Part 2 London Marathon

Hello and welcome back to the 2016 Virgin Money London Marathon. So

many people still out there on the course, 3.5 hours ago the masses

began their 26.2 mile journey, and for so many that journey has a long

way to go before they get to the finish here. Any time under four

ours is pretty incredible and the majority will finish in 4.5 - five

hours. We are here on BBC Two for another hour to speak to more

amazing people and highlight the reasons people are running. For

those attempting crazy records to those wanting to finish for reasons

close to their hearts. Let's head back out onto the course. You may

well recognise someone that you know. Paula Radcliffe, Brendan

Foster and Steve Cram will talk you through it.

Well, what a great day it has been here in London. The four elite

races, absolutely enthralling. All the way to the end. Eliud Kipchoge a

whisker away, a whisker away from the world record. It was by quite

some margin the fastest ever time in London, and arguably one of if not

the best performances we have ever witnessed, especially when you take

into account the great battle he had with Stanley Biwott who also came

home inside 2.04. Great performances from British athletes, Callum

Hawkins smashed his lifetime best, inside the top ten. Jemima Sumgong

coming home with a victory. Tatyana McFadden, the women's favourite in

the wheelchair race, came home with victory number four. And Marcel Hug

picked up another win in London. David Weir house to wait for the

magnificent seven. Among all of the elites, they are safely back at the

hotel, getting the sustenance on board, the rest of the heroes and

heroines are still pouring around the streets of London in this great

carnival, this great festival of distance running. They will be a

king, they will be struggling, some of them, but they will all deserve

their medal at the finish line and I hope they remember to smile as well,

for the all-important photo that will be on the desk at the office or

may be sent to a family member. Anybody really can come and join

this great, great London party. Even if you are not in tiptop shape at

the moment, you have 12 months, there is no excuse. Come and join

the world's greatest marathon, in its 36th edition it is turning out

to be one of the very best. So well supported all the way

through the race. I bet if you are sitting at home watching

this and you've done a marathon, maybe you did London five or ten

years ago, you are thinking about having another one. What a great day

here in the capital. Millions of pounds being raised for so many

causes. Groups of mates running together. What a sight to watch, and

witnessed from their perspective, because they can see the finish

line, inside the last 200 metres. The teeth are gritted. And in all

sorts of costumes for all sorts of reasons. They have made it.

Everyone, on their own journey, every single person richly deserving

that medal at the finish line. As ever, a wealth of statistics get

broken on a daylight this. We have been enjoying all of the different

aspects, including of course of the wheelchair events. And we have all

enjoyed, Rob enjoyed his running like the rest of us. One was wearing

a dinosaur suit. I'm not sure what he was dressed as. Probably a

dinosaur! I knew that you would say that! That record went to Ben Evans

from Guildford, 3.08.40 three. -- 43. Charlie Long has completed the

fastest marathon dressed as a bottle in the male category. I wonder how

many categories there are. Was it a milk bottle? Mail. I thought you

said milk bottle. Theoretically there are females out there dressed

as a milk bottle as well. Where are you going after this?

Passed the million mark. 36 years ago. 37,000 people plus will finish,

making up the wonderful million. When you think about it, there are

people watching this marathon which, 3.40, this is very good marathon

running and people will be watching this around the country he will be

part of that one in a million group, and when you think about the first

ever marathon there are only a couple of hundred people watching

those recorded highlights, only a couple of hundred people would have

experienced a marathon, and as these pictures go around the world to 100

countries, more than a million people will be watching and saying,

I have done that before. Well, you can do it again. Well, a perfect day

in the capital for running 26 miles. We have almost had a perfect day in

terms of all of the races we have seen so far. So many still yet to

complete their day, to complete their race, to complete their

challenge. John Fisher from Staines underwent a

heart transplant at the age of 38 and rebound it so well he was able

to run the London Marathon 18 months later. Today on his 54th birthday he

is running his 15th consecutive London Marathon to raise funds for

the British Heart Foundation. Lucy ran last year's race while Ben was

recovering from a stem is a transplant. Lucy from Huddersfield

is back to raise money and awareness of donor registration for the

Anthony Nolan Trust. 24-year-old Mike is one of the mad marathon men

who are fundraising in memory of their friend who suffered epilepsy

and died last year aged just 29. Money raised will go to epilepsy

research UK and the YMCA, where Mike and Tom worked alongside each other.

