:00:10. > :00:18.Hello and welcome back to the 2016 Virgin Money London Marathon. So
:00:19. > :00:25.many people still out there on the course, 3.5 hours ago the masses
:00:26. > :00:28.began their 26.2 mile journey, and for so many that journey has a long
:00:29. > :00:32.way to go before they get to the finish here. Any time under four
:00:33. > :00:40.ours is pretty incredible and the majority will finish in 4.5 - five
:00:41. > :00:44.hours. We are here on BBC Two for another hour to speak to more
:00:45. > :00:47.amazing people and highlight the reasons people are running. For
:00:48. > :00:52.those attempting crazy records to those wanting to finish for reasons
:00:53. > :00:55.close to their hearts. Let's head back out onto the course. You may
:00:56. > :01:00.well recognise someone that you know. Paula Radcliffe, Brendan
:01:01. > :01:07.Foster and Steve Cram will talk you through it.
:01:08. > :01:17.Well, what a great day it has been here in London. The four elite
:01:18. > :01:24.races, absolutely enthralling. All the way to the end. Eliud Kipchoge a
:01:25. > :01:30.whisker away, a whisker away from the world record. It was by quite
:01:31. > :01:35.some margin the fastest ever time in London, and arguably one of if not
:01:36. > :01:39.the best performances we have ever witnessed, especially when you take
:01:40. > :01:49.into account the great battle he had with Stanley Biwott who also came
:01:50. > :01:51.home inside 2.04. Great performances from British athletes, Callum
:01:52. > :01:59.Hawkins smashed his lifetime best, inside the top ten. Jemima Sumgong
:02:00. > :02:02.coming home with a victory. Tatyana McFadden, the women's favourite in
:02:03. > :02:08.the wheelchair race, came home with victory number four. And Marcel Hug
:02:09. > :02:15.picked up another win in London. David Weir house to wait for the
:02:16. > :02:19.magnificent seven. Among all of the elites, they are safely back at the
:02:20. > :02:22.hotel, getting the sustenance on board, the rest of the heroes and
:02:23. > :02:27.heroines are still pouring around the streets of London in this great
:02:28. > :02:33.carnival, this great festival of distance running. They will be a
:02:34. > :02:37.king, they will be struggling, some of them, but they will all deserve
:02:38. > :02:41.their medal at the finish line and I hope they remember to smile as well,
:02:42. > :02:50.for the all-important photo that will be on the desk at the office or
:02:51. > :02:55.may be sent to a family member. Anybody really can come and join
:02:56. > :02:59.this great, great London party. Even if you are not in tiptop shape at
:03:00. > :03:05.the moment, you have 12 months, there is no excuse. Come and join
:03:06. > :03:07.the world's greatest marathon, in its 36th edition it is turning out
:03:08. > :03:24.to be one of the very best. So well supported all the way
:03:25. > :03:24.through the race. I bet if you are sitting at home watching
:03:25. > :03:29.this and you've done a marathon, maybe you did London five or ten
:03:30. > :03:39.years ago, you are thinking about having another one. What a great day
:03:40. > :03:45.here in the capital. Millions of pounds being raised for so many
:03:46. > :03:57.causes. Groups of mates running together. What a sight to watch, and
:03:58. > :04:05.witnessed from their perspective, because they can see the finish
:04:06. > :04:12.line, inside the last 200 metres. The teeth are gritted. And in all
:04:13. > :04:19.sorts of costumes for all sorts of reasons. They have made it.
:04:20. > :04:31.Everyone, on their own journey, every single person richly deserving
:04:32. > :04:39.that medal at the finish line. As ever, a wealth of statistics get
:04:40. > :04:44.broken on a daylight this. We have been enjoying all of the different
:04:45. > :04:56.aspects, including of course of the wheelchair events. And we have all
:04:57. > :05:03.enjoyed, Rob enjoyed his running like the rest of us. One was wearing
:05:04. > :05:08.a dinosaur suit. I'm not sure what he was dressed as. Probably a
:05:09. > :05:25.dinosaur! I knew that you would say that! That record went to Ben Evans
:05:26. > :05:33.from Guildford, 3.08.40 three. -- 43. Charlie Long has completed the
:05:34. > :05:38.fastest marathon dressed as a bottle in the male category. I wonder how
:05:39. > :05:45.many categories there are. Was it a milk bottle? Mail. I thought you
:05:46. > :05:46.said milk bottle. Theoretically there are females out there dressed
:05:47. > :06:03.as a milk bottle as well. Where are you going after this?
:06:04. > :06:16.Passed the million mark. 36 years ago. 37,000 people plus will finish,
:06:17. > :06:23.making up the wonderful million. When you think about it, there are
:06:24. > :06:27.people watching this marathon which, 3.40, this is very good marathon
:06:28. > :06:31.running and people will be watching this around the country he will be
:06:32. > :06:37.part of that one in a million group, and when you think about the first
:06:38. > :06:40.ever marathon there are only a couple of hundred people watching
:06:41. > :06:44.those recorded highlights, only a couple of hundred people would have
:06:45. > :06:48.experienced a marathon, and as these pictures go around the world to 100
:06:49. > :06:51.countries, more than a million people will be watching and saying,
:06:52. > :07:02.I have done that before. Well, you can do it again. Well, a perfect day
:07:03. > :07:05.in the capital for running 26 miles. We have almost had a perfect day in
:07:06. > :07:11.terms of all of the races we have seen so far. So many still yet to
:07:12. > :07:11.complete their day, to complete their race, to complete their
:07:12. > :07:43.challenge. John Fisher from Staines underwent a
:07:44. > :07:47.heart transplant at the age of 38 and rebound it so well he was able
:07:48. > :07:54.to run the London Marathon 18 months later. Today on his 54th birthday he
:07:55. > :08:00.is running his 15th consecutive London Marathon to raise funds for
:08:01. > :08:05.the British Heart Foundation. Lucy ran last year's race while Ben was
:08:06. > :08:09.recovering from a stem is a transplant. Lucy from Huddersfield
:08:10. > :08:15.is back to raise money and awareness of donor registration for the
:08:16. > :08:21.Anthony Nolan Trust. 24-year-old Mike is one of the mad marathon men
:08:22. > :08:25.who are fundraising in memory of their friend who suffered epilepsy
:08:26. > :08:30.and died last year aged just 29. Money raised will go to epilepsy
:08:31. > :08:36.research UK and the YMCA, where Mike and Tom worked alongside each other.
