The 2023 London Marathon will get underway on Sunday morning with runners of all ages and abilities taking to the streets of the English capital.
The 43rd staging of the event is back in its usual April slot, with the Covid-19 pandemic having forced the famous race to be pushed back to the autumn in 2022. Around 50,000 people will take on the 26.2 miles between Greenwich and the Mall, with thousands of pounds being raised for charity in the process.
And whilst spotting your friends and family on the streets or even via television might prove difficult, there is a way to track every step of their progress. You can even send messages of support from afar which can be read when they reach the finish line.
The TCS London Marathon’s official mobile app allows you track individual runners. Updates on their progress are calculated using timing mats which are placed at five-kilometre markers throughout the route.
The Android version is available here and the iPhone version here. Jason Ochoa, from the London Marathon team, has previously explained: "The app basically pulls in all the information from our timing system.
"That information is based on timing mats that runners cross over after every five kilometers. The app extrapolates from pace a rough position of each runner between each five kilometers."
But the app is just as useful to runners as it is supporters. Entrants can record their run and even listen to the favourite songs as they make their way around London, and pre-race can utilise it for training tips and advice.
Those who are planning on heading out to the streets to shout for the friends and family, and need the app to work out where to be and when, are urged to follow the obvious advice. Ensuring the phone is fully charged before leaving, or better still boosted by a portable charging device during the day, will save a rapid battery drain.
On that note, it is also advisable that you pull the app back to the homescreen when not staring at it, allowing it to operate in the background. But of course, for those not in possession of an internet device, or able to make it to London, there is always the old school option of sitting on the couch from 8.30am and looking out for your mate on the BBC.