Until the age of 14 Zoe North with cerebral palsy was a part-time

wheelchair user. She underwent surgery and now four years later she

can walk unaided, she is raising funds for A pioneering children's

medical charity. She completes her marathon challenge today. Richard

Smith made his way to the start line on foot from Lancashire, 220 miles

over six days. Richard is raising money for the Royal British Legion

and said he decided to run to London because it's more interesting than

the train and properly cheaper. -- probably. This is the end of a very,

very long journey for you? Yes, very long. Averaging 36 miles per day for

the past six days, I got here at 10pm last night. Bartra hours sleep,

and now I'm dragging myself through here. It's fantastic. -- four hours

sleep. I am running for the British Legion and hoping to raise ?5,000,

currently just under 3000, so I'm close to my target. There has been

so much support. For the whole week it has been fantastic. Can you dream

of the finished just yet? Nearly, I've been dreaming about it all

week, I'm dreaming about the pint at the end, it will be so nice! Get it

cold and get over the finish. We will see you there. Thanks very

much. I have with me the Fab four, four British athletes who have

guaranteed their place in Rio, there may still be more to come, at the

discretion of the selectors. Tewelde date, Callum Hawkins, Alyson Dixon,

congratulations. Ladies first. -- Tewelde. You knew that it was a

matter of guaranteeing the top two position, how different was the

feeling compared to other marathons because of that? It was a tactical

affair today, everyone was watching each other and it wasn't so much

about the pace, it was more about tactics at the end of the day.

Allison, you looked very strong in the last kilometre, when you both

knew you had broken away and you had it in the bag, did it suddenly feel

easier? In a way it did, but my legs were killing me. In the last two

miles. The quads had totally cramped up but no one said it would be easy.

It was definitely worth it. Wonderful scenes when you crossed

the line, coming down the Mall almost together, there is Alison

absolutely punching the air with joy, you looked as though you still

have a lot of energy going on. Luckily I did not swear! You dream

of what you're going to do on these occasions and you get there and you

go, what do I do? I just went a bit mad, but the emotion came out. Sonia

coming up behind, I saw you on Wednesday when you are registering

and getting your number and you said the last few days have been torture.

It has because you have the time but you still have to stand on the start

line and run 26.2 miles and be in the top two. You know, it was a big

job today. But job done and now it's obviously training and hard work

again for Rio. Congratulations to you as well, Cal and you have the

good time as well but you put in a really impressive run today. It

looked really easy for the first three quarters of the race. It

wasn't. I was feeling brilliant at halfway, but the last couple of

miles, especially coming up the finish, I was really hurting and

trying to hold on. Before that your split times were very good in terms

of the even pace of your race. Steve Cram was commenting on that. It was

a slight negative split, so I was not really going for time and

splits, I was just running. There you are going across the line, the

top Brit, on the plane to Rio. How did you feel? Your brother was not

far behind you. I was pretty tired. Were you aware of how fast he was

running? Not at all, he did a similar thing with negative splits

as well, we both train together and live in the same house, so for him

to take a minute off his PB and be in the top three Brits, that maybe

help him to get selection as well. It is in the lap of the gods now, he

has got the qualifying time. Tesegai Tewelde, really impressive run, well

done. The day did not start well? You almost did not make the bus! You

slept in? Yes. CHUCKLES I understand he slept in this

morning and you had to get him on the bus with a quick call? Yes. How

long were you waiting on the bus? Well, it felt like ages actually!

