Live Coverage - Part 2 London Marathon

Hello and welcome to the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon.

We are live from Blackheath and in five minutes the fastest runners in

the world will set off alongside 40,000 women of -- men and women of

all ages, abilities, shapes and sizes with just one goal in mind, to

finish. It is such a special day which brings so many people together

as they push themselves to the limit in this most iconic and magnificent

human race. My name is Tania. Vincent. This is

my wife, Laura. Am I going? I am from Mexico. Canada. United States.

I am from South Wales. I am running for my father, who is unfortunately

suffering from pancreatic cancer. Children with Cancer UK, in memory

of my mother. I have a point to pre-padding comeback from a

life-threatening illness. I am running because, well, frankly, I am

nuts! It is something I have always wanted to do. We are going to do all

the major marathons. This time last year, I had not run more than 5k. It

is now or never. I am epileptic, I want to show I can do this. I and

type one diabetic. To stay fit physically and mentally. We are

running together! Thank you. What an awe-inspiring sight that is,

good luck to each and every one of those runners and everyone here

today, 40,000 taking part, they all have their reasons to run but the

atmosphere will help them get along, and there will these guys, the Duke

and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry, here to start the race. They

are the figurehead of Heads Together, the official charity of

the Marathon this year, which is aiming to remove the stigma

surrounding those suffering mental health issues. Many of those running

today will run with the Heads Together band on their heads, and

they will of course all have their own charities and causes which they

will discuss and talked about, we will hear so many of their stories

as the day goes on. Here at the start, though, you can see the

excitement on the face of the people in the crowds because right behind

me here the Elite Men are lined up, Kenenisa Bekele there, may run a

world record today, behind him masses and masses of runners aiming

to complete the 26.2 mile course and the Royals, getting their last

minute briefing on how they start the London Marathon. We hope to

catch up with them later. We are on air until pre-PM on BBC One but I

will hand you over now to other incredible commentary team of

Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, Andrew Cotter, Paula Radcliffe, our brand

and in his last ever London Marathon, what an emotional day this

could be, and of course Steve Cram -- our Brendan

ANDREW COTTER: Good morning everyone, on this special day, a

special event. Three starts, one finish, thousands of stories. All of

these runners heading towards the Red Start, out in Greenwich Park.

This is where the masses will get under way, this is the Blue Start

for the elite athletes, then a Green Start with some celebrities. Cannot

call them celebrities, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince

Harry! They have added real stardust to this event. Over 40,000 people

are registered in the last few days to line up this morning, that is a

record, we expect a record field in terms of participants, will be get a

world record from our Elite Men? Here is the line-up, headed by

Kenenisa Bekele, perhaps the greatest ever distance runner

certainly on the track, looking to cement that on the roads. Nobody has

held the record for the 5000, 10000 and the Marathon, can he do it? The

British quest to make the world championship team, another story to

watch out for today. The world champion there, Ghirmay

Ghebreslassie, not Haile Gebrselassie. Debutant Mantegna,

Bedan Karoki, a real talent. Former world champion Abele Karrubi, in

good form in recently winning in Chicago, silver medallist, tribute

to the people back home in Ethiopia, Feyisa Lilesa. And then this man,

Kenenisa Bekele, so many old medals and records on the track, the

fastest marathon of all time. How quick can he go today? Chris

Thompson, Scott Overall, Tony hate there, all men in contention for two

British spots for the great British team. A little discussion going on

about how they are going to do this, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge

and Prince Harry ready to get us under way. Here we go.

KLAXON SOUNDS. This 37th London Marathon gets under

way. It could be the greatest ever. Perfect conditions. A sight to

behold, as ever. The greatest runners from around the world gather

in London once more, followed by 40,000 special people all running

for all sorts of courses, this year Heads Together in particular very

much to the forefront. Let's hope they all have a great day, and we

look forward to watching them, I know you were lactone, watch them,

support them, admire them. Brendan, you have sat here for all 37 years,

this will be the last time you will be with us, this must bring back

lots of memories, I suppose every single year as well you, like me,

look forward to what is going to unfold over the next few hours.

Every marathon it has been three famous hands together pressing the

start button there for a charity which is about to transform the

attitude of Britain towards mental health, which is marvellous. We see

the streets of London, the beginning of spring time in London, it has,

all the long way in those 37 years, now a national institution. Chris

and John, who founded the event, after having tried the Google

Marathon, to see if London had the attitude and hospitality for it --

try to beat New York Marathon. There we are, the London Marathon under

way, wonderful, wonderful shots of this magnificent city, and once

again London responds, they are on their way, a record number of

starters which will probably leave to eight -- lead to a record number

of finishers. There is the Red Start, the masses going through,

Greenwich Park and the background. This is a sight to warm the hearts,

the colourful must is a major change since the grey and navy blue of the

early years. Blue, red and yellow stands out there. 6000 in the 1981

London Marathon, 40,000 today. As they queue up through Greenwich

Park, they will file out slowly and there, the Duke and Duchess of

Cambridge, and Prince Harry, really fantastic job they have done this

year bringing that mental health together with changing attitudes in

Britain. Physical health has been changed over the years by London

Marathon, hopefully this year mental health will get a change that will

sweep this nation, exercise being a big part of it. This is absolutely

wonderful. Of course many other charities are supported. Hugh

Brazier, who has taken over from his father, who founded the event in

1981 with John Disley, he was saying the other day that ?850 million has

been raised so far, sometime in the next couple of years it will be ?1

billion for charity and I don't think even Chris and John could have

envisaged that as almost a by-product of this great event over

the years. We have seen some great races, and as I said we are hoping

for a couple of great races today. So far I can tell you this young

lady here, Merrick Otani, two-time winner, has set out, I will say it

is a crazy place, she has a pacemaker, training partner there,

and they have been going at a pace that will take them not only inside

the women's only world record, which Paula has, but also the world record

which Paula set in 2003, in fact she is heading in a pace which, for me,

will only result in one thing. Paula is getting nervous but I think this

is too fast even baulk Mary Keitany. She has been running under

five-minute smiling, hasn't really slowed down yet, but surely she has

got to pay for this, Paula? I keep saying I hope she is going to pay

for it, the pace she is running is phenomenally quick. Three miles

under five minutes, several just around it, she has averaged around

5.04, she looks like she is working hard but does not look like she is

falling apart yet. The chase group behind her are also running really,

really quickly. Vivian Cheruiyot in the yellow socks, she tried to close

the gap earlier on and has decided to drop back. Florence Kiplagat,

they are still about one minute inside the pace I ran as well, so

they are all running very, very fast, but some of them will pay for

it, there will be lots of casualties from this pace today but some will

be able to maintain it as well. This is perhaps the greatest women's

field ever, running quicker than we have ever seen a group of women

running. Tirunesh Dibaba, three-time Olympic champion, in her quest to

improve her marathon best. Chariot, in her first-ever marathon, going

quicker cell. Look how far behind they are, Mary Keitany out there

with her training partner as pacemaker. Going through ten miles,

look at the time on the side of your screen, under 51 minutes through ten

miles. That might be her slowest mile, 5.14. Brendan, how many times

have you said to be, things will change in the last few miles? Surely

that has got to happen today. Things are going to change in the later

stages, we have seen Mary Keitany run very quick before but at the end

of the day it is about the last five or six miles, so the question being

asked, quite sensibly, is she going too fast? Remember, she has run this

fast before and faded away. She is a more experienced athlete, I would

not write her off yet because she is going so quickly, but she looks

comfortable and these are perfect conditions for distance running and

this is the perfect way to do it. She is ten miles in to her 26 mile

journey. Many yet to even cross the start line. Let's see what they have

got ahead of them. It is a very familiar course for most, it has

changed a bit over the years but always start here in Greenwich,

Shooters Hill Road there, Greenwich Park where we saw the Red Start, the

masses get. They will eventually meet hopefully about three miles in,

the green and the blue join a little bit earlier than that, then they run

the fast miles, down towards the Sark area -- the Cutty Sark area,

that is where the big crowds are, we expect some support out on the

roads, great weather today. Ten miles, we have just seen the Elite

Women pass that mark. Tower Bridge, the shard, they will know that

halfway approaches. Then they headed towards Canary Wharf, this is the

area where there have been a few little changes to the route over the

years, twist and turns, that is where you start to feel, as you go

through 20 miles, and eventually be able to see in the distance Big Ben.

The last mile, they turn, round the corner, the last 250 metres also to

the finish line, one of the most famous site in world sport.

Beautiful day, perfect running conditions. It will take a good few

minutes for all 40,000 to cross the start line, and of course each of

them wearing their own personal transponders which are activated as

they crossed the start line so they all get their individual times.

Probably a good thing that for many of them they get to run a bit slowly

in the first few miles. Never a bad idea to start slow. I think David

Coleman, the great David Coleman, used to say, start slow, get slower.

So many people watched over the years and decided they want to come

and take part. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry are

really so much involved in this year's event, they have done a

fantastic job of encouraging so many people to take part, and Heads

Together will benefit hugely. Lots of people wearing that blue

headband, as you can see, in support of that particular group of

charities. The simple thing they have been

saying, which I think is wonderful, if you have mental problems,

physical activity can definitely help. The fact they have come out

and said that discussing your mental problems is something which is of

benefit to you and to the general public, I think it has been

marvellous. To actually have the Royals participate, as they have

this year, with that mission, that message, is absolutely incredible.