:08:37. > :08:41.Until the age of 14 Zoe North with cerebral palsy was a part-time
:08:42. > :08:46.wheelchair user. She underwent surgery and now four years later she
:08:47. > :08:53.can walk unaided, she is raising funds for A pioneering children's
:08:54. > :08:57.medical charity. She completes her marathon challenge today. Richard
:08:58. > :09:02.Smith made his way to the start line on foot from Lancashire, 220 miles
:09:03. > :09:06.over six days. Richard is raising money for the Royal British Legion
:09:07. > :09:12.and said he decided to run to London because it's more interesting than
:09:13. > :09:20.the train and properly cheaper. -- probably. This is the end of a very,
:09:21. > :09:25.very long journey for you? Yes, very long. Averaging 36 miles per day for
:09:26. > :09:30.the past six days, I got here at 10pm last night. Bartra hours sleep,
:09:31. > :09:37.and now I'm dragging myself through here. It's fantastic. -- four hours
:09:38. > :09:43.sleep. I am running for the British Legion and hoping to raise ?5,000,
:09:44. > :09:47.currently just under 3000, so I'm close to my target. There has been
:09:48. > :09:52.so much support. For the whole week it has been fantastic. Can you dream
:09:53. > :09:56.of the finished just yet? Nearly, I've been dreaming about it all
:09:57. > :10:02.week, I'm dreaming about the pint at the end, it will be so nice! Get it
:10:03. > :10:10.cold and get over the finish. We will see you there. Thanks very
:10:11. > :10:13.much. I have with me the Fab four, four British athletes who have
:10:14. > :10:21.guaranteed their place in Rio, there may still be more to come, at the
:10:22. > :10:28.discretion of the selectors. Tewelde date, Callum Hawkins, Alyson Dixon,
:10:29. > :10:33.congratulations. Ladies first. -- Tewelde. You knew that it was a
:10:34. > :10:36.matter of guaranteeing the top two position, how different was the
:10:37. > :10:40.feeling compared to other marathons because of that? It was a tactical
:10:41. > :10:45.affair today, everyone was watching each other and it wasn't so much
:10:46. > :10:49.about the pace, it was more about tactics at the end of the day.
:10:50. > :10:53.Allison, you looked very strong in the last kilometre, when you both
:10:54. > :10:58.knew you had broken away and you had it in the bag, did it suddenly feel
:10:59. > :11:06.easier? In a way it did, but my legs were killing me. In the last two
:11:07. > :11:09.miles. The quads had totally cramped up but no one said it would be easy.
:11:10. > :11:12.It was definitely worth it. Wonderful scenes when you crossed
:11:13. > :11:17.the line, coming down the Mall almost together, there is Alison
:11:18. > :11:21.absolutely punching the air with joy, you looked as though you still
:11:22. > :11:27.have a lot of energy going on. Luckily I did not swear! You dream
:11:28. > :11:32.of what you're going to do on these occasions and you get there and you
:11:33. > :11:39.go, what do I do? I just went a bit mad, but the emotion came out. Sonia
:11:40. > :11:42.coming up behind, I saw you on Wednesday when you are registering
:11:43. > :11:49.and getting your number and you said the last few days have been torture.
:11:50. > :11:54.It has because you have the time but you still have to stand on the start
:11:55. > :12:00.line and run 26.2 miles and be in the top two. You know, it was a big
:12:01. > :12:03.job today. But job done and now it's obviously training and hard work
:12:04. > :12:08.again for Rio. Congratulations to you as well, Cal and you have the
:12:09. > :12:12.good time as well but you put in a really impressive run today. It
:12:13. > :12:19.looked really easy for the first three quarters of the race. It
:12:20. > :12:22.wasn't. I was feeling brilliant at halfway, but the last couple of
:12:23. > :12:26.miles, especially coming up the finish, I was really hurting and
:12:27. > :12:33.trying to hold on. Before that your split times were very good in terms
:12:34. > :12:37.of the even pace of your race. Steve Cram was commenting on that. It was
:12:38. > :12:42.a slight negative split, so I was not really going for time and
:12:43. > :12:46.splits, I was just running. There you are going across the line, the
:12:47. > :12:52.top Brit, on the plane to Rio. How did you feel? Your brother was not
:12:53. > :12:57.far behind you. I was pretty tired. Were you aware of how fast he was
:12:58. > :13:01.running? Not at all, he did a similar thing with negative splits
:13:02. > :13:05.as well, we both train together and live in the same house, so for him
:13:06. > :13:12.to take a minute off his PB and be in the top three Brits, that maybe
:13:13. > :13:20.help him to get selection as well. It is in the lap of the gods now, he
:13:21. > :13:25.has got the qualifying time. Tesegai Tewelde, really impressive run, well
:13:26. > :13:37.done. The day did not start well? You almost did not make the bus! You
:13:38. > :13:41.slept in? Yes. CHUCKLES I understand he slept in this
:13:42. > :13:51.morning and you had to get him on the bus with a quick call? Yes. How
:13:52. > :13:58.long were you waiting on the bus? Well, it felt like ages actually!