Sonia would have been livid if things had not turned out well, but

she is OK now. What does it mean to get yourself on the plane to Rio? It

is unbelievable. What can I say? You train in Scotland as well. You spend

a lot of time in Scotland? Yes. Scottish distance running is

obviously on a high. Yes, we are the top three Brits. Robbie Simpson was

maybe fourth or fifth, I'm not sure. It is the tough conditions that

makes you hard! The northern air. There is a northern connection going

on through here. Great running today. You have brought a smile to a

lot of faces. They are cold and hungry so I will let them replenish

their fuel. Let's get back to the slightly slower runners but

nonetheless they deserve celebrating.

Only slightly slower. Approaching not far away from the four hours

mark. And people struggling over the last mile and a half. Amazing how

they are helped and other runners giving up times they are chasing to

help those struggling to get across the line. Look at it. Well on the

way to a record number of finishers in the 36th running of the marathon.

A fantastic atmosphere. One of the oldest coming in, Helen, the lady

with the white hair. It heralds spring time in this country. The sun

has shone even though the weather forecasters said it might snow

today. No sign of snow, but a wonderful atmosphere in London. This

is the best marathon in the world and the finest organisation in the

world. The team must be very happy indeed with this. Dave Bedford. Emma

Thompson, who looks after the course, fantastic. There it is in

all its glory. Running along towards the Embankment. The Tower of London.

I think we have seen the finest marathon performance. Eliud

Kipchoge. A little bit too quick in the early stages and some of these

have done the same, but I think we have seen the finest organisation

and the finest marathon in history in every sense. A record number of

runners. That means something to a lot of people, obviously, run goose

run. It is amazing how long the last few

Miles can feel. It makes a difference. You see probably three

quarters of the people running have their names on their vest and also

it might not sound you take much motivation from hearing your name

from a stranger, it really helps, especially if you are struggling. So

many people have names and nicknames and it gives the crowd something to

cheer. When you get a smile back from a runner, as a spectator, you

feel as if you have helped out a difficult moment. And still they

stream on. The weather is closing in a fraction but nothing like the snow

and driving wind and rain forecast. For anybody who has finished in the

last half-hour, they have had fabulous weather this morning. It

has been a brilliant day in London, as we always hoped it would be.

Fantastic. You have a special delivery. I don't know what to say

but other than I kept it clean and dry for you, Denise Lewis, at the 80

miles point. I am running for the organisation that do fantastic work.

The Hereford Haven. That is the logo. A huge thank you, my postman

colleagues in Hereford. We have raised over ?18,000 this year, which

is helping women with breast cancer and I feel honoured, but he humbled

and the highlight is coming here to meet you! It has been great to see

you. Keep running. I got cramp half a mile back, but thank you,

brilliant. Thanks, Mike. A lot of people think of Bagpuss is

a favourite character. You starting to hate him? I have issues, yes! He

is heavy, hot and banking on my hips. Why did you choose to carry

him? I did not choose, I was asked. I could not say no. I have run a lot

of marathons and I have to give something back. Only halfway to go.

Well done. See you later. This is an outfit, I

tell you. The shield is not as streamlined as I thought. Whose idea

was it? I did it once, when I did my second London Marathon and failed

and I wanted to redeem the outfit and do it not injured. I am raising

money for the NSPCC and hopefully I will get to the end. Go for it!