We know that the physical side is something which benefits from

activities. Now the fact that the mental side is being demonstrated,

by doctors and also by mental health officials, is absolutely wonderful.

This is a great initiative. Thank goodness for that. There we are,

looking at the back. Look at the guy in the green and white shirt,

strolling along. He is going to get ready. I'll come along! I think they

will be going next to him, doing some limbering up, stretching his

quads, he's going to be doing that for a while. There is always someone

lying in bed at about 9.15, thinking, I'm late! They will just

about get there in time to cross the start line, a few minutes behind

everybody else. I bet somebody will be late. I remember several years

ago am a guy arriving later, with ladders on his back. He had his

number and ladders, I thought that is fantastic, it sums up the London

Marathon. The Royals, giving a fantastic support. Prince Harry

threatening to run it, next year. He backed out, he saw the wisdom, and

said, I'm not built for marathon running. But encouraging everybody

today. The Heads Together charity, a wonderful initiative. To see the

young royals supporting this event, they will appreciate it. I think we

will see more of them today, I don't think they will just do the start.

They will have a few other duties through the day. The London

Marathon, an event which comment 37 years, has become a national

institution. If you think about it, other events that our national

sporting institutions, they have taken hundreds of years to get

there. This one, 37 years, the Royal support, a fist from Prince William.

The Duchess, a casual, nonchalant well done from Prince Harry. Well

done to them and to these rumours. -- runners.

The hundreds, the thousands, the masses get going. It looks like we

have a calm and tranquil pack in the wheelchair race. This has settled

down into this pack again. Marcel Hug, the favourite, defending

champion, to the right of your picture in a Silver helmet. He was

awake clear of the rest. He had David Weir for company. They had a

long way back to the next guy. But they have been swallowed up by the

rest of the pack. Is he saying, this is what I've got, trying something?

I think Marcel Hug wanted to make a break. He wound up to his top speed,

had his head down. David Weir was sitting on his back wheel. He saw

Hug indicate that he was coming through, and I think David Weir was

making him work for it. Ernst van Dyk is not the strongest sprinter,

he needs to get some separation. This is a decent downhill. You can't

quite see the top speed they are doing, probably about 30 mph. They

are not coasting, they are trying to maintain speed. This is going to be

a really interesting sprint finish. Somebody is going to have to make a

move pretty soon, otherwise they are going to stretch right across the

finish line. Ten minutes or so from the finish. They were on a course

record pace of 1.27, but the second half, for wheelchair racers, is

slower. The pace has dropped down to about 1.30, as they headed towards

Tower Bridge. They go along the embankment, as Steve was explaining

on the course map, round and into the Mall. They are not too far away.

Heinz Frei, the 59-year-old from Switzerland, who has been around for

so long under such an to many, he hits the front. There are so many

within this pack that can win, but only a few of them can do it with

the serious sprint finish that I think it is going to take in the

final 200 metres. I think a lot of people will be looking over their

shoulders and trying to make the break. This looks like a fairly

serious break for Frei. He will not have the sprint finish, but he will

have eight top speed. He will want to make people work, pull people out

and start dropping off some of those that can get in the way for the

sprint finish. In the women's race, further back, there is a minute lead

for Manuela Schar, the strong favourite. It might be a Swiss

double, with Manuela Schar in the women, and Heinz -- Marcel Hug in

the men's. The big story in the Elite Women's races that Mary

Keitany is running quicker in a marathon than anyone, including

Paula, has ever done. If she is going to be able to maintain this,

there is a huge question mark. She has just run another 5.06 mile, for

the 11th mile. She will reach halfway in a crazy fast time.

Certainly heading for way inside... I mean, she is the second fastest

woman ever, behind Paula, 2:18.37, she is heading for minutes inside of

that. She's 35, she has never run this quick either. I am not sure

what is going on. She is experienced, she is in good shape,

we know that. But surely, she must have thought to herself, OK, I feel

good today, I might go through in 68.5, something like that. I keep

looking at you. To see an experienced runner going this fast,

it seems odd? She is very experienced, she knows she is in

shape. She is very confident and competitive. She came here,

obviously within her mind that she wanted to make her mark, set a fast

time and beat the record. She has gone after it. She is getting some

good pacing from the pacemaker in front of her, looking over his

shoulder. 5.16, she has slowed down a little bit. It has to be expected

that at some point she has to start easing back, to maintain this pace.

She has to be aware of the fact that she has a group chasing behind her.

You can see Vivian Cheruiyot, in the bright yellow socks. She was ahead

of this group. Even though she has backed off, this chasing group is

making up ground on Mary Keitany. Tirunesh Dibaba, not as experienced

as an athlete, she will not like the fact that Mary Keitany is so far up

the road ahead of her. She doesn't like the fact that the athletes are

on her shoulder. She has been weaving side to side, trying to get

that leading pace. She hasn't got a pacemaker, she is setting the pace

for the second group. This race is not over. Whatever happens today,

the second half of the women's marathon will be dramatic. We are

looking at two Olympic champions in the chasing group. The reigning

champion, 130, Vivian Cheruiyot. The leader of that group, the great

Terror Dibaba. The most successful female distance runner in the

history of the other big games. There she is, looking around,

leading the pace, as we look at the yellow socks, Vivian Cheruiyot,, who

won that marvellous 5000 metres in the Olympic Games, decided it was

time to run on a road. We are looking at athletic royalty, chasing

down Mary Keitany, who has set an awesome pace. She is doing it the

hard way, the fastest ever. The crowds are gathering, the atmosphere

is rising. Mary Keitany, being cheered. She has her pacemaker for

company. Running faster than anybody has run before. Looking at the

statistics, it looks bold, brave, a bit too aggressive. But when Paula

was doing this, we were asking the same questions. Paula was being

brave, pushing into a new world. This lady is pushing even more so.

At the end of the day, if you are the second fastest Arda Turan of all

time, the only way you're going to become the fastest runner of all

time is by attacking it. -- fastest marathon runner. Maybe this is too

much of an aggressive move. If we look down the other side of Tower

Bridge, we can see the approaching Olympic champion, Tirunesh Dibaba. I

think she is already starting to pay for this. She is slowing down

already. This is a crazy fast pace. If you think that the first ten

kilometres was 31.17, the second was 32.08. She has already slowed a

minute for the second ten kilometres. Even though she is very

fast, going through the half way point, very quick. The pacemaker,

which is her training partner, is not waiting for her any more. That

is a bit silly, the pacemaker is going quicker than she was meant to.

At this point, if anything, she should be helping her. I think she

is already suffering. I agree with Brendan, even the ones behind might

suffer. There might be one or two that are further back. I think there

are lots of changes going to happen here, as they approach halfway. They

have just crossed over. The Elite Men, a long way back. Just between

three and four miles. Here they are. A pretty quick start for them. They

have just gone through four miles. They started very quick as well. If

we can tell you that... We are going to talk about records a lot,

obviously. This is a bit more sensible from the men. They are on

world-record pace, but doing it right. They have gone 4.30 4.36,

4.30, 18.20 one. Good pacing, good to see Bekele

looking comfortable. You can see which had he has on. The Olympic

champion, world-record holder for the 5000 and the 10,000 metres. He

is amongst the pacemakers, encouraging them to go fast. As we

wait at Greenwich Park, they are limbering up at the back. Walking

slowly, to go through the gates. When they get through the gates,

their own chip timing will start. They are not losing anything. They

are gradually getting onto the course. The organisation of this

London Marathon has got better and better over the years. The wonderful

start area, Greenwich Park. It lends itself to an event like this. There

is only one event like this. The best marathon in the world. That is

one of the best sites in the world of sport. It has been a pleasure

doing it. They are dancing at the start line. Raising money for the

NSPCC, the Leonard Cheshire Charity, as they move through, taking

pictures of the Royals. Great picture! Now get them to do a Salvi.

That is the next thing. I bet that happens during the course of the

day. As they get on the start line, she has her collectors item. Whizz

kids, another good charity. They are all in good spirits. A joyous

occasion. The London Marathon, The Royal Institute For The Blind, the

British Heart Foundation, Children With Cancer, it is wonderful to see.

They are getting closer, they are going to get amongst it soon. They

are going to be talking on the way back, I bet, do you think we should

run it next time? Which one is going to run it? They keep pushing

carry-forward. But all three of them would-be contenders, they are all

athletic, young people. This is a great site. The slow procession to

the gates of Greenwich Park, ready to start the journey that will bring

them where we are, in the Mall, in front of Buckingham Palace. So many

great stories there, we try to reflect as many as we possibly can.

We will mention a view during the course of the afternoon. -- a few.

Laura Hodgkins is running for Walking With The Wounded. Soon, he

suffered a brain haemorrhage, and we wish her our best. -- her mother,

Sue. They are just about all the way

through. We are going to keep you up-to-date with what is happening in

the wheelchair next. A very strong Japanese threat to those favourites.

