53:48.it has been a fantastic day so far on the streets of London. The

:53:49. > :53:54.weather is beautiful. The crowd is amazing. And the elite race, it was

:53:55. > :54:05.something to behold. Here is what happened. In the men's elite race,

:54:06. > :54:13.Wilson Kipsang was just too good for everybody else. And as for Mo

:54:14. > :54:16.Farah, he was nearly one minutes outside the British record place

:54:17. > :54:23.that he set for himself. It was tough but he said afterwards that it

:54:24. > :54:25.would not be his last marathon. And in the women's elite race, it was

:54:26. > :54:29.Edna Kiplagat, double World Champion, second here in London.

:54:30. > :54:43.Finally, she took the title. It was a tight finish in the men's

:54:44. > :54:49.wheelchair race. David Weir was going for his seventh win at it was

:54:50. > :54:53.the silver bullet, Marshall food, from Switzerland, who pipped him,

:54:54. > :55:01.winning his first London title. -- Marcel Hug. And there was no staying

:55:02. > :55:05.with Tatyana McFadden. Fresh from a silver medal in the Paralympics, she

:55:06. > :55:11.retained her London title. And there was nobody inside behind her. In the

:55:12. > :55:20.IPC race, a visually impaired athlete from Morocco, Chentouf

:55:21. > :55:26.maintained his London title. He is incredibly dominant on the roads.

:55:27. > :55:34.Let's give you the official results of the 2014 Virgin Money London

:55:35. > :55:41.Marathon. Wilson Kipsang in a new course record, and Stanley Biwott

:55:42. > :55:54.stayed with him for a little while. Debate, last year's champion in

:55:55. > :56:00.third. -- to bed a. Edna Kiplagat winning the women's race. It was

:56:01. > :56:05.touch and go with Florence Kiplagat all the way. Tirunesh Dibaba very

:56:06. > :56:10.happy with third place. Confirmation of the victory for Marcel Hug will

:56:11. > :56:16.stop just popping in David Weir. He will have to come back next year if

:56:17. > :56:22.he wants win number seven. And the incompatible Tatyana McFadden,

:56:23. > :56:25.lowering the field away to retain her London title. And then she is

:56:26. > :56:32.off to Boston next week to retain their title to. -- to try to retain

:56:33. > :56:43.that title, too. And the result of the visually impaired category. El

:56:44. > :56:48.Amin Chentouf, a remarkable two hours and 25 minutes. And now we can

:56:49. > :56:55.hear from all the main protagonists. Edna, you finished second here

:56:56. > :57:02.twice. You must be delighted to win. I am in glad that have won the race

:57:03. > :57:08.this time. I was third, second and second and I'm happy this year that

:57:09. > :57:15.I can prepare to come and win. I am happy that I have won the race

:57:16. > :57:18.today. Marcel, a super performance. You finally win London after a

:57:19. > :57:25.number of second places. How sweet is it? It feels absolutely great and

:57:26. > :57:33.I am really happy to win. It was a tight finish. But I am happy that I

:57:34. > :57:36.was in front. You have had a futile finishes in London, whether it was

:57:37. > :57:43.the Olympics or the marathon, with David Weir. Extra special to beat

:57:44. > :57:46.him on home soil? Alike to compete against him because he's a great

:57:47. > :57:50.athlete but it is great to beat him. He is a good performer, and to win

:57:51. > :57:54.against him in London, it is something special. It is obviously

:57:55. > :57:59.disappointing because there needs to get that seventh win and it is

:58:00. > :58:02.bugging me. I've felt strong way through the race. Why did not feel

:58:03. > :58:06.like I was struggling like last year. And even the year before, when

:58:07. > :58:13.I've won it, felt like others good shape. But Marcel is just that

:58:14. > :58:15.little bit ahead. Tatiana, you have retained your title here in London

:58:16. > :58:21.and frankly, you were never troubled. I was extremely nervous

:58:22. > :58:24.about this race, especially because I have just come back from the

:58:25. > :58:29.Paralympic Games and I've only had about three weeks to prepare. During

:58:30. > :58:32.the winter, I was lifting and doing a lot of the track listing so why

:58:33. > :58:38.could be strong enough for the marathon. Skiing was hard work. It

:58:39. > :58:44.took a lot out of me. Coming into London, I was tired. I had to

:58:45. > :58:48.strategise well and hit my strong points. I had to stay relaxed as

:58:49. > :59:01.much as possible. London, looking absolutely

:59:02. > :59:09.beautiful. Alongside me, the winner of the men's race. Wilson Kipsang.

:59:10. > :59:10.Wilson, you looked in total control. I think I was feeling really