We could not miss you. We are doing well. Joe had his appendix out six

weeks ago and he is going strong, doing really well. A big achievement

to be had. It is. The course is fantastic. We have a couple of twins

down here, it was their birthday yesterday. The motives are there,

the legs are not. If you want to spare your legs it would be

appreciated. You don't want my legs! You are a legend. It is great to

meet you. And that is Tim Peake running his

marathon in space. 3.35 his finishing time. He has to be an

incredible shape to go up there in the first place and doing this for

his charity, The Prince's Trust. His colleagues, one of them, Jon Scott,

going for the record of running in a replica astronaut outfit. He will be

coming in soon. He gets astronauts in shape, ensuring they are in peak

physical condition. Excuse the pun. He will not be able to celebrate in

the pub tonight like a lot of athletes, but I am sure he will have

something delicious to celebrate. He had a screen in front of him so he

could see the course and said he was virtually in the marathon. I wonder

if we will see him on terra firma next time, I hope so. Sophie

Raworth. Incredibly, one second slower than Tim Peake. That is a

massive personal best for you. It is. I scraped nine minutes off my

personal best and if I had known I was a second behind him I would have

run faster. You had looked to post a big time, you have been running

these for a while. This is my seventh and I have tried. I got a PB

three years ago and I wanted to go faster and I tried and it kept going

wrong and today was amazing. Today we have talked about people, getting

off the sofa, starting small, a five kilometres race. In the first

marathon you had a terrible time. I blacked out at 24 miles and nobody

knew what had happened to me and my family were waiting here and I was

with the St John Ambulance, who were fantastic, and I finally got up and

walked round. Six hours and 22 minutes. Not my favourite

experience. But you can go on and get an incredible time, well under

four hours. Many people watch this and I watched for years and thought

I could not do it. I thought I would do the half marathon. I managed

that. I thought I could not do a full marathon but you can. It is

incredible, as long as you do the training. This year I worked hard

and felt fine all the way round. You have to do the training, if you do,

you can get round. You have your three children. They are so proud of

you. What an inspiration to them and your charity. I am running for the

key -- Parkinson is trust. When it does hurt a little bit you draw on

inspirations. My sister rank me this morning and said it was amazing what

I was doing for dad, she said it is like you are carrying him around

with you on your back. And the last two miles I thought I am doing this

for dad. Keep going. We will round down the time. We will say you are

the same time as Tim Peake. I might be when my time comes around.

Everybody comes here having run incredible times, beaming, looking

amazing, sounding fantastic and not tired. Go and have a hearty feast.

It is great to see you. On the course there are plenty more people

yet to cross the finishing line, looking to post their own personal

bests. Barnsley's Becky Rend will have her

cousin in mind when she covers the marathon for the first time in aid

of the Midlands air ambulance charity will stop her cousin is Leah

Washington who had her leg amputated after a crash on a roller-coaster at

Alton Towers. Becky knows that without the work of air ambulance,

Leah Washington might not be alive. Trevor was away with the Army when

he received the devastating news his 19-year-old daughter had taken her

own life. He was helped in the aftermath by the Royal British

Legion and is raising funds for that charity today. When he leaves the

Army, he plans a career helping young people with depression.

23-year-old Ruth Parsons has a form of leukaemia for which you must take

medication the rest of her life. She was diagnosed three years ago in the

final year of university. Her friend James recently died of cancer and

she will run in his memory today while raising cash for the Teenage

Cancer Trust. The ever present club is for the special view and Ken

Jones is the oldest member. At the age of 82. Membership signifies he

has taken part in every marathon since the event began 35 years ago.

The ever present, the legendary Ken. I have done everyone. I am looking

forward to doing the next one. You are an inspiration. In the last 36

years, what has been the biggest change? It is so much more better

organised. At first we had buses to put our stuff in and now it is

beautifully done. The race is magnificent. You are talking about

2017, lets concentrate on the next 13 miles. I will do it. And I would

like to say something for my running club and the Parc Carruthers, they

have to keep going, all of the park runners, for ever. -- park runners.

How are you? I have been better. I am enjoying the day. It has been

awesome. And how about the support? Just when you think you are slowing

down, everybody starts cheering and you speed up again. A beautiful

outfit, is it for a specific reason? How else can you roll? This is the

best way. I will let you absorb the atmosphere. Take care.