:13:59. > :14:03.Sonia would have been livid if things had not turned out well, but
:14:04. > :14:11.she is OK now. What does it mean to get yourself on the plane to Rio? It
:14:12. > :14:19.is unbelievable. What can I say? You train in Scotland as well. You spend
:14:20. > :14:23.a lot of time in Scotland? Yes. Scottish distance running is
:14:24. > :14:33.obviously on a high. Yes, we are the top three Brits. Robbie Simpson was
:14:34. > :14:37.maybe fourth or fifth, I'm not sure. It is the tough conditions that
:14:38. > :14:40.makes you hard! The northern air. There is a northern connection going
:14:41. > :14:45.on through here. Great running today. You have brought a smile to a
:14:46. > :14:50.lot of faces. They are cold and hungry so I will let them replenish
:14:51. > :14:52.their fuel. Let's get back to the slightly slower runners but
:14:53. > :14:59.nonetheless they deserve celebrating.
:15:00. > :15:16.Only slightly slower. Approaching not far away from the four hours
:15:17. > :15:20.mark. And people struggling over the last mile and a half. Amazing how
:15:21. > :15:24.they are helped and other runners giving up times they are chasing to
:15:25. > :15:34.help those struggling to get across the line. Look at it. Well on the
:15:35. > :15:46.way to a record number of finishers in the 36th running of the marathon.
:15:47. > :15:51.A fantastic atmosphere. One of the oldest coming in, Helen, the lady
:15:52. > :15:56.with the white hair. It heralds spring time in this country. The sun
:15:57. > :16:01.has shone even though the weather forecasters said it might snow
:16:02. > :16:05.today. No sign of snow, but a wonderful atmosphere in London. This
:16:06. > :16:12.is the best marathon in the world and the finest organisation in the
:16:13. > :16:19.world. The team must be very happy indeed with this. Dave Bedford. Emma
:16:20. > :16:25.Thompson, who looks after the course, fantastic. There it is in
:16:26. > :16:29.all its glory. Running along towards the Embankment. The Tower of London.
:16:30. > :16:36.I think we have seen the finest marathon performance. Eliud
:16:37. > :16:41.Kipchoge. A little bit too quick in the early stages and some of these
:16:42. > :16:45.have done the same, but I think we have seen the finest organisation
:16:46. > :16:50.and the finest marathon in history in every sense. A record number of
:16:51. > :16:58.runners. That means something to a lot of people, obviously, run goose
:16:59. > :17:07.run. It is amazing how long the last few
:17:08. > :17:13.Miles can feel. It makes a difference. You see probably three
:17:14. > :17:19.quarters of the people running have their names on their vest and also
:17:20. > :17:23.it might not sound you take much motivation from hearing your name
:17:24. > :17:29.from a stranger, it really helps, especially if you are struggling. So
:17:30. > :17:34.many people have names and nicknames and it gives the crowd something to
:17:35. > :17:38.cheer. When you get a smile back from a runner, as a spectator, you
:17:39. > :17:45.feel as if you have helped out a difficult moment. And still they
:17:46. > :17:53.stream on. The weather is closing in a fraction but nothing like the snow
:17:54. > :17:57.and driving wind and rain forecast. For anybody who has finished in the
:17:58. > :18:02.last half-hour, they have had fabulous weather this morning. It
:18:03. > :18:12.has been a brilliant day in London, as we always hoped it would be.
:18:13. > :18:25.Fantastic. You have a special delivery. I don't know what to say
:18:26. > :18:32.but other than I kept it clean and dry for you, Denise Lewis, at the 80
:18:33. > :18:38.miles point. I am running for the organisation that do fantastic work.
:18:39. > :18:45.The Hereford Haven. That is the logo. A huge thank you, my postman
:18:46. > :18:49.colleagues in Hereford. We have raised over ?18,000 this year, which
:18:50. > :18:54.is helping women with breast cancer and I feel honoured, but he humbled
:18:55. > :19:01.and the highlight is coming here to meet you! It has been great to see
:19:02. > :19:08.you. Keep running. I got cramp half a mile back, but thank you,
:19:09. > :19:15.brilliant. Thanks, Mike. A lot of people think of Bagpuss is
:19:16. > :19:22.a favourite character. You starting to hate him? I have issues, yes! He
:19:23. > :19:27.is heavy, hot and banking on my hips. Why did you choose to carry
:19:28. > :19:33.him? I did not choose, I was asked. I could not say no. I have run a lot
:19:34. > :19:38.of marathons and I have to give something back. Only halfway to go.
:19:39. > :19:50.Well done. See you later. This is an outfit, I
:19:51. > :20:01.tell you. The shield is not as streamlined as I thought. Whose idea
:20:02. > :20:04.was it? I did it once, when I did my second London Marathon and failed
:20:05. > :20:15.and I wanted to redeem the outfit and do it not injured. I am raising
:20:16. > :20:24.money for the NSPCC and hopefully I will get to the end. Go for it!
