London Marathon 2021 live stream online How to watch race on TV today
It’s almost time to watch the London Marathon! The 41st edition of the race takes place on Sunday (October 3), with 50,000 runners set to take on the iconic 26.2-mile route from Greenwich to The Mall.
CLICK HERE TO WATCH FREE LIVE
CLICK HERE TO WATCH FREE LIVE
The stage is set for a brilliant mass-participation race. It’s been 889 days since the last mass-participation London Marathon due to Coronavirus restrictions, so for many runners, this is the day they’ve been training for years.
LONDON MARATHON LIVE STREAM, DATE, TIME, CHANNELS
The London Marathon live stream takes place on Sunday, October 3
► Time: 8:50 a.m. BST / 3:50 a.m. ET / 12:50 a.m. PT
• U.S. — Watch on FloSports
• U.K. — Watch on BBC Two, BBC One and BBC Red Button
• Watch anywhere — try ExpressVPN 100% risk free
In the elite race, London Marathon 2020 men’s winner, Shura Kitata, will be back to defend his title. Vincent Kipchumba and Sisay Lemma who were also on the podium in the elite-only 2020 London Marathon also returning to the race.
In the women’s elite field, reigning champion Brigid Kosgei will be attempting to win her third successive London Marathon, following her Olympic silver medal in the Tokyo Olympic Games. Also lining up on the start line is reigning New York City Marathon winner Joyciline Jepkosgei, as well as Ethiopian runners Roza Dereje and Birhane Dibaba, both of whom have marathon PR’s of under 2 hours 20 minutes.
In the wheelchair race, some of the best wheelchair racers in the world return to the streets of London. Defending champions Brent Lakatos and Nikita den Boer will both be on the start line, as well as David Weir, the most decorated athlete in London Marathon history, who will return to race his 22nd London Marathon in front of a home crowd.
If you’re looking out for a runner in the mass-participation race, you can expect to see them once the race kicks off at 9.30 am BST. This year, the start of the mass-participation race will be staggered between 9.30 and 11.00 am BST in order to allow for more social distancing along the route. The easiest way to keep an eye on how your runner is doing is to track them — here’s how to track runners at the London Marathon.
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London Marathon start times and schedule
The timeline for the day is as follows:
Elite wheelchair race: 8:50 a.m. BST / 3:50 a.m. ET / 12:50 a.m. PT
London is preparing to welcome back one of the most exciting sporting occasions on the calendar this weekend.
The London Marathon 2021 is coming up and after a turbulent 18 months, it’ll be great to see the event return to normality.
The 2020 marathon was made ‘virtual’ due to the COVID-19 pandemic, meaning that almost 38,000 runners mapped out their own route and completed the 26.2-miles, earning it an official Guinness World Record for the ‘most users to run a remote marathon in 24 hours’.
However with this year’s marathon welcoming 45,000 runners on the streets of London – as well as 50,000 ‘virtual’ runners – it’s set to be quite the spectacle.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2021 London Marathon.
London Marathon 2021: Date and start time
The London Marathon 2021 is set to take place THIS WEEKEND on Sunday, September 3.
The ‘virtual’ marathon will take place on the same day.
The elite wheelchair race is scheduled to start at 8.50am, the elite women will start at 9am and the elite men will start at 9.30am.
The public masses are then scheduled to start their race at 10.10am.
Sir Mo Farah took part in the 2020 London Marathon
London Marathon 2021: Route
The London Marathon route has remained largely unchanged since 1981 as the course takes runners past many of the capital’s landmarks.
Starting in Greenwich, those competing will begin near the Meridian Line in Greenwich Park, the world clock’s neutral point from which all time zones are measured from.
From there runners will pass the Cutty Sark and the Shard before crossing Tower Bridge as they approach the halfway stage of the course.
They will then head toward Canary Wharf before turning west along Victoria Embankment to Westminster where they’ll pass the London Eye.
As the race nears its conclusion runners will then pass Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament before heading along The Mall towards where runners will close in on the finishing line which is situated just a stones’ throw from Buckingham Palace.
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Eliud Kipchoge won the elite mens’ London Marathon in 2019
London Marathon 2021: How to enter
Places in the London Marathon 2021 and the ‘virtual’ marathon have completely sold out for this year.
However new participants may yet be able to take part by taking up a charity place and running for a worthy cause in the ‘virtual’ marathon.
Wannabe participants are urged to visit the London Marathon official website for more information.
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Tokyo Olympic silver medallist Brigid Kosgei won the elite women’s’ race in 2020
London Marathon 2021: How to watch and live stream
The London Marathon 2021 will be broadcast live on the BBC on Sunday, October 3.
Coverage will begin on BBC Two from 8am until 10am when it will switch to BBC One until 2.30pm.
After that time you can watch the marathon via the Red Button or BBC iPlayer with highlights being shown on BBC Two from 6pm to 7pm that evening.