You are dressed as a big shoe. It seemed like a good idea, but we are

at this point, it is getting tiring. I think my back is going. Just after

18 miles. No. Home is in sight. My grandmother is watching. Grandma,

this is for you and for mum. I am raising money for Cancer Research

UK, about ?6,000 today. Keep going. Christian, you have got

yourself a wonderful contraption. What has it been like carrying it 13

miles? It has been heavy. You run at different speeds, it is tough. We

know how cool runnings works but you have to be in sync? Yes. It is all

about charity. Who is the dead weight? Don't tell anyone! You are

doing a great job. Keep it up.

Hello, ladies, looking patriotically. I am Heather will

stop and Sally. Running for a trust, raising money for vulnerable

children. What is the atmosphere like? Amazing. Incredible. The

support drives you ran. Have you done a marathon before? Yes. This is

my 54th marathon today. You are having fun? We are. Enjoy the rest

of it. I see you with go for it, James. He

is my son, running his first marathon today. I know you have a

daughter running. I have to give her a shout out. Go for it! First time,

too. It could be a tired family later. We will celebrate tonight.

Good luck. Thanks. Big Ben about to strike two o'clock,

signifying the four hour mark. They are trying to sprinting to try to

beat it down The Mall, of course. The clocks up at the finish line

tell them they are close, but they all have a chip and sometimes if it

has taken new two or three minutes to cross the start line, you look at

the Clark and you are disappointed, but the chip time might say you are

inside it. -- clock. More world records out there, the fastest

marathon dressed as a gingerbread man. Richard, well done, mate. 3.20

nine. I did not see your costume. It's a good job no one was nibbling

away at you. -- 3.2 nine. The best one was when you announced

the record dressed as a dinosaur and then said what was he dressed as?

I'm assuming it was pretty quick. Probably able loss raptor. --

velociraptor. We have just seen a few minutes ago

Iwan Thomas coasting in front of us. One of our great 400 metre runners,

he loves coming here every year. It's amazing how still, after all

these years, it attracts so many people, this greatest of challenges,

open to all. Lining up next to world champions and Olympic champions,

world record holders. All in the same race.

As we said earlier wrong, it really doesn't matter what your level of

fitness is, anybody is welcome to join the ballot, put their name in

the hat and try to join in this amazing day. It's liberals nap shot

of the atmosphere that we treasured every day the London Olympics four

years ago. Such a sense of warmth and friendship, not just among

fellow runners but members of the crowd as well, and they do hand out

Jelly babies and segments of orange and they cheer you on as they are

having a couple of drinks around the course. It's just a fantastic

atmosphere whether you are running or watching. Well done to a friend

of mine, Graham, who has finished in 3.56, under the four hour mark,

brilliant effort. Still they start to fill the finishing straight which

must be one of the most iconic finishing straits in the world. So

many great events all around the world of course, London is part of

the Marathon Majors series. And of course we are a little biased here

in London but we do think this is the best.

He has come for lunch. So many people have so many different

emotional reasons for running. Some people trying to lose weight, others

remembering a loved one. Ben Smith, who you have probably been following

in the coverage, 401 of these in consecutive days. He has to keep

doing this every day between now and October the 5th and he's not far

away from the finish line, we are told. About 15 minutes away or so. A

great effort. Everyone who has taken part today should be very proud of

themselves. It's been an incredible day so far,

and it continues. The masses coming down The Mall, they are coming in at

the moment in just over four hours, a very respectable time. How this

event has grown, 36 years old now, it started from a few thousand

runners, to now 35,000 of them expected to cross the finish line

and earlier this year one of the two co-founders of this incredible event

passed away. It was in 1981 that the Marathon

vision of former steeplechasers became reality. Thousands of runners

pounding the streets of London thanks to Chris Brasher and John

Disley. They were inspired by a visit to the New York Marathon.

