London Marathon 2025: Start time, how to watch live and a preview of INCREDIBLE elite fields

Have there ever been better elite fields for the TCS London Marathon?

We’ll go into more detail below but Sunday’s 45th edition promises something very special in what is the third of the newly-expanded Abbott World Marathon Majors after Tokyo and Boston.

We are going to focus on the elites here but the London Marathon is all about the bigger picture and we’ve got all that covered off via these important links below:

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Start time and how to watch live

There are three key start times on Sunday 27 April 2025 and they are as follows:

The elite wheelchair races start from 8.50am. The elite women’s race begins at 9.05am. And that’s followed by the elite men and 56,000 amateur runners from 9.35am onwards.

All of those are local times and in terms of the last of those, that 09:35 in London is 10:35 in central Europe, 04:35 Eastern and 01:35 Western in North America.

In terms of how to watch, the BBC are the go-to broadcaster for watching the race. Those in the UK will have start to finish live coverage on BBC One while worldwide you can follow on the iPlayer.

In the United States there’s live coverage on ESPN2 and ESPN3 and remember too there’s an official app to download to help you track the runners – whether that’s the elites or your friends and family.

The London Marathon course

The TCS London Marathon starts in Blackheath and ends at The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace, one of the most iconic finishes imaginable.

The route takes in many of London’s most famous landmarks, including Tower Bridge.

It is relatively flat and actually a net downhill race – 127 metres of ‘climbing’ and 162 metres of downhill.

Men’s elite field – All eyes on Kiplimo

This couldn’t be much better, though the late news that Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) has withdrawn denies us another episode of the long-time rivalry between him and marathon GOAT and four-time London winner Eliud Kipchoge (KEN).

Bekele produced a staggering performance last year when runner-up to Alex Mutiso (KEN) when he set an over-40s world record of 2:04:15.

Bekele said: “I am very disappointed. I was very much looking forward to returning to the TCS London Marathon on Sunday, especially after how well I ran there last year. But a series of small niggles have prevented me from getting in the training block I require to be at my best and I have had to make the difficult decision to withdraw. I wish everyone who is running the very best of luck.”

Kipchoge of course is the only human to have run under two hours for the 26.2-mile distance at the Ineos 1:59 project.

Mutiso is back to defend his title and also in the men’s line up are Olympic champion Tamirat Tola (ETH) and Sabastian Sawe (KEN), who ran the fifth-fastest time in history when winning Valencia on his marathon debut late last year in 2:02:05.

But so many eyes will be on Jacob Kiplimo (UGA), who recently clocked that incredible new world record of 56:42 at the Barcelona Half Marathon.

Kiplimo will be making his full-distance debut but could Kelvin Kiptum’s 2:00:35 world best be under threat? Or even the two-hour mark in an actual race?

Despite last year’s third Emile Cairess being ruled out through injury, there will still be significant British interest in the men’s race – including reigning Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee who makes his marathon debut.

And Mahamed Mahamed and Phil Sesemann, who both raced in the marathon at the Paris Olympics, also line up.

Women’s elite field – Assefa vs Hassan?

World record holder Ruth Chepngetich and reigning London champion Peres Jepchirchir have both been ruled out of what had looked one of the greatest fields ever assembled.

But the next two fastest women in history after Chepngetich – Paris silver medallist Tigst Assefa (ETH) and Olympic champion and 2023 London winner Sifan Hassan (NED) – do line up.

Assefa was the previous world record holder having clocked 2:11:53 at the 2023 Berlin Marathon which she also won in 2022.

Current Olympic marathon champion Hassan is rewriting the record books and won the London Marathon in 2023 on her debut and then went on to win Chicago the same year in 2:13:44 which remains the third-fastest time ever.

Vivian Cheruiyot (KEN), champion in 2018 and former Olympic track gold medallist, has become a late addition to the start list.

She has run the London Marathon three times, winning in 2018 and finishing runner-up in 2019.

Again there’s a fascinating British marathon first-timer in Eilish McColgan.

She holds multiple British records including 10K and the half marathon on the road and this is an eagerly-awaited and previously delayed 26.2-mile debut. And her Mum Liz of course is a previous London Marathon winner.