Event director Hugh Brasher has opened the door to the London Marathon being broadcast elsewhere in the future with an announcement set for later this year.
Elite women start: 9:00 a.m. BST / 4:00 a.m. ET / 1:00 a.m. PT
Elite men and mass-participation start: 9:30 a.m. BST / 4:30 a.m. ET/ 1:30 a.m. PT
How to watch the London Marathon live stream wherever you are
The London Marathon coverage will be on the BBC for most of the day in the UK, but if you’re not in the UK, there are still ways to watch a friend or family member take on the race (although you might need to set your alarm clock a little earlier than usual for a Sunday!)
The answer is to use a VPN, or virtual private network. A VPN will let you tune into your home coverage from wherever you are — meaning that if you’re abroad, you can use one of the best VPN services to watch the games live as if you were in your lounge.
Our favorite right now is ExpressVPN, thanks to its combination of superb speed, great customer service and excellent device support. It also offers a no-questions-asked 30-day money-back guarantee, so you could check it out without having to sign up long term.
While it may have once again been postponed from its usual April slot, the delayed 2021 edition of the London Marathon should have a more familiar feel to proceedings this year – read on to find out how to watch this iconic race online, no matter where in the world you are.
This year’s event welcomes back ametuar and fun runners after last year’s race was limited to elite runners, while a limited number of spectators are set to be in attendance along the 26.2-mile route through the UK capital.
2020 winner Shura Kitata returns to defend his title despite a hamstring injury against a field that boasts seven sub-2:04 marathon runners including fellow Ethiopian stars Birhanu Legese and Mosinet Geremew.
Kenyan superstar and Olympic silver medalist Brigid Kosge will also be hitting London’s streets once more as she looks to replicate her incredible victory in the women’s race last year against a strong field of runners that also includes Ethiopia’s Roza Dereje, and Birhane Dibaba.
Who will win this year? Read on to find out how to watch the 2021 London Marathon no matter where you are in the world.
2021 London Marathon – where and when
This year’s London Marathon takes place on Sunday, October 3. The day’s events begin with the 2.6-kilometer Mini London Marathon, which starts from at 8.30am BST, 3.30am ET, 6.30pm AEST . The elite wheelchair race then begins at 8.50am BST, 3.50am ET, 6.50pm AEST, followed by the elite women’s London Marathon which starts at 9am BST, 4am ET, 7pm AEST, before the elite men’s race starts at 9.30am BST, 4.30am ET, 8.30pm AEST – the same time as the mass start.
Watch the London Marathon 2021 online from outside your country
We have details of all the US, UK, Australian and Canadian broadcasters of this iconic race further down in this guide. If you’re intent on watching the 2021 London Marathon, but find yourself away from home then you’ll run into problems when trying to stream your domestic coverage online from abroad as it’s likely to be geo-blocked.
That’s where a VPN (Virtual Private Network) can be a lifesaver. They allow you to virtually change the ISP of your laptop, tablet or mobile to one that’s back in your home country, letting you watch as if you were back there.
VPN’s are incredibly easy to use and have the added benefit of giving you a further layer of security when surfing the web. There are lots of options, and we recommend ExpressVPN as our #1 pick due to its speed, security and ease of use. It can be used on a vast array of operating systems and devices (e.g. iOS, Android, Smart TVs, Fire TV Stick, Roku, games consoles, etc). Sign up for ExpressVPN now now and enjoy a 49% discount and 3 months FREE with an annual subscription. Or give it a try with its 30-day money back guarantee. Looking for other options? Here are some alternatives that are on sale right now.
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How to stream the 2021 London Marathon live in the UK for FREE
The BBC has the live broadcast rights for the 2021 London Marathon once again and will be showing the event free to air.
The network will be splitting coverage across BBC One, BBC Two, its Red Button service, BBC iPlayer, and the BBC Sport website.
Coverage begins on BBC Two at 8am BST, before moving over to BBC One at 10am.
Live stream the 2021 London Marathon in Australia
Aussie TV won’t be showing this year’s race but you can still watch all the action at Sunday’s event on specialist athletics streaming service FloTrack. You will need to sign up for the service’s membership to watch the event with pricing at $150 for the year or a flexible $30 rolling monthly membership.
How to watch the 2021 London Marathon online in the US, Canada and Australia
Dedicated athletics service FloTrack will be airing the 2021 London Marathon exclusively in a whole host of regions, including the US, Canada and Australia.
A subscription to the online-only network currently costs US$29.99 per month, however if you want to commit for the long term, there’s a decent saving of US$210 if you go for the service’s 12-month subscription option, which works out at $12.49 per month.
FloTrack give you access to exclusive live and on demand coverage of a huge list of elite track and field events across the athletics calendar, while also offering FloTrack Originals, all of which you can watch online or on your device with the FloSport app, which is compatible with iOS, Android, Apple TV, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, and Chromecast.