Chris was the race director and John Disley designed the course. Disley

won a bronze medal in the 3000 metres steeplechase at the Helsinki

Olympics, setting nine British records, winning 19 British vests

and was awarded the CBE in 1979. He is survived by his wife Sylvia and

two daughters. His London Marathon family has hundreds of thousands of

members, all of them thankful the creative believes happened where

those two friends showed their drive and passion. It is quite a legacy.

John Disley and Chris Brasher, they were the founders of the London

Marathon. It's incredible isn't it that this event has become what it

has over the years, and continues to grow and really become part of the

fabric of society? Absolutely, it really is inspiring people to take

up sport, and that was their vision and that's what we carry on today.

We are here to celebrate the 1,000,000th finisher. Sometime

probably in the next two hours, the millionth person will cross the

finish line. We are not focusing on that but on the million stories, the

reasons people have taken part in the event, and 75% are raising money

for charity, and that is so much what this is about, great causes,

doing something that is quite unique and getting cheered on by so many

people to achieve that and raise all of that money. And inspiring so many

more people at home, and it continues to do that as people want

to be part of this great day. At the other end of the spectrum is the

elite runners and you have loaded the field this year with the best in

the world at the moment, competing in an incredible race, Eliud

Kipchoge, what a race, incredible time, I'm not sure he realised how

close he was to the world record. To run that, he is the most amazing

athlete, in Berlin back in September he ran pretty well the whole race

with his insoles hanging out and ran 2.0 four. He said afterwards, I did

a speech on Friday and I said in 2003 when my father passed away

Paula Radcliffe around 2.15 and I challenged the athletes to a world

record and he was very close, but what an amazing run. He really is a

fantastic athlete. Stanley Biwott, the first man ever under two hours

and four minutes on this course. So exciting to watch British athletes

as well. You are taking a hard line in a sport that has been beset by

drug problems, you are taking a hard line on drug streets. Absolutely,

this board needs to have leadership and we believe that we are showing

leadership, and what we are doing, there is a collection of races that

are called the Marathon Majors, New York, Tokyo, Chicago, Berlin and

ourselves, and we have put together a testing centre for those athletes

and they will be tested out of competitions with biological

passport is a minimum of six times in 12 months and on top of that we

put prize money aside which goes into an account and is paid out over

a number of years and the idea is that it takes time for the athlete

biological passport system to find out if an athlete is cheating. And I

have to say, just because there is the odd rotten apple do not say that

everyone is, that is not the case in this sport. Eliud Kipchoge has been

vocal about the ability of the sport, but what we want to do is

make sure that the public understand these athletes are running clean.

That is obviously one end of the race, the hours that go on

afterwards are about the masses and in a way that is the most important

message, running is for everyone and that whatever level you can start

and get going and be inspired. Thank you so much. If you want to run next

year, the ballot opens on Monday May the 2nd and closes on Friday May the

6th, you can go to the website on the screen. As for this year, the

race is still to be run for the many thousands out there, the road is

long and the finish is their ultimate aim.

Well, that's the scene from the skies over London. The scenes where

we are right now by the finish, they never failed to make you feel a

little bit emotional watching people cross the finish line. The hard work

is over, the screams of joy, and the joy was for Marcel Hug and Pat John

McFadden in the men's and women's wheelchair races earlier. With the

full story of those and the IPCC events, here is Rob Walker. A series

of great races out on this iconic course. Raymond Martin won the T

51/52 World Cup race. A wheelchair athlete with less upper body

mobility and flexibility. Than David Weir and Marcel Hug. Hence he won a

separate race. A great athlete from the USA. A hold host of world class

visually impaired athletes. Taking the title on her debut with a great

run. That was an unofficial world record. And then two Santos defended

his title in the T13 visually impaired category. Imagine the

cheers he will get if he does the same in Rio in September. And then

we have the arm amputee race. He came fifth in the World Championship

last year over 1500 metres and steps up to the Marathon in fine style.