We talked about Marcel Hug and David Weir. Kurt Fearnley behind. Hiroki

Nishida is out in front at the moment. He finished sixth in Boston.

It is, Tanni Grey-Thompson, going to come down to the sprint finish at

the Mall? It is the biggest pack we have had for the men's wheelchair

race. Even coming past Westminster, there are still a few more tends to

come. Everybody is getting a bit nervous now. As they come to the

final bend, we actually have bumps on the road. They are going to be

spread right across the road. I am sure by now, Marcel, and David Weir,

they want to make sure they are at the front of the pack and are not

going to get caught in the final turn. Yoshida wanted to get the bike

out of the way as well. Everybody sitting behind them. Marcel Hug, the

favourite, a wonderful sprint finish. So too, David Weir. He wears

those soft gloves. You cannot hear him tapping on the wheel, and you

cannot hear him coming. Is it going to be a seventh London Marathon

victory for David Weir? Kurt Fearnley, the Australian, just

behind him. I am feeling slightly nervous

because of the number of people in this pack. Ernst van Dyk has crashed

in the finish line before now because he sprints with his head

down so you not only have to be aware of who is on your left and

right but exactly what is in front of you on the road. David Weir,

because he wears the soft gloves, you cannot hear him kicking, he is

devastating when he decides to go. They are all looking over their

shoulders, Marcel looking right back, but they also want to get a

bit of attention, and where the road narrows down, you have to time and

try to keep up the momentum. Two turns from the final sprint finish.

385 yards beyond the 26 miles to go and out in front Marcel Hug, David

Weir sitting on his shoulder, Kurt Fearnley, the big three, coming

around this final bend. David Weir right in my's shadow, is he judging

this well? The final bend, the finish line weights, six victories

the David Weir, defending champion Marcel Hug added at the moment,

David Weir gets those arms pumping, he is passing, Hug, does he have a

response? David Weir DriveStyle, and a seventh London Marathon victory is

going to come the David Weir! And the Weirwolf roars again! He beat

defending champion Marcel Hug! What a win the David Weir, I am not sure

if he will retire, but if he does, what a way to go. Victories number

seven in London. That, I think, is David Weir's best marathon I have

ever seen him race! Absolutely incredible. I really hope this is

not it for him, he has so much more to give, to absolutely come past

Marcel in that final sprint finish is amazing. He might not give us a

smile, I hope he does. That is too much to ask, spent after the effort

of winning a seventh London Marathon in his 18th, he is alongside Marcel

Hug, who has had the better of him in recent seasons, recent years, but

it is David Weir winning again here on The Mall, and Hug, well, again,

the tactics, it is when you take out the sprint, David Weir able to sit

behind Marcel Hug, used him and come past with that famous sprint finish

that we used to see in years gone by, perhaps have not seen in the

past couple of seasons so much. This is where everyone starts rushing to

him because everyone in the UK wanted Dave to have a good race

today. For him as much of anything else. But that is a devastating

sprint finish the David Weir, the top speed between him and Hug is

similar but in that situation, coming round the far bend, I thought

it was Hug's, but well done, David Weir, really proud of you. We might

not see him on the track, he may race in the Commonwealth Games, he

had his problems with GB, but he loves racing, he loves road racing.

Here are some of the most famous roads in racing, and he has done it

again. On The Mall, he wins his seventh London Marathon title. Well

done, David Weir. Manuela Schar in the women's race

has a big lead, it will not be a swift double because Marcel Hug was

seen off by David Weir but Manuela Schar is surely going to win the

women's events. In the absence of Tatyana McFadden, who has won this

for the last ball years, Shah has been second for the last three, it

was clear who was going to snap up with McFadden being indisposed. --

going to step up. We were talking with Hynes Frei, who is her training

partner, and he said she never had the confidence to go it alone, but

winning Boston last week has given her a new feeling and she realised

she has got the talent. She has been around a long time and has always

been there or thereabouts. Never performed the way we expected in the

Paralympics but I think we will see great things from her to come.

Coming through 35 K, seven K from the finish, McGrory, then Scaroni,

van den Broek behind them. But Manuela Schar is a long way clear

and heading for victory. This is the Elite Men at Cutty Sark,

good pace being set by them, the Caley, Ghebreslassie, the young

world champion there, still yet to do a really fast Marathon, although

he has shown he is capable of that. The Caley, with his phalanx of

pacemakers. The rules say you are only allowed three, you will

probably spot a fourth black and white vest. I think he is on the

wrong place, isn't he? There are different paces the different

groups, the British men have asked for 2.11, 2.14, qualifying time for

the men is 2.16. We are watching and will be following the progress of

Scott Overall, Chris Thompson, one or two others who will be hoping

they will have a big day today. But at the front of the men, it has

certainly given them a chance of being close to world record pace.

What they are after, what Kenenisa wants is to get to 30 K in good

pace, and if he is feeling good he will want less people around him, I

don't think the quality is as high as it is in the women's race, then

we will see what he wants to do. The last 15km, the last 10k is where

records are won and lost if you place it right. I will say right now

I think Mary Keitany has gone too quick, we will catch up with her in

a second. Just to show you where they are, we have seen the men go

through Cutty Sark, the Elite Women, Mary Keitany is slowing down she is

slowing down quickly, if you know what I mean. It will be interesting

to see whether the others, who are also slugging down behind, Cheruiyot

and Dibaba, we just lost the signal with Mary Keitany there but I can

tell you she went through the half marathon quicker than any woman

including close-up has ever gone through the half marathon point, and

talking about going quick, Aly Dixon is leading the British contingent by

about 30 seconds ahead of Charlotte Purdue. She went through the half

quicker than she was planning to, she is heading for a personal best,

so everybody in Sunderland will be cheering her on. Something to cheer

in Sunderland, anyway! You keep mentioning Sunderland and black and

white vests, I am ignoring it! Aly Dixon is running strongly and now

she is in a position to run a personal best. The heads down of

Mary Keitany. We have seen this great athlete, the second fastest

female athlete of all time, clearly set off to try and become the

fastest female in world time, the fastest sitting along from me here,

but Mary Keitany has demonstrated in the past that she is not a great

pace judging person. She ran the New York marathon a few years ago, went

through just minutes slower than she has gone today, she slowed

drastically that day. She may not slow as drastically but is beginning

to show signs that she is slowing little. Solitary pursuit for Mary

Keitany, as there has been in the women's wheelchair race for Manuela

Schar. She has had some company, these are a couple of the men lower

down the field in the men's wheelchair, and behind them in the

distance you can see Manuela Schar, coming towards the finish. There she

is, second in 2014, 2015, and 2016, behind Tatyana McFadden, the

American who has won the last four years but is suffering from lung

clots, had surgery recently after trying to compete in Boston, could

not make the trip to compete here, but Schar has been a class apart,

she won Boston by a huge margin, five minutes or so, and is coming

round to win here as well. Very different race to the men's race,

which was a furious and fast sprint finish, but this has been a

demonstration of Schar's strength. It has been superbly timed, Amanda

McGrory, the top five women who will finish today some of the best in the

world and Schar's kilometre times have been really evenly paced so she

knows she has got that ability. It is going to be outside her personal

best but to her winning is important in terms of getting the confidence

to go into the rest of the marathon and major racing season. Personal

are very different in wheelchair marathon is because of the different

causes, everyone goes very very quick in Boston, which has a drop,

but 140 metres, 200 metres remaining now for Manuela Schar and the course

record of 1.41 here in London, held by Tatyana McFadden, I am looking

for the time for Manuela Schar because it has been her against the

clock for much of this race but she will take her first victory in the

London Marathon, second for the last three years but here she will take

victory in just a shade under 1.40, does over it there, that is a course

record and a victory in the London Marathon, a first victory in this

event for Manuela Schar. Well, finally, everybody has crossed

the start line, perhaps one or two latecomers, just about everybody

across the start line, just the last few setting off on their way.

Hopefully as soon as we get it we will give you how many actually

crossed the start line because once everybody is over they will quickly

be able to tell us how many started, it could well be a record, last year

set the record of 39,000 people starting out, most of them finished,

only a couple of hundred did not make it and that is one of the great

things these days, the dropout rate on the day is very, very low. 99% of

people who start will finish. The last couple walking down the road,

going to attempt walking it all the way round. She has just arrived. Is

he looking at a map?! I think that is a guide there. People wear their

names on their shirts, saying what they are running or walking before,

people around the route can give them a cheer, support, shout. Much

further ahead, this is around the Canary Wharf area, we will just

check in with the men. Well, the men are running sub 2.22 pace through

the first 10k, 28.51 through 10km so real intent here, a big group again.

Kenenisa Bekele can go at that sort of place, most of the others don't,

I find this funny, even with the top guys here, some running the first

marathon, run at world record pace, see how it goes! That cannot be

planned? You cannot possibly come from training, step into a marathon

and will run at world record pace. But the ceilidh, two minute slower

than his personal best of 10k so he should be comfortable here, but I

have watched Kenenisa Bekele over the years and have seen fantastic

races, the occasional average race. His marathon last year in London,

when he was not 100% fit, the body language was different to today,

today he is trying to encourage the pacemakers to go even faster because

he knows that coming up soon the Olympic champion Elliot Kipchoge is

going to attempt to run and he has this idea that he would like to

become the first man to simultaneously hold the world record

for five, ten, and for the marathon. Can he do that, can he do it today?