:20:25. > :20:30.We could not miss you. We are doing well. Joe had his appendix out six
:20:31. > :20:34.weeks ago and he is going strong, doing really well. A big achievement
:20:35. > :20:40.to be had. It is. The course is fantastic. We have a couple of twins
:20:41. > :20:45.down here, it was their birthday yesterday. The motives are there,
:20:46. > :20:52.the legs are not. If you want to spare your legs it would be
:20:53. > :20:53.appreciated. You don't want my legs! You are a legend. It is great to
:20:54. > :21:09.meet you. And that is Tim Peake running his
:21:10. > :21:13.marathon in space. 3.35 his finishing time. He has to be an
:21:14. > :21:20.incredible shape to go up there in the first place and doing this for
:21:21. > :21:27.his charity, The Prince's Trust. His colleagues, one of them, Jon Scott,
:21:28. > :21:32.going for the record of running in a replica astronaut outfit. He will be
:21:33. > :21:42.coming in soon. He gets astronauts in shape, ensuring they are in peak
:21:43. > :21:47.physical condition. Excuse the pun. He will not be able to celebrate in
:21:48. > :21:52.the pub tonight like a lot of athletes, but I am sure he will have
:21:53. > :21:57.something delicious to celebrate. He had a screen in front of him so he
:21:58. > :22:01.could see the course and said he was virtually in the marathon. I wonder
:22:02. > :22:07.if we will see him on terra firma next time, I hope so. Sophie
:22:08. > :22:15.Raworth. Incredibly, one second slower than Tim Peake. That is a
:22:16. > :22:21.massive personal best for you. It is. I scraped nine minutes off my
:22:22. > :22:27.personal best and if I had known I was a second behind him I would have
:22:28. > :22:31.run faster. You had looked to post a big time, you have been running
:22:32. > :22:36.these for a while. This is my seventh and I have tried. I got a PB
:22:37. > :22:41.three years ago and I wanted to go faster and I tried and it kept going
:22:42. > :22:49.wrong and today was amazing. Today we have talked about people, getting
:22:50. > :22:53.off the sofa, starting small, a five kilometres race. In the first
:22:54. > :22:58.marathon you had a terrible time. I blacked out at 24 miles and nobody
:22:59. > :23:04.knew what had happened to me and my family were waiting here and I was
:23:05. > :23:09.with the St John Ambulance, who were fantastic, and I finally got up and
:23:10. > :23:14.walked round. Six hours and 22 minutes. Not my favourite
:23:15. > :23:20.experience. But you can go on and get an incredible time, well under
:23:21. > :23:26.four hours. Many people watch this and I watched for years and thought
:23:27. > :23:30.I could not do it. I thought I would do the half marathon. I managed
:23:31. > :23:35.that. I thought I could not do a full marathon but you can. It is
:23:36. > :23:40.incredible, as long as you do the training. This year I worked hard
:23:41. > :23:47.and felt fine all the way round. You have to do the training, if you do,
:23:48. > :23:52.you can get round. You have your three children. They are so proud of
:23:53. > :24:06.you. What an inspiration to them and your charity. I am running for the
:24:07. > :24:12.key -- Parkinson is trust. When it does hurt a little bit you draw on
:24:13. > :24:18.inspirations. My sister rank me this morning and said it was amazing what
:24:19. > :24:22.I was doing for dad, she said it is like you are carrying him around
:24:23. > :24:29.with you on your back. And the last two miles I thought I am doing this
:24:30. > :24:34.for dad. Keep going. We will round down the time. We will say you are
:24:35. > :24:42.the same time as Tim Peake. I might be when my time comes around.
:24:43. > :24:45.Everybody comes here having run incredible times, beaming, looking
:24:46. > :24:54.amazing, sounding fantastic and not tired. Go and have a hearty feast.
:24:55. > :24:57.It is great to see you. On the course there are plenty more people
:24:58. > :24:59.yet to cross the finishing line, looking to post their own personal
:25:00. > :25:12.bests. Barnsley's Becky Rend will have her
:25:13. > :25:16.cousin in mind when she covers the marathon for the first time in aid
:25:17. > :25:21.of the Midlands air ambulance charity will stop her cousin is Leah
:25:22. > :25:26.Washington who had her leg amputated after a crash on a roller-coaster at
:25:27. > :25:33.Alton Towers. Becky knows that without the work of air ambulance,
:25:34. > :25:37.Leah Washington might not be alive. Trevor was away with the Army when
:25:38. > :25:44.he received the devastating news his 19-year-old daughter had taken her
:25:45. > :25:47.own life. He was helped in the aftermath by the Royal British
:25:48. > :25:52.Legion and is raising funds for that charity today. When he leaves the
:25:53. > :25:56.Army, he plans a career helping young people with depression.
:25:57. > :26:01.23-year-old Ruth Parsons has a form of leukaemia for which you must take
:26:02. > :26:07.medication the rest of her life. She was diagnosed three years ago in the
:26:08. > :26:12.final year of university. Her friend James recently died of cancer and
:26:13. > :26:18.she will run in his memory today while raising cash for the Teenage
:26:19. > :26:24.Cancer Trust. The ever present club is for the special view and Ken
:26:25. > :26:28.Jones is the oldest member. At the age of 82. Membership signifies he
:26:29. > :26:34.has taken part in every marathon since the event began 35 years ago.
:26:35. > :26:45.The ever present, the legendary Ken. I have done everyone. I am looking
:26:46. > :26:52.forward to doing the next one. You are an inspiration. In the last 36
:26:53. > :26:58.years, what has been the biggest change? It is so much more better
:26:59. > :27:02.organised. At first we had buses to put our stuff in and now it is
:27:03. > :27:11.beautifully done. The race is magnificent. You are talking about
:27:12. > :27:17.2017, lets concentrate on the next 13 miles. I will do it. And I would
:27:18. > :27:22.like to say something for my running club and the Parc Carruthers, they
:27:23. > :27:34.have to keep going, all of the park runners, for ever. -- park runners.
:27:35. > :27:41.How are you? I have been better. I am enjoying the day. It has been
:27:42. > :27:46.awesome. And how about the support? Just when you think you are slowing
:27:47. > :27:52.down, everybody starts cheering and you speed up again. A beautiful
:27:53. > :27:59.outfit, is it for a specific reason? How else can you roll? This is the
:28:00. > :28:03.best way. I will let you absorb the atmosphere. Take care.