Just eight seconds outside the world record. The full list of the IPCC

Marathon World Cup winners. later. We will celebrate tonight.

Good luck. Thanks. A great opportunity for the

Paralympian is to compete on the streets of London in the world's

premier marathon. Leo we chatted to this man, Jon

Scott, who was going for the world record. The fastest marathon in a

replica spacesuit. I think I got 3.58 so I think I did achieve it.

The experience was? Extraordinary in every way, I think. I thought I set

off at a reasonable pace and about halfway, the pace man came past me

for three hours and I hit a wall. At 14 miles. The last 12 miles was

pretty awful? It was. Thanks to all the people who stopped and helped.

The children who gave me jelly babies and a guy who's name I did

not get too stuck with me for the last three, four miles. Yes, I

mean... You are the man responsible for getting astronauts in shape so

they can go on these missions and be in peak condition and Tim Peake is

indeed in good nick. He completed his marathon in space in three hours

and 35 minutes and 21 seconds so you can be proud of the work you did to

get to him in shape. The fact he finished and could look like that,

everyone will be pleased. If he is listening, congratulations, job well

done. He gets to hang out all day, just floating. I wish I could do

that! At least you get to go to the pub to celebrate with your mates.

Yes, I think I will do that. The pace right and do it next year and

you can knock even more off the PB. And I'd might try a shorts and

T-shirt next year! Keep getting the refreshments down you. From the

inspiring Jon Scott and Tim to the incredible people out on the course.

Hello. Why are you running today? It is my

fourth marathon in memory of my grandmother for the national

osteoporosis Society. I am doing something she never could. It has

been painful so far, but so good. You are doing a great job.

How are you doing? I am good, I am loving it. It is mental. How do you

think the atmosphere is helping you? It is amazing. I have seen so many

people I have run with from clubs around the country and it is amazing

how much they have not behind what we are trying to do. Would you do it

again? Yes. Brilliant. Enjoy the last two miles. Thanks. I am

reliably informed it is David. Yes, I am here. Good afternoon.

Paddington Bear was a decision you chose all you were told to do? I

chose, but I was helped on my way. It is a long way from Peru. Is there

enough marmalade? Plenty of marmalade. Not far to go, keep it

up. Thanks. Good luck to everybody else. Who are you running for? I am

Emma and I am running for the National Autistic Society. My son

has autism and I wanted to run and this is a great way to bring

awareness to autism. The society and everything they do. The atmosphere

has been incredible. Does it give you motivation? This is my first

marathon and it has been amazing. I cannot recommend it enough. It is a

bit painful but absolutely brilliant. Almost home. Keep going.

I will keep walking with you. How are you feeling? Honestly, it is

incredible, the atmosphere is amazing, but the cramp is there all

the time and so I am making sure I get through and crawl across the

finishing line. Not far to go. I am grateful you stop me, I can have a

quick break. The most important thing is to keep moving. Definitely.

The support has been incredible and the atmosphere amazing. So many good

charities. You see the back of the T-shirts and what they are doing it

for is so inspiring. I am determined to finish. All the best. Cheers.

This weekend is the 400th anniversary of the death of the

Bard. Fitting we have Shakespeares performing today, like Matt

Shakespeare running to raise funds for children's medical research. His

son was not breathing at birth but is now doing well. The 32-year-old

from Warwickshire is running for those less fortunate than himself.

Let's hope greatness is thrust upon him today. Simon Shakespeare is

running his first marathon ten years after breaking his hip and being

told he would struggle to walk properly again. He does not have a

time in mind, he says just as long as he finishes before the last

train. Beth Shakespeare, we may have to compare to a summer's day. She

will be running with the Golden glow of being distantly related to the

great man William. The speech and language therapist won her place

through Kent athletics club and wears its colours today.