He has got good company, good competition, he has good support

from the pacemakers, he is fitter now than he has been for a marathon

except in Berlin, when he ran the second fastest marathon in world

time. We have seen Mary Keitany trying to become the second fastest,

Kenenisa Bekele trying to become the fastest but he is doing it more

conservatively, Mary Keitany is going extremely aggressively now. As

she got the strength, the willpower and the determination to hang on?

Yes, Paula, I note you keep looking at the Times and I keep saying the

same thing, she is still on 2.13, sub 2.14 pace, starting to slow now,

with each mile I think those early fast, fast miles are beginning to

take their toll and I don't know what you think but this is going to

be a slog for the last few miles. It will definitely be a race of

attrition from her to keep her body going. The easier way to run a

marathon is definitely to run negative splits, run faster in the

second half of the marathon. That is pretty much impossible, the pace she

went through in the first half, it is not possible for her to close

faster. What she needs to do is hold together. She is down, she slowed

down, but is still running very fast. She has a lead of about one

minute and six seconds on the group behind her, who are also running

very fast. There are going to be some people paying a price for the

early pace. And there are people further down that might move through

the field. Those times that we put up, including your times, Mary

Keitany's times, to reiterate there was points, the fastest we have seen

in the world, ever run in the marathon distance, and she set off

through the first half over a minute quicker, over the first half, than

Paula Radcliffe's 68.02. She went under in 56.53. She is slowing down.

The only question is if she will make it to the finish, and I know

you say they are elite runners, even they suffer if they get it horribly

wrong. If she hasn't, she will be hanging on for a time. If anybody

has the right to try to shatter that world record, it is the second

fastest marathon runner of all time. She's not doing it in the

conventional mathematical and studious way of running a steady

pace. She has gone very quickly. She might have gone too quickly. But it

is very much up to her, as we see Aly Dixon, the leading British

athlete. We are looking at a fantastic performance, really,

really good performance. But we are looking at somebody that is trying

to change the world, Mary Keitany. Having a great race at the moment,

let's hope she has judged it well. She is opening a big lead on the

next British athlete, Charlotte Perdue, about 45 seconds behind. She

is heading for 2.27, around about that. A couple of minutes quicker.

Aly Dixon likes to work the last few miles. This is quicker than she has

done before. She is in better shape, I help her out with her training and

she is in better shape than she has ever been coming into a marathon.

She knows the conditions are perfect today. She wants to go out there and

give it her best shot. She doesn't look like she has gone too fast. She

looks like she is in control, she is taking some energy on board, pacing

her effort well. The British women, Aly in front. There are three places

available, Charlotte Perdue, Tracy Barlow going well. Jo Pavey is a

little bit behind. A lot of people will be watching and waiting to see

if she can make the World Championship team. At the moment,

she is out of the positions that would qualify her, you would think,

to be selected. That will happen in the next couple of days. So, back at

the front, 9.4 miles to go. Mary Keitany, all on her own, not only

out on the roads, but in terms of what she is trying to do, going

quicker than even she has done, even quicker than Paula Radcliffe has

done through the first 14, 15 miles. Now it is going to be a long, hard

slog. She will be trying to concentrate as much as she can. You

guys have run marathons, I have run a couple. Many people don't know it

is the last three, four, five miles where you can fall apart. Let's see

what happens there. So far, so good, for the men. Very fast-paced. We are

getting used to seeing this with the men. Three of four years ago, people

went through really quick. Around the hotel, during the week, there

has been a lot of talk about if Bekele can break the world record.

We have talked about if there was enough competition for him here.

Sometimes you don't want competition. It is a high risk

strategy to go for a record. He is already looking like he wants to

force this on. He is ahead of the pacemakers, looking for his drink.

Get a clear look at the table. It is important they get their

personalised drinks. That is why he went to the front. He knew that the

drinks station was coming up. This is an important part of the race,

rehydration. In the past, he has not paid too much attention to this.

Now, as he is committed to running fast marathons, he takes that a

drink on board. His team-mate, the Olympic silver medallist, Feyisa

Lilesa, behind him. Kenenisa Bekele, when you look at his attitude on the

track, you see this kind of running. We are looking at him running

alongside and in amongst the pacemakers. This is one, in my view,

one of the two greatest distance runners of all time. I think Mo

Farah has an equal claim to Kenenisa He has more records, Mo Farah has

won more Olympic titles. Who wants to hold the world record for the

5000, the 10000 and the marathon. He has had some difficult times. This

year, he went to Dubai, fell over at the start of the race, he was

injured and could not finish the race. He is back here now. He is

ready to run quick. He does want to run quicker. When he smells, in the

later stages, that he is in contention for the fastest time, we

are looking at an athlete that has an engine like no other. Some of the

physiology people have told me that his physiology is such that he has

the greatest capacity for injuries running that they have ever seen. He

is amongst the pacemakers. His team-mate, a letter, the silver

medallist, they are pulling clear. He was ill, three weeks ago. But his

manager, who has done a great job over the years, he goes from nervous

to being less nervous. He says when you leave it to Kenenisa, his

attitude to racing is better than anybody else. In the white vest,

behind the black and white shirts of Shaftesbury Harriers. They are going

very quickly indeed. Inside world record pace in the men's pace,

inside world record pace in the women's race. Back at Cutty Sark,

some of these are quick learners, these folks, going through. -- quick

runners. Going pretty well indeed. The race started about 45 minutes

ago. If any of you do your ten Ks, you know that they are going well. A

shout out to a couple of people, police she white, Amy Savage.

Running for Sparks Children, and Children With Cancer. They are

hoping for the four hour mark. -- the Alicia White. This has always

been a landmark for the London Marathon, we couldn't see it when it

was undergoing the work. Looking resplendent in the morning sunshine.

It is hiding behind the clouds occasionally, but it is a great day

for marathon running. Temperature expected to get up to 15 degrees.

Not too bad. Pretty perfect conditions for trying to chase fast

times. Still chasing one, Mary Keitany. She is slowing, but not

slowing too much. She is still heading for inside 2.15. Don't

forget that record of Paula's, 2:15.25. She has a minute or so in

hand on that. This is the lonely bit. There are parts of the course

here which gets a bit lonely. She has got a watch on, surely she knows

what she has got to do from this point, or is it just concentrating

on step-by-step? It is absolutely concentrating on it. I don't think

she has really looked at her watch. She doesn't need to, she has got the

splits on the car in front of her, she's got the splits on every mile

mark as she goes through. But it is not the way that she runs. She runs

according to feel, which is how you race a marathon, you have to gauge

your effort against the distance to get the most out of yourself. We

will see that in the men's race. I think if you start aiming too much

to hit certain split times, you get too much in your head. You need to

just run according to the sensations you have hard in training, where you

have worked too, to know your body and to know where you can push too,

where is the line that you can almost ride along? That is what

she's doing now. She has pushed as hard as she can and she is try to

hold it at that point to get to the finish with nothing left. She has

won five out of her ten marathons. She has run quickly, the second

fastest female distance runner of all time in the marathon. She is

running strongly up points. Occasionally, when there is an

incline, she is working extremely hard. She wasn't able to run in the

Olympic Games. She ran London last year and fell, that was a bad

occasion. She came back, won the New York Marathon. She loves big

marathons. She loves New York, won that three times. She won London

twice. Apart from those, she has lost the others. There is the

chasing group. It looks like Tirunesh Dibaba, and Eliud Kipchoge

from Kenya. There a the other big champion,

working hard. The calibre of this athlete, second to none in the world

of distance running. Numerous times world champion. Tirunesh Dibaba,

without a pacemaker, running strongly, and running well. Who

knows what is going to happen in front? Are we looking at the

potential winner of the London Marathon? Or are we looking at

Tirunesh being in second place? She is looking strong and has made up a

five or six second gap on Kiprop. With the pace that they have set

out, they will inevitably have some people that will come down the road.

A look over her shoulder, from Tirunesh Dibaba, to see who else is

going with her and moving through. Tirunesh Dibaba, you know how good a

runner she is, but she is terrible at turning around. She nearly fell

over twice. She is hopeless at it. There are a few streets, a street

that they have already come down, a narrow road, and the speed bumps,

what I mean by that, little things on the road, if you don't watch what

you are doing, it is easy to tip over. It happened to be! As you go

slower, the speed bumps become a problem. They are hills, actually.

Mary Keitany, what is she heading for? Through 18 miles, very fast.