:28:04. > :28:12.You are dressed as a big shoe. It seemed like a good idea, but we are
:28:13. > :28:23.at this point, it is getting tiring. I think my back is going. Just after
:28:24. > :28:31.18 miles. No. Home is in sight. My grandmother is watching. Grandma,
:28:32. > :28:36.this is for you and for mum. I am raising money for Cancer Research
:28:37. > :28:42.UK, about ?6,000 today. Keep going. Christian, you have got
:28:43. > :28:49.yourself a wonderful contraption. What has it been like carrying it 13
:28:50. > :28:55.miles? It has been heavy. You run at different speeds, it is tough. We
:28:56. > :29:01.know how cool runnings works but you have to be in sync? Yes. It is all
:29:02. > :29:11.about charity. Who is the dead weight? Don't tell anyone! You are
:29:12. > :29:18.doing a great job. Keep it up.
:29:19. > :29:31.Hello, ladies, looking patriotically. I am Heather will
:29:32. > :29:36.stop and Sally. Running for a trust, raising money for vulnerable
:29:37. > :29:40.children. What is the atmosphere like? Amazing. Incredible. The
:29:41. > :29:48.support drives you ran. Have you done a marathon before? Yes. This is
:29:49. > :29:50.my 54th marathon today. You are having fun? We are. Enjoy the rest
:29:51. > :30:03.of it. I see you with go for it, James. He
:30:04. > :30:08.is my son, running his first marathon today. I know you have a
:30:09. > :30:15.daughter running. I have to give her a shout out. Go for it! First time,
:30:16. > :30:21.too. It could be a tired family later. We will celebrate tonight.
:30:22. > :30:35.Good luck. Thanks. Big Ben about to strike two o'clock,
:30:36. > :30:43.signifying the four hour mark. They are trying to sprinting to try to
:30:44. > :30:48.beat it down The Mall, of course. The clocks up at the finish line
:30:49. > :30:53.tell them they are close, but they all have a chip and sometimes if it
:30:54. > :30:58.has taken new two or three minutes to cross the start line, you look at
:30:59. > :31:06.the Clark and you are disappointed, but the chip time might say you are
:31:07. > :31:09.inside it. -- clock. More world records out there, the fastest
:31:10. > :31:16.marathon dressed as a gingerbread man. Richard, well done, mate. 3.20
:31:17. > :31:18.nine. I did not see your costume. It's a good job no one was nibbling
:31:19. > :31:33.away at you. -- 3.2 nine. The best one was when you announced
:31:34. > :31:38.the record dressed as a dinosaur and then said what was he dressed as?
:31:39. > :31:43.I'm assuming it was pretty quick. Probably able loss raptor. --
:31:44. > :31:59.velociraptor. We have just seen a few minutes ago
:32:00. > :32:06.Iwan Thomas coasting in front of us. One of our great 400 metre runners,
:32:07. > :32:13.he loves coming here every year. It's amazing how still, after all
:32:14. > :32:21.these years, it attracts so many people, this greatest of challenges,
:32:22. > :32:23.open to all. Lining up next to world champions and Olympic champions,
:32:24. > :32:31.world record holders. All in the same race.
:32:32. > :32:39.As we said earlier wrong, it really doesn't matter what your level of
:32:40. > :32:45.fitness is, anybody is welcome to join the ballot, put their name in
:32:46. > :32:49.the hat and try to join in this amazing day. It's liberals nap shot
:32:50. > :32:54.of the atmosphere that we treasured every day the London Olympics four
:32:55. > :32:59.years ago. Such a sense of warmth and friendship, not just among
:33:00. > :33:04.fellow runners but members of the crowd as well, and they do hand out
:33:05. > :33:08.Jelly babies and segments of orange and they cheer you on as they are
:33:09. > :33:10.having a couple of drinks around the course. It's just a fantastic
:33:11. > :33:18.atmosphere whether you are running or watching. Well done to a friend
:33:19. > :33:24.of mine, Graham, who has finished in 3.56, under the four hour mark,
:33:25. > :33:29.brilliant effort. Still they start to fill the finishing straight which
:33:30. > :33:34.must be one of the most iconic finishing straits in the world. So
:33:35. > :33:39.many great events all around the world of course, London is part of
:33:40. > :33:42.the Marathon Majors series. And of course we are a little biased here
:33:43. > :34:17.in London but we do think this is the best.
:34:18. > :34:36.He has come for lunch. So many people have so many different
:34:37. > :34:46.emotional reasons for running. Some people trying to lose weight, others
:34:47. > :34:51.remembering a loved one. Ben Smith, who you have probably been following
:34:52. > :34:56.in the coverage, 401 of these in consecutive days. He has to keep
:34:57. > :35:00.doing this every day between now and October the 5th and he's not far
:35:01. > :35:13.away from the finish line, we are told. About 15 minutes away or so. A
:35:14. > :35:14.great effort. Everyone who has taken part today should be very proud of
:35:15. > :35:29.themselves. It's been an incredible day so far,
:35:30. > :35:37.and it continues. The masses coming down The Mall, they are coming in at
:35:38. > :35:43.the moment in just over four hours, a very respectable time. How this
:35:44. > :35:48.event has grown, 36 years old now, it started from a few thousand
:35:49. > :35:55.runners, to now 35,000 of them expected to cross the finish line
:35:56. > :35:56.and earlier this year one of the two co-founders of this incredible event
:35:57. > :36:07.passed away. It was in 1981 that the Marathon
:36:08. > :36:17.vision of former steeplechasers became reality. Thousands of runners
:36:18. > :36:20.pounding the streets of London thanks to Chris Brasher and John
:36:21. > :36:28.Disley. They were inspired by a visit to the New York Marathon.
