London Marathon 2023: Race attracts record number of participants

About 48,000 runners embarked on the 26.2-mile run from Greenwich to The Mall - some donning fancy dress costumes

A garlic and herb dip and a rhinoceros were among the fancy dress costumes donned by some of the thousands who took part in the London Marathon.

Whether as a personal challenge or for charity, runners wore colourful costumes as they ran the 26.2-mile (42km) course.

More than 48,000 runners took on the race from Greenwich to The Mall - up from 40,643 in 2022.

This year's race was the biggest ever, organisers said.

TCS London Marathon organisers said they expanded numbers in an attempt to reach a cap of 50,000.

The runners were cheered on by thousands of people who lined the streets to offer water, food, or just shouts of encouragement.

This year's official race charity is Great Ormond Street Hospital, which cares for seriously ill children and young people

Great Britain's Mo Farah had an "emotional" day in London after announcing that this year's race will be his last

Great Britain's Mo Farah had an emotional day in London after announcing that this year's race will be his last, as he begins to think about retirement.

Among the famous faces who took part was Radio 1 presenter and DJ Adele Roberts - less than a year after she was given the all-clear following treatment for bowel cancer.

Roberts, who has lived with a stoma for 18 months, has set herself the challenge of becoming the fastest woman with an ileostomy, by completing the distance in under four hours.

Adele Roberts, who has lived with a stoma for 18 months, set herself the challenge of becoming the fastest woman with an ileostomy, by completing the distance in under four hours

Racers ranged in age from 90-year-old David Picksley, to Lana Dales, who turned 18 the day before the race.

Runners could also identify as non-binary in their applications for the first time this year, and 118 gender-neutral people took on the challenge.

Organisers said this was part of an effort to make the race "the most diverse, equitable and inclusive marathon in the world".

A dinosaur costume was among the London Marathon participants as thousands descended on the streets of the capital

Marcus Mumford, the frontman of folk band Mumford & Sons, and actor Josh O'Connor, who played Prince Charles in the Netflix series The Crown, were among those running.

Mumford was raising money for the Grenfell Foundation, a charity supporting bereaved families and survivors of the 2017 fire.

Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity was the official charity of the year, and it will be using the partnership to launch its fundraising appeal for a new children's cancer centre.

This year the marathon returned to its usual April timing after three years of the race being held in October due to the Covid-19 pandemic

Despite forecasters predicting heavy rain, the weather was dry for the start of the elite and mass participation races with light drizzle later in the morning

Runners began the route from Greenwich Park, before looping past London landmarks including Tower Bridge and Trafalgar Square.

They crossed the finish line in front of Buckingham Palace on The Mall.

The women's elite race got off to a dramatic start after record-holder Brigid Kosgei began limping and pulled out after just three minutes.

The Kenyan holds the fastest women's marathon time of 2:14.04.

Sifan Hassan, an Ethiopian-born Dutch athlete, took first place - a surprise win after she fell back at the 15-mile mark clutching her hip, and given it was her debut marathon.

The 30-year-old finished with a time of 2:18.33.

In the men's heat, Kenyan Kelvin Kiptum achieved the second-fastest marathon time in history at 2:01.27.

The 23-year-old missed out on Eliud Kipchoge's world record by just 18 seconds.

Britain's first finisher in the men's race, Emile Cairess, came sixth on his marathon debut while fellow GB athlete and junior doctor Philip Sesemann placed eighth.

Further coverage of the race is on the Red Button and the BBC Sport website app.