Just went through 30 kilometres. The time is slipping. The predicted

time, if I went back to halfway, before halfway, it was 2.13, then it

was just outside 2.14, then it was a high 2.14. For the first time, had

predicted time has slipped to 2:15.08. That would still be a world

record, but I don't think she will do that. Mary Keitany, she will be

concentrating, but if tyrannous died -- Tirunesh Dibaba keeps running

strongly, we will see when we get to the split, when she goes to the 30,

the point, she might have a chance. There she is, chasing. When she

starts to be able to see Mary Keitany, that will also help her

confidence. I just had a note from Mark Butler, who said that Mary

Keitany has broken the world record of 30 kilometres. She has beaten by

two minutes. She has a world record at 30 kilometres, as we watch

Tirunesh Dibaba picking up her drink, and she is not good at that

either, but we are looking at an athlete that is en route for

breaking the world record by two minutes, which is staggering. All I

am going to say is 31.17 for the first ten, 31.08 for the second,

31.44 the third ten kilometres, what will she do in the fourth? I suggest

it will be well outside 33 minutes. That is still quick running, 33

minutes. She is slowing, but she is not falling apart. She's looking

back over her shoulder. She is not going to see anybody for a long way

down the road. The other group has not yet gone through the 30

kilometre marker. That is well over two minutes. That is growing and

growing. I don't think she is in any danger of being caught. I can't see

her fading that much. In New York, she went up far too fast and I think

she learned a lesson. She had to. She had to learn she had gone out

too quickly. In New York, with the respect you need to give the second

half of the course, the hills in New York, this second half is, in my

opinion, quicker than the first half in the London Marathon. She is

holding it together. She is not showing the signs of distress that

she showed when she ran that quickly the first half in New York.

But she is the second fastest Tom Mercey wants to become the fastest,

you can't blame her for going out aggressively, she may pay the price

but she is an athlete who is allowed to run like this because she is the

second fastest of all time. 78 seconds the lead over Tirunesh

Dibaba at 30 kilometres. Even Tirunesh Dibaba would have been

inside the old world record as well. Tirunesh Dibaba with 1:37.23 is

inside the old world record for that distance. To me, she should stop

looking behind, that is not where anything is happening. Keep solid,

keep going strong, her cadence looks better to me than Mary Keitany, she

has always been a great runner, don't know why she is looking at her

watch, there is a big thing on that that says, you are going very fast,

heading for a massive personal-best. Certainly at the moment Mary

Keitany, if she sees the absolute world record slipping away, the

women's only one is still inside for her but she still needs to get her

head down and keep working hard, it is going to be tough as she enters

her last seven or eight miles. The men, though, are heading towards

Tower Bridge and it is as you were, Kenenisa Bekele still tucking in

behind the pacemakers. Ghebreslassie, the diminutive figure

in the white, Abdelkader Amri as well on the left there, the former

world champion. Ghebreslassie is the current world champion. One or two

others I am just looking to see, there he is, Karoki, there he is,

the debutant from Kenyan also there. Plenty for Kenenisa Bekele to think

about but I will say as far as he is concerned, so far, so good. So far,

so good from the great Kenenisa Bekele, but some of these athletes

will pay for it in the second half of the race, they have gone too

quickly, you cannot run too fast unless you are a great runner, and

he is, Kenenisa, he knows what he is doing, the second fastest marathon

runner of all time, he wants to become the fastest today,

if we cannot do it today you will probably try later in the year to do

it again. Kenenisa, when running well, there is no better side in

distance running. Olympic champion, world record holder, best

cross-country runner the world has ever seen, he has won it all. Can he

win this one? He hasn't won this one. We have seen some sites over

the years in London, this one was added a few years ago, the Shard. It

gives a real focal point for those on the south side as they head

towards Tower Bridge because you cannot see Tower Bridge until you

turn the corner and suddenly you are up on it, whereas the shard you can

see from a long way away. This is one of the worst hills on the

course, it does not look like it from there but Tower Bridge has

quite a bit of a rise at 12 miles. And they will be experiencing that

little rise but also the big crowds that start to gather, it is a

favourite spot for spectating because you get the chance to see

your favourite as they enter Tower Bridge coming through 12 miles and

come back in the other direction. They are being cheered by these

crowds, Kenenisa Bekele there settling, slowing down a little bit

but still on very good pace. Yes, you talk about the rise coming over

Tower Bridge, almost totally negated by the support and annoys you

experience as you come over it. A bit of a drop of it, pretty fast

mile as you drop a broad, you pass halfway and in your mind it is a

significant marker, to pass halfway in the marathon feeling good, that

is when the real racing is going to start coming through and they are

racing already at this is one of those

occasions where sometimes you get a lot of good guys racing together and

the pace slows because everybody is watching each other, but here they

are feeding off each other and this will continue to wind, though it is

starting to spread out a bit, some gaps opening up, but the guy making

me laugh is the fourth pacemaker who is working as hard as he can to hang

on the back of that pack rather than dropping back to help the group

behind. Well, they are through 20k. The Tower of London, one of the

great sites of this most famous of routes. Once they are beyond Tower

Bridge, they passed the halfway point, head out towards Canary

Wharf, and again pretty good crowds these days through this area. 20

miles is where the race often begins with the elites. Come back past

Tower Bridge on to the embankment, the last two or three miles is where

it can all go right and all go horribly wrong as well. Into the

finish. In The Mall. Not too far away now, Mary Keitany, but that

stride length looks pretty short for me. She is hurting, but she is still

running incredibly past, over a wall time, even if she has slowed in the

last few miles, and maybe will continue to slow, at some point that

will be replaced by, hang on, I am still going well, I am still in

this, still up for a personal best. One of the fastest times ever, as

long as she can hold it together over the last few miles. I wonder if

she is getting enough information on the course? There will be

information on the lead car but I wonder if she is getting information

from her team that she needs, she looks OK for the moment. Here is

Tirunesh Dibaba in second place, chasing Mary Keitany now. She looks

as though she is running comfortably, I am glad she has

stopped looking over her shoulder and weaving from side to side but I

hope she gets her drinks better organised because in the last stages

rehydration is extremely important. But Tirunesh Dibaba the greatest

female Olympian of all time, three times Olympic champion, nobody has

ever done more than that in the world of female athletics and this

lady is to risk the runner, this is only her second marathon, she was

third last year, at the moment she is second, she will eventually win

one, she is such a good athlete, but she says she is not giving up on the

track, she will be back on the track, but here she is on the road.

The marathon she ran a few years ago, 2.20, she is well inside that

so she will be happy. Great site of the great athlete that is Tirunesh

Dibaba. Mary Keitany's mile there was 5.20, her slowest of the race.

If she goes to much lower than that then certainly Tirunesh Dibaba will

start to, if she keeps going at the pay she is going, will cut into the

lead a bit, but it is a big Read, over a minute, still the hard miles

to go, there you can see in the distance Saint Catherine's. On the

left, where the athletes' hotel is as well -- said Catherine's dock.

They will eventually get onto the embankment. Making their way a

little more so really, back at Cutty Sark, the 40,000 who, in many ways,

the elite athletes get the headlines but in many ways it is, as ever, all

these big marathons and races around the world, it is these thousands of

people taking part who produced the spectacle of the events. And, wow,

how about that for a high five, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge found

a good spot there to cheer all of these people, so many running for

the Heads Together campaign, many wearing their headbands. And look at

this, the sunshine comes out to welcome them and help them on their

way will stop all your messages, keep sending them in, commerce

rolling across at the bottom. Once the elite race has finished we will

concentrate more on some of those stories as well, so stay with us all

the way through until 3pm this afternoon. Look, it is chapters! --

it is Chappers! He is meant to be presenting Match Of The Day to, what

time does it start?! He has plenty of time. He looks like he is going

OK, he is enjoying it, I think. I tell you what, in much of the day

they often use lots of good slow motion, they don't need it for

Chappers! One or two for me to shout out to, Jess running for British

Heart Foundation, her first marathon, in memory of her dad, good

luck to her. Some others, first timers for British Heart Foundation,

Amelia and Lucy. They have volunteered in the past. We should

say a word for the volunteers as well, thousands of people taking

part but also thousands of people give up their time and energy to

make sure that these folks have a good and safe day, so important that

so many other people give up their time to hand out water, giving

massage afterwards, the cheering points for the charities, probably

more than the 40,000 who actually take part. I think we are looking at

a slight change in the mens rea is. We had Kenenisa Bekele pestering the

pacemakers and suddenly in the last half a mile it has changed, the

Olympic champion and world has suddenly drifted to the back of the

field, I am looking to see if he is waiting to get a drink on board, but

now we have got a change. There is a group and instead of being at the

front of the group, Kenenisa Bekele is just faded away at the back. That

is a shock, a bit of a surprise for all as we look at his team-mate,

Lilesa, and suddenly in the course of a couple of hundred metres, the

great one is no longer in the favoured position, he has run at

world record pace for half the distance, is he going to struggle

for the next half of the race? It looks to me though he is going

through a really bad patch, can he recover from this? Can he get back

into the lead group? I thought he might have been stepping down at 40

miles to get a drink on board but it does not look like that, so the

pacemakers are keeping going, pushing it along, and the great

athlete from Ethiopian who was always looking like he was up arace,

always looking as though the favourite tacky had beforehand, if

we can get a little bit closer to the Kenenisa Bekele as he comes

round that corner, at the back of the group, rather than, as he was,

at the brunt of the group, Kenenisa Bekele working hard with just a few

yards opening two lilies are, in the orange vest -- Lilesa. He did a

salute to his people, there was real political unrest in Ethiopia, he has

emigrated to the United States because of the trouble he was

getting in. His team-mate today, Kenenisa Bekele, world record

holder, well, is he going to be amongst them or have we seen all we

are going to see off Kelinni said today? British athlete to world a

looks like he is fading. -- Tsegai Tewelde. But what is happening with

Kenenisa Bekele? He did this last year, went off really hard, we were

told his preparations had not gone as well as they might, he has gone

off quickly again today but I can tell you that he has now been caught

by Andy Lemoncello, who may well be the best place to finish as the top

British athlete, going well, the Scot. The Scots of course doing so

well in distance running at the moment. We will keep you up-to-date,

or try to, with the men's, the British men's challenge, but the

Kayleigh has got himself back in here, Ghebreslassie is alongside

him, the world champion in the white, but bikini is now working his

way back in. Sometimes you go through a bad patch, the pace is

broken up, if you like, he would not want to be where he is, he would

want to be at the front of this group. Kenenisa Bekele has not

completely gone. When he dropped back, he was hanged in his arms

straight by the side of him like he was trying to shake out a stitch, a

shoulder stitch, something not feeling right, but also every single

one of particularly the Ethiopian runners looked back at what had

happened, so he could be playing mind games with them a little bit.