:36:29. > :36:36.Chris was the race director and John Disley designed the course. Disley
:36:37. > :36:40.won a bronze medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Helsinki
:36:41. > :36:46.Olympics, setting nine British records, winning 19 British vests
:36:47. > :36:50.and was awarded the CBE in 1979. He is survived by his wife Sylvia and
:36:51. > :36:55.two daughters. His London Marathon family has hundreds of thousands of
:36:56. > :37:02.members, all of them thankful the creative believes happened where
:37:03. > :37:10.those two friends showed their drive and passion. It is quite a legacy.
:37:11. > :37:18.John Disley and Chris Brasher, they were the founders of the London
:37:19. > :37:22.Marathon. It's incredible isn't it that this event has become what it
:37:23. > :37:28.has over the years, and continues to grow and really become part of the
:37:29. > :37:32.fabric of society? Absolutely, it really is inspiring people to take
:37:33. > :37:37.up sport, and that was their vision and that's what we carry on today.
:37:38. > :37:41.We are here to celebrate the 1,000,000th finisher. Sometime
:37:42. > :37:46.probably in the next two hours, the millionth person will cross the
:37:47. > :37:51.finish line. We are not focusing on that but on the million stories, the
:37:52. > :37:56.reasons people have taken part in the event, and 75% are raising money
:37:57. > :38:01.for charity, and that is so much what this is about, great causes,
:38:02. > :38:05.doing something that is quite unique and getting cheered on by so many
:38:06. > :38:10.people to achieve that and raise all of that money. And inspiring so many
:38:11. > :38:14.more people at home, and it continues to do that as people want
:38:15. > :38:17.to be part of this great day. At the other end of the spectrum is the
:38:18. > :38:23.elite runners and you have loaded the field this year with the best in
:38:24. > :38:27.the world at the moment, competing in an incredible race, Eliud
:38:28. > :38:31.Kipchoge, what a race, incredible time, I'm not sure he realised how
:38:32. > :38:37.close he was to the world record. To run that, he is the most amazing
:38:38. > :38:41.athlete, in Berlin back in September he ran pretty well the whole race
:38:42. > :38:48.with his insoles hanging out and ran 2.0 four. He said afterwards, I did
:38:49. > :38:54.a speech on Friday and I said in 2003 when my father passed away
:38:55. > :38:57.Paula Radcliffe around 2.15 and I challenged the athletes to a world
:38:58. > :39:02.record and he was very close, but what an amazing run. He really is a
:39:03. > :39:10.fantastic athlete. Stanley Biwott, the first man ever under two hours
:39:11. > :39:14.and four minutes on this course. So exciting to watch British athletes
:39:15. > :39:19.as well. You are taking a hard line in a sport that has been beset by
:39:20. > :39:23.drug problems, you are taking a hard line on drug streets. Absolutely,
:39:24. > :39:27.this board needs to have leadership and we believe that we are showing
:39:28. > :39:34.leadership, and what we are doing, there is a collection of races that
:39:35. > :39:39.are called the Marathon Majors, New York, Tokyo, Chicago, Berlin and
:39:40. > :39:44.ourselves, and we have put together a testing centre for those athletes
:39:45. > :39:47.and they will be tested out of competitions with biological
:39:48. > :39:52.passport is a minimum of six times in 12 months and on top of that we
:39:53. > :39:56.put prize money aside which goes into an account and is paid out over
:39:57. > :40:01.a number of years and the idea is that it takes time for the athlete
:40:02. > :40:06.biological passport system to find out if an athlete is cheating. And I
:40:07. > :40:11.have to say, just because there is the odd rotten apple do not say that
:40:12. > :40:16.everyone is, that is not the case in this sport. Eliud Kipchoge has been
:40:17. > :40:20.vocal about the ability of the sport, but what we want to do is
:40:21. > :40:24.make sure that the public understand these athletes are running clean.
:40:25. > :40:27.That is obviously one end of the race, the hours that go on
:40:28. > :40:32.afterwards are about the masses and in a way that is the most important
:40:33. > :40:37.message, running is for everyone and that whatever level you can start
:40:38. > :40:42.and get going and be inspired. Thank you so much. If you want to run next
:40:43. > :40:45.year, the ballot opens on Monday May the 2nd and closes on Friday May the
:40:46. > :40:52.6th, you can go to the website on the screen. As for this year, the
:40:53. > :40:55.race is still to be run for the many thousands out there, the road is
:40:56. > :43:00.long and the finish is their ultimate aim.
:43:01. > :43:07.Well, that's the scene from the skies over London. The scenes where
:43:08. > :43:11.we are right now by the finish, they never failed to make you feel a
:43:12. > :43:16.little bit emotional watching people cross the finish line. The hard work
:43:17. > :43:20.is over, the screams of joy, and the joy was for Marcel Hug and Pat John
:43:21. > :43:28.McFadden in the men's and women's wheelchair races earlier. With the
:43:29. > :43:34.full story of those and the IPCC events, here is Rob Walker. A series
:43:35. > :43:44.of great races out on this iconic course. Raymond Martin won the T
:43:45. > :43:47.51/52 World Cup race. A wheelchair athlete with less upper body
:43:48. > :43:56.mobility and flexibility. Than David Weir and Marcel Hug. Hence he won a
:43:57. > :44:04.separate race. A great athlete from the USA. A hold host of world class
:44:05. > :44:07.visually impaired athletes. Taking the title on her debut with a great
:44:08. > :44:15.run. That was an unofficial world record. And then two Santos defended
:44:16. > :44:17.his title in the T13 visually impaired category. Imagine the
:44:18. > :44:27.cheers he will get if he does the same in Rio in September. And then
:44:28. > :44:30.we have the arm amputee race. He came fifth in the World Championship
:44:31. > :44:35.last year over 1500 metres and steps up to the Marathon in fine style.
