London Marathon 2026 LIVE: Start times, latest weather and updates from world famous race

• 08:50am Men’s and women’s elite wheelchair races
• 09:05am Elite women’s race
• 09:35am Elite men and first mass participation wave (championship wave)
• Regular additional waves through to 11:30am.

This year’s race has a more favourable forecast than last year for those attempting to achieve personal bests. It’s going to be cloudy and much cooler this morning, with temperatures starting from 11c but reaching as much as 19c by mid-afternoon.

It’s at this time of the morning where thousands of runners are descending towards Blackheath, just next to Greenwhich Park, ahead of the start of the London Marathon. The race-day nerves, the excitement, ooh you can feel it from here.

Hello and welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the 2026 London Marathon! Having done the marathon for the first time last year, on a very hot day, it’s a relief to be manning the live blog this morning with my slippers on along with a bit of breakfast.