What will be others do? I am not saying he has done that, because he

looks as though he is in a bit of difficulty and is working hard, but

it looks as though he is getting through that difficult patch.

You're right, you can go through a bad patch and come back. But he will

really want to be appear. -- up here.

The pacemakers, doing their job here. It is Lilesa that is hanging

onto them, with them. Another Kenyan, Daniel Wanjiru. Still in

touch, hanging on for the time being. That is the best way I can

describe it, it is about just hanging on. Apart from the last

three weeks, when we are told he had a few problems, his preparation had

been going well. Ready to run fast. A lot of talk about world record

pace, a world record challenge. Nobody really thought any of these

guys were capable of running 2.3, it was only Bekele in the field capable

of that. But they are running very quick, and forcing it on. Meanwhile,

Mary Keitany, all on her own, and has been since basically Maehl

three. Just gone through 35: it is. -- mile

She just has to keep slowing against that schedule at this point. The

question is, can she hang on to run under 2.17? The very least she would

want is the women only world-record. The predicted time for her at the

moment is 2:15.48. I suspect she is going to be a fair bit slower.

Tirunesh Dibaba has not really made much ground. She has picked up a few

seconds, but not much. She is already the second fastest female

marathon runner. It looks to me like she will end the day still the

second fastest female marathon runner. She might actually run a

personal best time. She might run a Kenyan record. She might run a

women's only world-record, as we look at the athlete that has held

the world records on the track for 5000 metres, won Olympic medals in

5000 and 10,000 metres, slowly coming to terms with marathon. A two

our 20 minutes run in her only other marathon. She is on schedule to run

what could be the third fastest female distance runner marathon of

all time. She has a little bit to learn in the marathon. She has to

learn about taking drinks on-board, about discipline, looking over her

shoulder and unbalancing herself. She is such a great runner, such a

class runner in every sense. The leader, Mary Keitany, set off so

aggressively, faster in the first half than any female has ever done

before. Six kilometres from the finish. She is well within sight, in

her mind, of the finish, and the traditional sight of this great

distance runner, Tirunesh Dibaba. Keitany is a road runner, though.

That is the point where they come from Tower Bridge, Mary Keitany

heading in the other direction, dropping down to the embankment.

When we have the World Championships in London in the summer, this will

be the start and finish of the World Championship marathon. Mary Keitany

has said she wants to be here for that. I am coming to London to run

in a World Championship. There is British selection and also Kenyan

and Ethiopian selection, apart from anything else going on today. We

might be seeing her back here in the summer. She had a very disappointing

Olympic Games in 2012, having run so well in the London Marathon. We have

the different IPC categories, still running up there. Derek Gray that

she is running past. He is in fourth place, with the run in front of him,

Da Silva. It might just help her as well, these athletes ahead, it gives

you targets, people to work towards. Mary Keitany, getting great support,

both of them. The crowds will build as they come down the embankment.

These are tough miles. Not so much in terms of being at the point in

the race, she is committed, going for the time, she is running the

slowest she has been running in the race, it is hard work. She is not

that far behind Tirunesh Dibaba. If you contrast the styles, they are

two different styles anyway, Tirunesh Dibaba will bring her seal

of -- heel but much closer to her bum. Mary Keitany's her last mile,

it shows that she is tiring. But this will give her something to

focus on. At this stage, you are getting a lot of support. What you

need to try to do is just stay in the moment. We have said that so

many times to people over the last couple of days, they have asked me

what they need to do when it gets really tough. You just need to think

about putting one foot in front of the other. You don't need to think,

I've got 3.3 miles to go, further back down, there are guys going

around the Isle of Dogs, I am only half way, you just think about one

foot in front of the other. Just think about that. That is what she

is doing now. It helps, having somebody up the road to focus on. It

helps having landmarks to pick out. I have a red telephone box, and

there are a lot of those along the last bit, there is one in particular

that signifies a mile to go. We picked that out before we even ran

the race. I used to look for that as I ran along the embankment. It is

easier now, because the millennium wheel is opposite. At Big Ben, 1200

metres to go, all of that helps keep them going. Then they go through the

mini marathon start run. Some kids starting on their journey, their

future in running. They will come back and walked down the course and

see some of the racing going on behind. Hopefully it will grow from

there into some great marathon runners in future. That is at the

front of the women's race. The British battle at the moment is

still being won by Aly Dixon, still running strong, beyond two hours.

Charlotte Perdue, we think she is a little bit further back, maybe 30

seconds. I am just trying to look into the distance, that could be a

real scrap for the two them. Jo Pavey was in fourth, Tracy Barlow

holding onto the third position. We will get a split through 35 K

shortly. Some of the faster athletes went off to quit. We are waiting for

her to go through. We could see a personal best, I think that was set

in Berlin. Much of that race was on 2.27 pace. She slowed a little, she

is still heading for something between 2.28 and 2.29, still a

personal best. Is that Charlotte Perdue in the background? Maybe only

ten or 15 seconds behind. I counted her through, 16 seconds as they came

past the pedestrian crossing, so she is closing in. That might help her,

as Charlotte comes along. They will be able to work together and Kedar

Jadhav going. Is that Andrea Deelstra, running with her? Those

two have hurt in their sights. She's running into personal best

territory, she knows she is in shape to do that. She didn't manage to

pick up her bottle, hopefully that will not throw her off her stride.

She will grab water or Lucozade as she gets into the next feed station.

She will see these guys in front of her that she can work her way

through. She will have these targets of the girls that have gone off too

fast in this race ahead of her to work on. A great race to keep our

eye on. It might come to a head in the last few miles. In terms of

British selection, those are the targets. Mary Keitany, tired,

working hard. We have to make sure she concentrates, the previous mile

was slower by a good ten seconds. 5.29. Tirunesh Dibaba is not so far

behind any more. But does she have time to catch her? What will they

both end up with in terms of a finishing time? The official record

for a women's only race, it is going to be close. In the men's? A shock

change in position. The world-record holder, in the 5000 and 10,000

metres, as you at the lead group, Daniel ten is there, Lilesa. --

Daniel Wanjiru. You were right, he is in amongst it. Down the road, the

two-time world record-holder, 5000 and 10,000 metres, the man that was

trying today to run a halfway world-record place. Kenenisa Bekele

really struggling now. He came to London to try to win this one. The

second fastest marathon runner of all time. A lonely battle, on his

own. He wanted to break a world record, but that is not on today. He

at least once a decent position. That is going to be under threat. He

is working hard. He set off so confidently. He was amongst the

pacemakers. He kept it going, did everything he could. He told us, he

is up for the race today. His performance in the second half is

falling away. When you miss a bit of training, which he has done in the

last three weeks, even the great one can't do the job. Kenenisa Bekele is

working so hard, struggling for the moment. His countryman, Lilesa, the

Olympic silver medallist, Wanjiru, of Kenya. It is now the four of

them. It is not going to be a world record in the men's race today. But

we are still looking at a great race. This uphill section, coming

through the tunnels around Blackfriars, Mary Keitany knows it

is not too far from here. She's into the last 5 K. The sweep of the River

Thames taking towards Big Ben. Has she got a bit of a stitch? Tirunesh

Dibaba was making inroads, has she got stomach problems? Yes, I think

she has stomach cramps. That is a shame. I don't think she was that

far behind. We have just seen Mary Keitany come up the hill. That would

have only been 30 seconds ago. Is it falling apart for Tirunesh Dibaba?

The two them were heading for the fastest times ever in the marathon.

She is slowing almost to a walk. I keep saying this, it is the last two

or three miles. That is a shame. She is really labouring. Is she going to

be able to keep going? She is taking drinks on-board. Maybe that upset

her stomach. She was going strongly, running powerfully. She comes to a

standstill. The great one, Tirunesh Dibaba, walking along the

embankment, trying to walk. Really struggling, really suffering. She

can't have any assistance. She is going to go to the side and maybe

get a drink, she might need a drink of water. She is almost sick, but

she is running down the road. Whatever it is she is coughing up.