:44:36. > :44:43.Just eight seconds outside the world record. The full list of the IPCC
:44:44. > :44:49.Marathon World Cup winners. later. We will celebrate tonight.
:44:50. > :45:04.Good luck. Thanks. A great opportunity for the
:45:05. > :45:06.Paralympian is to compete on the streets of London in the world's
:45:07. > :45:18.premier marathon. Leo we chatted to this man, Jon
:45:19. > :45:25.Scott, who was going for the world record. The fastest marathon in a
:45:26. > :45:31.replica spacesuit. I think I got 3.58 so I think I did achieve it.
:45:32. > :45:38.The experience was? Extraordinary in every way, I think. I thought I set
:45:39. > :45:50.off at a reasonable pace and about halfway, the pace man came past me
:45:51. > :45:55.for three hours and I hit a wall. At 14 miles. The last 12 miles was
:45:56. > :45:59.pretty awful? It was. Thanks to all the people who stopped and helped.
:46:00. > :46:05.The children who gave me jelly babies and a guy who's name I did
:46:06. > :46:11.not get too stuck with me for the last three, four miles. Yes, I
:46:12. > :46:15.mean... You are the man responsible for getting astronauts in shape so
:46:16. > :46:20.they can go on these missions and be in peak condition and Tim Peake is
:46:21. > :46:30.indeed in good nick. He completed his marathon in space in three hours
:46:31. > :46:36.and 35 minutes and 21 seconds so you can be proud of the work you did to
:46:37. > :46:42.get to him in shape. The fact he finished and could look like that,
:46:43. > :46:49.everyone will be pleased. If he is listening, congratulations, job well
:46:50. > :46:54.done. He gets to hang out all day, just floating. I wish I could do
:46:55. > :46:58.that! At least you get to go to the pub to celebrate with your mates.
:46:59. > :47:06.Yes, I think I will do that. The pace right and do it next year and
:47:07. > :47:10.you can knock even more off the PB. And I'd might try a shorts and
:47:11. > :47:17.T-shirt next year! Keep getting the refreshments down you. From the
:47:18. > :47:19.inspiring Jon Scott and Tim to the incredible people out on the course.
:47:20. > :47:33.Hello. Why are you running today? It is my
:47:34. > :47:37.fourth marathon in memory of my grandmother for the national
:47:38. > :47:42.osteoporosis Society. I am doing something she never could. It has
:47:43. > :47:48.been painful so far, but so good. You are doing a great job.
:47:49. > :47:57.How are you doing? I am good, I am loving it. It is mental. How do you
:47:58. > :48:02.think the atmosphere is helping you? It is amazing. I have seen so many
:48:03. > :48:07.people I have run with from clubs around the country and it is amazing
:48:08. > :48:13.how much they have not behind what we are trying to do. Would you do it
:48:14. > :48:23.again? Yes. Brilliant. Enjoy the last two miles. Thanks. I am
:48:24. > :48:28.reliably informed it is David. Yes, I am here. Good afternoon.
:48:29. > :48:34.Paddington Bear was a decision you chose all you were told to do? I
:48:35. > :48:41.chose, but I was helped on my way. It is a long way from Peru. Is there
:48:42. > :48:48.enough marmalade? Plenty of marmalade. Not far to go, keep it
:48:49. > :48:56.up. Thanks. Good luck to everybody else. Who are you running for? I am
:48:57. > :49:03.Emma and I am running for the National Autistic Society. My son
:49:04. > :49:08.has autism and I wanted to run and this is a great way to bring
:49:09. > :49:13.awareness to autism. The society and everything they do. The atmosphere
:49:14. > :49:19.has been incredible. Does it give you motivation? This is my first
:49:20. > :49:23.marathon and it has been amazing. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a
:49:24. > :49:32.bit painful but absolutely brilliant. Almost home. Keep going.
:49:33. > :49:35.I will keep walking with you. How are you feeling? Honestly, it is
:49:36. > :49:42.incredible, the atmosphere is amazing, but the cramp is there all
:49:43. > :49:47.the time and so I am making sure I get through and crawl across the
:49:48. > :49:51.finishing line. Not far to go. I am grateful you stop me, I can have a
:49:52. > :49:57.quick break. The most important thing is to keep moving. Definitely.
:49:58. > :50:01.The support has been incredible and the atmosphere amazing. So many good
:50:02. > :50:06.charities. You see the back of the T-shirts and what they are doing it
:50:07. > :50:14.for is so inspiring. I am determined to finish. All the best. Cheers.
:50:15. > :50:20.This weekend is the 400th anniversary of the death of the
:50:21. > :50:24.Bard. Fitting we have Shakespeares performing today, like Matt
:50:25. > :50:28.Shakespeare running to raise funds for children's medical research. His
:50:29. > :50:33.son was not breathing at birth but is now doing well. The 32-year-old
:50:34. > :50:36.from Warwickshire is running for those less fortunate than himself.
:50:37. > :50:44.Let's hope greatness is thrust upon him today. Simon Shakespeare is
:50:45. > :50:47.running his first marathon ten years after breaking his hip and being
:50:48. > :50:53.told he would struggle to walk properly again. He does not have a
:50:54. > :51:00.time in mind, he says just as long as he finishes before the last
:51:01. > :51:05.train. Beth Shakespeare, we may have to compare to a summer's day. She
:51:06. > :51:09.will be running with the Golden glow of being distantly related to the
:51:10. > :51:13.great man William. The speech and language therapist won her place
:51:14. > :51:21.through Kent athletics club and wears its colours today.