Wearing something different is Luke, who is dressed Shakespeare. He is

running for a charity called the primary Shakespeare company that

organises classes for primary school children. To him all of London is a

stage today. We have one of the Shakespeares

running today. Beth Shakespeare. I feel honoured to be in your

presence. Explain your relationship to the Bard. We are related through

his uncle and so the youngest brother of his father John, which is

his uncle, Matthew. It has been a big weekend for the family. My dad

has gone to Stratford for the celebrations and got right in there

and has been researching our family tree for three decades. Is it a name

that carries the weight of expectation. Did your English

teachers think, your essay is not quite good enough? A little bit. I

went in to speech therapy and so I feel there is a language component.

Tell us why you ran today. I ran with my running club, Kent, in

Lewisham. They gave me a ballot place. I wanted to do it for my 30th

this year and I am ecstatic to be here and it has been amazing. What

time did you get? My watch says about 3.40 four. My aim was 3.40

five. It is a new PB. I am over the moon. You have done it for the

Shakespeares. Next year the Duke and Duchess of

Cambridge and Prince Harry will lead the Heads Together, which aims to

raise awareness about mental health issues. It will be the biggest

project they have worked on together. Good luck to them. I am

sure we will see them here next year.

Still they come in their thousands. The latest world record was the

fastest marathon dressed as a tap. He is still running! 18,500 have

crossed the line so far. We have had 18,500 finishing so far. They will

continue for the next few hours. We will be watching for the

1,000,000th. That is one of the headlines today because that is

about the longevity and popularity of this event around the world and

today in the elite races, Eliud Kipchoge on one of the greatest

performances ever. It was almost a world record, but it was the manner

in which he ran that was impressive and I was glad to see him, Brendan.

I agree. John Disley, whose memorial service was held this week, he and

Chris Brasher founded this event that is now a national institution

and we saw an extraordinary athlete running one of the finest

performances, from Kenya, and we are watching now ordinary people doing

extraordinary things and that will always be the highlight for me of

the London Marathon. For me, it is to be proud to be British and proud

to be part of a London Marathon and its great history, showing off today

in its best light. Everybody out there is part of the history and

today we will see the one in 1 million crossing the finishing line.

It is without doubt the greatest day in London, every year. A sense of

warmth, such support from the crowd, and such a great place to run 26.2

miles. However fast, however slowly, a brilliant day.

Great effort from everybody and well done to Tim Peake in space. He set

us on our way, it seems ages ago. At 10am. So much drama since then. I am

sure there is more drama to come for those on the course but from us in

the commentary box, thanks for that effort. We will see you again next

year. It feels like a long time ago but

earlier today the wheelchair women's race finished with Tatyana McFadden

taking her fourth London Marathon title and Marcel Hug is taking the

men's ahead of David Weir, who came in third, yet to win his seventh

title. That is Tatyana McFadden crossing. Her fourth title. And in

the elite races, Jemima Sumgong, after the incredible crash, hitting

her head, holding it for a while, not sure she should continue but she

did and she won the London Marathon. And for the men, what a race. Eliud

Kipchoge winning his second consecutive London Marathon in a

time that was seconds outside the world record, the second fastest

marathon run for a man in history. Incredible, incredible day we have

had. You can see coverage of the highlights at 6pm on BBC Two. Next

on BBC Two, while championship snooker.

-- World Championship snooker. Great sport coming up on the BBC and we

have had great sport today. That is it from us. Still plenty of runners

out on the streets of London, hoping to finish the marathon today. These

are the days in sport that bring people together, but none can

compare to the London Marathon. It is a day to be inspired and in some

cases, the day to change. I hope you have enjoyed our coverage. We will

see you running in the streets of London next time.

Goodbye. I've got a track, actually,

stuck in me head. I heard it on Charlie Sloth.

Oh, yeah? Going to be massive. It's gonna pop? Yeah.

What, "pop!"? Yeah. How does it go? Right, well,

don't laugh at me, though.