You are trying to be polite. Love, she is running again. Obviously a

stomach cramp. As you were watching that, by

contrast, Keitany seems to have picked up again. She has run 5.26,

5.29, slowing down, working hard. I think she is realising she is nearly

there. I am not going to run as fast as I set out to, surely that must

have been some sort of game plan, she was going so fast. She is

hanging in, hanging on. Still heading for a very, very quick time.

She will be approaching me 40 kilometre point. That point, just

over 2 K to go. She will not be looking for Paula's phone box, but

she will be clocking off each mile, even a half mile. I think she will

be following the kilometres, I have not told her about my phone box,

that is my secret! I have only told a few people watching today and over

the last four years. She will know the course. She has run it a few

times. She has a personal best year. She will also see the big arches and

she will know what that means when she goes through the 40 K, which

must be coming up sometime around now, if she has not already gone

through it. It has not come up on our screens as her going through it.

Tirunesh Dibaba, when you take on fluids, and they need to to get

energy into them, then a little bit of a slope down and back up, it can

sometimes be enough to shake it all up inside your tummy, blood is

already being sent everywhere else. A lot of people get serious stomach

discomfort in the last couple of miles. It was hard to see her going

through that. She has managed to get going again. I am looking at her on

my screen in a different shot, further down. Seems to be going to

the same stomach spasms again. Hopefully she can get through and

keep going. She has a big buffer behind her. But she was starting to

make significant inroads upon Mary Keitany, who now seems to be pulling

away. 40 kilometres, 2:09.38, she has

picked things up a bit and is still heading for something inside 2.17,

and that world record of 2:17.42 for women is only racing is certainly in

site now and unless she completely falls apart in the last mile, 2.17

clocking or thereabouts could be hers. News, quickly, from the

British fans, we think Jo Pavey dropped out at about 60 miles, we

will try to confirm that for you. Aly Dixon and Charlotte Purdue

chasing, trying to get into the top ten, further down the road. But it

is now about Mary Keitany, how fast can she go here? She is heading

toward a personal best, she has already -- she is already the second

quickest ever at marathon distance but could yet run the quickest ever

marathon in a women's only race. I think Paula should explain the world

record of 2.15 and the women's only world record of 2.17. I don't think

people will understand, when she crosses the line and they say world

record, can you explain to the public what that is about? When they

started out racing the big city marathons, the women went off with

the men and a couple of them stayed with that, the majority of them, New

York, and London in particular, and Boston, went on to make women's only

starts, so you run without any assistance from other males running

around you, you cannot race the men, in effect, so when I broke my first

world record in Chicago it was a mixed race, mixed start, we ran with

them at around 2.17, but it was mixed. The improved the world record

in London I had two Kenyan males who ran with me and I was trying to race

them, but, yes, essentially it was a mixed race because they were in the

race with me. In 2005 when I ran I was, I have no other pacemakers,

some women running with me until about five miles and then I was on

my own from there, and that is what Mary Keitany have had today, some

assistance from pacemakers through half wake but then she has been on

her own. Well, and then, Houses of Parliament, Westminster Bridge, the

scene of such tragedy not that long ago, and today the crowds here to

cheer on one of the most inspiring sites in world sport, the winners of

the London Marathon. This is your winning here, Mary Keitany, heading

towards, as Paula has been trying to explain, what could well be the

quickest marathon ever run by a woman in a women's only race,

without that assistance border was talking about. It has been an

incredible performance, she went out so hard, crazy, crazy pace, and she

could have completely fallen apart, as many have behind her, many big

names behind her, a long way behind her. Tirunesh Dibaba at one point

looked like she could eat into the lead, as close as about 40 seconds,

that has now extended again to about 70 seconds because she had to stop

because of stomach cramps. She is now back running strongly cannot

catch Mary Keitany, despite the surge she is trying to put in. She

now heads into bird cage Walk, having come through Parliament

Square, around the Westminster area where so many people are watching.

The line of trees that heads down towards Buckingham Palace, one

bright turn, then the monument ahead of them, usually glinting in the

sunshine, then another turn into the home straight. One kilometre to go

for Mary Keitany of tenure. Can she be only the second athlete to run in

two hours and 17 minutes? It will be close, she has recovered from that

exuberant start, she went through the first part in the 66th and 53

seconds, the fastest time a woman has ever run the first half of the

marathon. She paid for that bit, she was the second fastest female of all

time going into the race and looks as though she will stay as the

second fastest female marathon runner of all time behind Paula, who

is sitting alongside us, but she could be running a women's only

world record, she could be running the only other athlete to run under

2.17. It will be close, less than a kilometre to go, she looks strong

now, haven't got the last few points but she now knows victory is in

sight, personal best insight, Kenyan record inside, women's only world

record probably in sight, so the young lady from Kenya who has had

disappointments in the marathons in the past, she was not able to run in

the Olympics last year, but there you go, 600 metres to go, a very

welcome sign for the canyon. Well done so far. So, Mary Keitany, for

the past few years, has probably, I put that in inverted commas,

probably the world's best marathon runners, just that she has not been

able to win the Olympic games. She ran here in London and found out

later during the race that she was in the early stages of pregnancy,

obviously an explanation as to why she did not go so well, but she

picked it up again here, 4.53 for that last mile to 26, and of course

now she has the .2 to go and Mary Keitany heading towards not only a

personal best for herself but she will join Paula Radcliffe in running

not only sub 2.18, only Paula had done that before on a few occasions,

Mary Keitany had not been able to, she was the second fastest of all

time before today but now heading for a time which perhaps is going to

get her under 2.17, she will be very close to that. She needs to make one

more turn and then she will see the finish line. She has won the London

Marathon on two occasions before, but not like this, not this fast,

not this good, not this dominant. Mary Keitany of Kenya can now sense

that history awaits for her. The Cheers greet this great Kenya and

runner, 35 years of age, looks a couple of meters ahead, she will see

the clock ticking away, she will realise she is heading for something

special, heading the something great. What will be her finish time?

All on her own. She has been out in front since the first few miles, set

out her stall, ran incredibly quick, the fastest ever half marathon,

broke the world record for 30 kilometres, and now, heading towards

a world record for the women's only marathon, Mary Keitany of Kenya.

Just on 2.17, the official time we will have to wait for, but we can

say that she has broken that record, broken her personal best, she is

still the second fastest in history but, goodness me, what a performance

from her today. A performance of ambition and a performance of

strength, not only physically but mentally. Those 12 miles at the end,

and here comes Tirunesh Dibaba, she will rise up the all-time rankings,

heading for, she will hope, the third fastest marathon runner of

all-time. She will break her own team-mate's Ethiopian record.

Tirunesh Dibaba finishing like the great track athlete we remember her

as, sprinting to the line, under 2.18. Tirunesh Dibaba takes a

massive leap forward in her marathon career, second in London and the

third fastest of all time. Brilliant run from her, despite the stomach

cramps in those last two or three miles when it looked, just for a

short while, as though she maybe, just maybe, could catch Mary

Keitany, but Keitany rallied, Dibaba was bent double for a short time but

recovered and has been rewarded with a brilliant performance. History

being made in London 20s and Dean, -- London 2017, Mary Keitany, the

brilliant, brilliant, diminutive Kenyan, rewarded for such dominant

running in the early stages. There is your top two, and they have

really pulled this race apart, there are so many great athletes who have

suffered behind, including Vivian Cheruiyot, in her first-ever

marathon, not able to stay with this. But who is winning the British

race? Who will be the first British athlete to cross the line? For so

long it has been Aly Dixon, the Sunderland stroller, the Olympian

from Rio, 38 years of age, she set out her stall so early today, web

hard early on, but behind her Charlotte Purdue, the youngest of

our contenders, still in the early stages of her marathon career, she

has been agonisingly close for the last six or seven miles to Aly Dixon

and the gap is closing by about one second every kilometre. It is now

down to about seven or eight seconds, and, Paula, this is a great

scrap, these two will definitely be coming back for the World

Championships in London, there is a good competition behind them with

Tracy Barlow, I think, still holding that third spot. I mentioned earlier

Jo Pavey hat to sadly dropout but who will win between these two?

Great battle between them, new generation chasing down the old,

Charlotte Purdue working hard to chase down Aly Dixon, they are both

going to run big PBs, hopefully, but more than that I think they have the

lure of being the first British athlete to cross the line and with

that comes the pride of coming back and competing in a World

Championships, representing Great Britain on home soil. Nothing can

really beat that, to be able to do that on the streets of London is a

very special experience, to run as a British athlete anywhere in the

London Marathon but to do it in an Olympic Games or World Championships

is extremely special. She missed out on selection last year, ran the

qualifying time for the British team, had a tougher qualifying time

than the IAAF had set so was not selected, rather controversially,

some thought will stop she was in floods of tears in the tent

afterwards. Whatever happens here, whether she catches Aly Dixon or

not, the two of there will be going and it is just a question of who

will get the third spot, Tracy Barlow, she is a great story in

herself, she won the mass race last year, six years ago was well outside

three years, now becoming a world-class marathon runner herself.