:51:22. > :51:26.Wearing something different is Luke, who is dressed Shakespeare. He is
:51:27. > :51:30.running for a charity called the primary Shakespeare company that
:51:31. > :51:39.organises classes for primary school children. To him all of London is a
:51:40. > :51:44.stage today. We have one of the Shakespeares
:51:45. > :51:49.running today. Beth Shakespeare. I feel honoured to be in your
:51:50. > :51:53.presence. Explain your relationship to the Bard. We are related through
:51:54. > :52:00.his uncle and so the youngest brother of his father John, which is
:52:01. > :52:05.his uncle, Matthew. It has been a big weekend for the family. My dad
:52:06. > :52:09.has gone to Stratford for the celebrations and got right in there
:52:10. > :52:16.and has been researching our family tree for three decades. Is it a name
:52:17. > :52:19.that carries the weight of expectation. Did your English
:52:20. > :52:31.teachers think, your essay is not quite good enough? A little bit. I
:52:32. > :52:36.went in to speech therapy and so I feel there is a language component.
:52:37. > :52:44.Tell us why you ran today. I ran with my running club, Kent, in
:52:45. > :52:51.Lewisham. They gave me a ballot place. I wanted to do it for my 30th
:52:52. > :52:58.this year and I am ecstatic to be here and it has been amazing. What
:52:59. > :53:05.time did you get? My watch says about 3.40 four. My aim was 3.40
:53:06. > :53:15.five. It is a new PB. I am over the moon. You have done it for the
:53:16. > :53:19.Shakespeares. Next year the Duke and Duchess of
:53:20. > :53:30.Cambridge and Prince Harry will lead the Heads Together, which aims to
:53:31. > :53:38.raise awareness about mental health issues. It will be the biggest
:53:39. > :53:42.project they have worked on together. Good luck to them. I am
:53:43. > :53:48.sure we will see them here next year.
:53:49. > :53:57.Still they come in their thousands. The latest world record was the
:53:58. > :54:12.fastest marathon dressed as a tap. He is still running! 18,500 have
:54:13. > :54:20.crossed the line so far. We have had 18,500 finishing so far. They will
:54:21. > :54:24.continue for the next few hours. We will be watching for the
:54:25. > :54:29.1,000,000th. That is one of the headlines today because that is
:54:30. > :54:38.about the longevity and popularity of this event around the world and
:54:39. > :54:42.today in the elite races, Eliud Kipchoge on one of the greatest
:54:43. > :54:46.performances ever. It was almost a world record, but it was the manner
:54:47. > :54:53.in which he ran that was impressive and I was glad to see him, Brendan.
:54:54. > :54:57.I agree. John Disley, whose memorial service was held this week, he and
:54:58. > :55:03.Chris Brasher founded this event that is now a national institution
:55:04. > :55:09.and we saw an extraordinary athlete running one of the finest
:55:10. > :55:13.performances, from Kenya, and we are watching now ordinary people doing
:55:14. > :55:21.extraordinary things and that will always be the highlight for me of
:55:22. > :55:27.the London Marathon. For me, it is to be proud to be British and proud
:55:28. > :55:31.to be part of a London Marathon and its great history, showing off today
:55:32. > :55:35.in its best light. Everybody out there is part of the history and
:55:36. > :55:41.today we will see the one in 1 million crossing the finishing line.
:55:42. > :55:49.It is without doubt the greatest day in London, every year. A sense of
:55:50. > :55:56.warmth, such support from the crowd, and such a great place to run 26.2
:55:57. > :56:01.miles. However fast, however slowly, a brilliant day.
:56:02. > :56:08.Great effort from everybody and well done to Tim Peake in space. He set
:56:09. > :56:14.us on our way, it seems ages ago. At 10am. So much drama since then. I am
:56:15. > :56:19.sure there is more drama to come for those on the course but from us in
:56:20. > :56:20.the commentary box, thanks for that effort. We will see you again next
:56:21. > :56:39.year. It feels like a long time ago but
:56:40. > :56:43.earlier today the wheelchair women's race finished with Tatyana McFadden
:56:44. > :56:48.taking her fourth London Marathon title and Marcel Hug is taking the
:56:49. > :56:53.men's ahead of David Weir, who came in third, yet to win his seventh
:56:54. > :57:05.title. That is Tatyana McFadden crossing. Her fourth title. And in
:57:06. > :57:09.the elite races, Jemima Sumgong, after the incredible crash, hitting
:57:10. > :57:15.her head, holding it for a while, not sure she should continue but she
:57:16. > :57:22.did and she won the London Marathon. And for the men, what a race. Eliud
:57:23. > :57:26.Kipchoge winning his second consecutive London Marathon in a
:57:27. > :57:35.time that was seconds outside the world record, the second fastest
:57:36. > :57:43.marathon run for a man in history. Incredible, incredible day we have
:57:44. > :57:49.had. You can see coverage of the highlights at 6pm on BBC Two. Next
:57:50. > :57:54.on BBC Two, while championship snooker.
:57:55. > :58:05.-- World Championship snooker. Great sport coming up on the BBC and we
:58:06. > :58:10.have had great sport today. That is it from us. Still plenty of runners
:58:11. > :58:17.out on the streets of London, hoping to finish the marathon today. These
:58:18. > :58:20.are the days in sport that bring people together, but none can
:58:21. > :58:34.compare to the London Marathon. It is a day to be inspired and in some
:58:35. > :58:38.cases, the day to change. I hope you have enjoyed our coverage. We will
:58:39. > :58:39.see you running in the streets of London next time.
:58:40. > :59:09.Goodbye. I've got a track, actually,
:59:10. > :59:11.stuck in me head. I heard it on Charlie Sloth.
:59:12. > :59:13.Oh, yeah? Going to be massive. It's gonna pop? Yeah.
:59:14. > :59:18.What, "pop!"? Yeah. How does it go? Right, well,
:59:19. > :59:21.don't laugh at me, though.