Spring showers will help 46,000 runners stay cool

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The 46,000 runners due to compete in Sunday's race can expect rain and wind as they complete the 26.2-mile course.

Met Office forecaster Helen Chivers said: "To start with it will be dry, sunny and cool but that will be deceiving. As the morning goes on we will see the showers building up, with heavy rain expected from 11am.

"It is pot luck as to where in London the rain falls but there will be showers about. Temperatures will be 11C in sunshine and a south-westerly wind is also expected." About 250,000 spectators are expected to line the route from Greenwich Park to the Mall, starting at 9am. Charity fun runners will line up alongside the world's elite, including last year's winner of the men's race, Kenyan Martin Lel. Paula Radcliffe, the marathon world record holder who had hoped to win her fourth title, has pulled out of this year's event with a toe tendon injury. Flora London Marathon race director David Bedford said: "Even without Paula we will have a very strong international women's field and I am sure the race will be as exciting as ever. I believe this is one of the best fields we've assembled."

Celebrity runners will include chef Gordon Ramsay, actress Amanda Holden, singer Ronan Keating and Olympic rowing champion James Cracknell. The Met will have a large number of officers policing the crowds.

The London Marathon first took place on 29 March 1981 following the success of a similar event in New York. It attracted 20,000 applicants and 6,255 runners crossed the finish line.

The race has grown considerably since then and last year 46,500 runners were accepted from a record 80,500 applicants, with 35,678 finishing on the day.

A total of 676,743 have completed the race since its inception.