She could be heading for the World Championship selection. I know

Charlie's mum is here, she brought chicken and rice with broccoli that

she cooked at home to make sure she got a good meal before she set off

on today's quest. Run very well, heading for a PB, will she catch Aly

Dixon? That is what mothers do. Third coming in, less than 400

metres to go. It looks like Mergia, the Ethiopian athlete, who found

herself the victor in the London Marathon a few years ago, but she

has had a long, hard road, 2.22 on the clock. We have seen some

outstanding performances, the second and third fastest women of all time

today, we have seen a women's only world record and a third place the

Ethiopian. On Saint Georges day, St George also the patron saint of

Ethiopian, so second base and third place on Saint Georges day and I

know that because I have just been reminded that the best beer in

Ethiopian is St George's beer, named after the patron saint. I wouldn't

know anything about Beer! I said the performance of Keitany and Dibaba

pulled apart this brilliant women's race, some great runners have

struggled and it has meant that the likes of Lisa Weightman of Australia

moved into the top six, those who set out at 2.24 pace from the start

have moved through the field. Aly Dixon and Charlie Perdue have moved

through the field as well, so 2.23 for the third athlete to cross the

line, she is very, very tired, Mergia, and needs a bit of help

there. Well done to her for hanging on. And there are some very tired

legs out there. We will keep an eye on the Aly Dixon Charlie Perdue race

but meanwhile, in the men, former two-time world champion Abdelkader

Amri with Daniel when Jimmy -- world champion Abdelkader Amri. This has

been an up and down race, Paula. The pace has been up and down, no

Kenenisa Bekele to contest this, as far as we know he is still running

strongly, not that far off this, you know. Eight seconds, seven seconds?

It is not over. It is not over at all and he looks better than he did

the last time we saw him, when he looked like he was struggling to

maintain his form, to maintain his pace. Certainly from behind he looks

like there is more balanced, more control, but still a frown of

concentration on his face, but he does not look as if he is in as much

difficulty as I would have said the last time we saw him. Back at the

front, Abel Kirui, I remember when he first entered the marathon, he

said, I'm not that bothered about the prize money but if I win it can

I go up in a space rocket?! That was interesting, three or four

miles ago it looked as if Kenenisa Bekele was out of it. Ran earlier in

the year, did not run very well in the marathon, Abel Kirui running

really well. Again, the gaps and that they are not huge by marathon

distance standards, one hour 40, just over 20 minutes of running left

and the race now is certainly on, who is going to win this one? Is

this a winning break from Wanjiru? Kenenisa Bekele in force now, he's

gone through a bad patch, I had written him off earlier. It would be

wonderful if the great man could come through quickly. There is

Wanjiru, and as he turned the corner, here comes Kenenisa Bekele

with a new spring in his step. He has worked hard and is applying

himself, sometimes in races he can switch off and throw it away, but

there he has got the site of the leader. He is looking down the road.

He sees the leader, Wanjiru ahead of him. He can also see Abel Kirui.

Fourth place, are we going to see a startling change? Today is about

this race, in the men's race as far as Britain is concerned, Jonny

Mellor having a great run. In the women it is Aly Dixon, she finished

ahead of Sagna Samual 's last year in the Olympic trial, effectively

this is the trial for the big championships, it was the Olympics

last year, the chance to run for Great Britain in front of a home

crowd in London in August in the World Championships, the Sunderland

stroller, 38 years old, trying to hang on, trying to hold off

Charlotte Purdue who has been trying her best to catch Aly but has not

been able to make inroads, picked up a couple of seconds but no more than

that. Aly you know her well, I know her well, her family is here, the

whole of the north-east will loving this, she is a tough cookie. She is,

and I do know her well, she is trying to get everything she can out

of her legs and she will know that Charlie is closing on her and how

tantalisingly close she is to her PB. Now she is going to be around

the 2.29, her personal best is 2:29.30 or thereabouts. Charlotte

has been tantalisingly close to Aly The significant extra distance added

onto the marathon all those years ago, one more turn, then she will

see the finishing gantry and she will be aware she can beat her

personal best but she also wants to be the first British runner home.

Aly Dixon of Sunderland, last year to gain selection for the Olympic

Games and she was so pleased, she will now have our eyes on the clock

ahead of her. Her personal best is 2:29.30 and I think she is going to

break that. The last few metres, Charlotte Purdue is looking at a sub

2.3 zero. Aly Dixon might be a bit emotional, there is the smile, she

does her trademark finish. Personal best, 12th place I think, and what a

run from Charlotte Purdue. Still learning the marathon, she is going

to run under two hours and 30, APB for her as well. -- a personal best

for her as well. I'm sure the selectors will make the decision

tomorrow and we wait to see who the third British athlete is, the last I

would did was Tracy Barlow. We are waiting for her to perhaps be coming

through in the next few minutes. Let's see what is happening in the

men's race in the meantime. What I can tell you is these two are

celebrating, let's look, Aly. That is a reward for all those hard

miles, tough miles, everybody puts them in but it's a great feeling

when it all comes together like that. Well done to both of them.

After all that excitement, more to come, the men's race. The leader was

Daniel Wanjiru, when last year of the Amsterdam Marathon, this would

be the biggest win of his career. But in the distance, the figure of

Kenenisa Bekele is looming. He is now third, he is chasing. He's being

cheered on by runners going in the opposite direction, he is the one

they recognise, still plenty of miles for him, plenty of time to

catch Wanjiru. He is moving much better. He looks altogether

different than he did a few miles ago. He has a determination in his

eye, he is hunting them down, in third place. This is not the way he

would have chosen to run this marathon, he was threatening the

pacemakers, wanting to do a fast one. He now has some idea that he

will get a position. He is going to move into second place very quickly,

he is running faster than anyone else at this stage. Here comes the

great Kenenisa Bekele, saying that people recognise him and so they

should. One of the greatest of all time. We have been privileged to

watch his career and I remember his first ever International race a

cross country in Newcastle in the early 2000's. At the time we were

told that this man was going to be good and we did not realise how good

he was going to be. Moving into second place. Moving quickly. That

is the skill of marathon running, distance running on the roads, when

you see the athlete you want to pass, pass him quickly. Moves into

second place. Great drama in the men's race, we saw the top two women

crossing the line for Great Britain in under two hours 30 and not far

behind them, we thought the third place was going to go to Tracy

Barlow, we can show you her in a second hopefully. Wanjiru looking

behind, he knows where the threat is coming from.

Big crowds, lots of cheering. At the front it's one thing, but here is

someone who knows what it's like, Tracy Barlow, what a story for her,

has got better and better, started with all those people at the back,

last year even she did not get an elite start but she has done it this

time and I think that run will cement her place, it's a big

personal best for her, personal best's the law over the last few

years for her and that another big step forward. Third British athlete

home and could well be selected for the World Championships. So here we

go, The Tower. He knows that that means there is

not far to go and he is on the hunt. He is chasing down Wanjiru. Whatever

went on in the middle section, what ever happened, he is able to put it

to the back of his mind but can he close the gap? Plenty of time but as

we saw with Charlotte Pardew and Alyson Dixon it is one thing to

think you have time to do it, but he is moving well now. Gliding across

the streets of London. He keeps looking up, looking at the gap, the

man in front of him, thinking I have got you. Sometimes in the middle of

the race he can get depressed and does not apply himself and other

times, at his very, very best he is the greatest. Back somewhere in

London his manager has done a brilliant job coaching him back from

injury and illness and disillusionment, from the fact he's

not been able to compete as he used to do. And there is Wanjiru, yes

hunting him down. As he left it a bit late? There is no one more

powerful in distance running. One of the advisers to Mo Farah was telling

me there is nobody, no athlete he has ever worked with who has got the

engine as he calls it, the capacity to work and run as quickly in engine

and is running as Kenenisa Bekele. He is motoring, and this is a

wonderful sight, not that his best, because I do not think this is his

best, I think he is capable of running a world record in the

marathon but it looks as though there has been two athletes in this

race and this is the one we want to see. You would not bet against him

at this point. The significant thing, you saw the caption come up

about the leader and it said five minutes for his last mile. That is

not quick enough at this point. Paula will tell you which are the

quick miles and which are the slow ones, but if Kenny is running 4.50,

he can make them up. All he needs to do is keep running 4.45, 4.50 and he

will catch him. I think he might catch on in the next few minutes. I

really hope he does. We are not supposed to be biased in the

commentary box but I have got to know him over the years, I remember

him coming to Newcastle, we had never heard of him, highly Gabler

Selassie called me up and said he would be good. I remember seeing we

would see a lot more of him and I would love him to win this one, it

would be a fantastic occasion. A few miles ago you would not have given

him a chance but no Wanjiru realises there is a race on. Does he have

anything left? Can Kenenisa take some power from this crowd? There is

lots of running left but marathon's are drama as and there is lots of

drama left. Kenenisa 's confidence must be rising. Yes, the significant

moment will be when he goes past Wanjiru, will he blow straight past

him and keep driving? Don't settle in and make it into a race because

that gives Wanjiru a bit of hope that he is also tired. If you go

right past him, hard, it destroys the confidence of the runner being

passed. Wanjiru must know Bekele is closing on him, people in the crowd

will be saying it. Some of his support network might be out there

along the road giving him information. His manager might be in

the car in front. He will know someone is chasing him. Bekele going