How to watch the London Marathon live online from anywhere

This year’s London Marathon will begin at 8:30 AM BST (12:30 AM PST / 3:30 AM EST) on Sunday April 23rd. At 26 miles and 385 yards (42.195 km), this isn’t a race for the faint of heart; in fact, the average finishing time currently sits at four hours and 22 minutes. Accordingly, several networks have chosen to provide all-day coverage, and below, we’ll explain how to stream the entire London Marathon from start to finish for free online.

Note that we’ll only be recommending official sources. The London Marathon is a hugely popular event which means unauthorized streams will likely be available. However, we’d advise against using these: the video is often laggy and low-resolution, making it difficult to tell which racer is in the lead. Further, unlicensed streams are liable to be taken down by the copyright holder at any moment, so you might not see the end of the race. As you can stream the London Marathon for free, there’s no need to resort to shady, third-party streams.

Unless you’re in the UK, you’ll need a VPN to watch the 2023 London Marathon for free.

How to watch the 2023 London Marathon free online

VPNs make it easy to access region-locked streaming services from abroad. Follow the steps below to unblock and stream the London Marathon from anywhere:

1. Start by signing up for a suitable VPN. We highly recommend NordVPN because it has fast servers in the UK that are perfect for streaming British TV. Alternatively, Surfshark is a fantastic cheap option, and ExpressVPN is a superb all-rounder.
2. Download and install the appropriate version of the software for your device.
3. Decide which of the services below you’d like to use.
4. Connect to a VPN server in the UK  to get a British IP address and watch BBC iPlayer for free. Or connect to another location to stream any of the options listed below.
5. Start the live stream of the Marathon on your chosen platform. It should play without issues thanks to your VPN, but if not, you can fix most issues by clearing your cache and cookies, then refreshing the page.

The 2023 London Marathon will be broadcast live. As such, we strongly recommend testing your VPN with the steps above before the race begins. This way, if anything doesn’t work as expected, you’ll still have time to get help from your VPN’s customer service team and might not have to miss the start of the race.

How to watch the London Marathon for free on UK TV

The BBC has exclusive broadcasting rights to the London Marathon in the UK. However, while it will have periodic coverage of the event on BBC One and BBC Two, the full race can only be streamed on iPlayer by heading over to BBC Sport.

Note that after 2:30 PM BST, the BBC’s coverage will move over to BBC Two. Thankfully, this coverage will also also be available on BBC iPlayer this year. Busy on the 23rd? The full race and highlights will be added to BBC iPlayer shortly after the event ends.

BBC Sport is completely free to use, but you will have to create an account first. You’ll be asked which country you’re in during the registration process, so be sure to provide a valid British postcode when signing up. Once you’ve signed up and verified your email address, you’re free to log in and start streaming.

British law requires you to have a TV license if you watch anything on BBC iPlayer or if you’re streaming content as it’s shown on TV. Despite this, the BBC doesn’t actually check that you have a license. BBC iPlayer occasionally lets the user know of this requirement, but for the most part, it relies on an honor system.

BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport are region-locked and only available in the UK. However, you can still access them from abroad by connecting to a British VPN server. Still looking for a VPN? NordVPN offers a 30-day money-back guarantee so you can stream this event and then cancel if you don’t want to use the service anymore.

Where else can I live stream the London Marathon?

While this race is held in the UK, entrants come from all over the world, so there’s understandably a lot of international interest. Below, we’ll explain how to watch the London Marathon live in your country:

US

Unfortunately, this year the broadcasting rights for the London Marathon have been purchased by FloTrack. This means you cannot watch the London Marathon on BBC or ESPN.  FloTrack is a subscription service that costs $29.99 monthly, or $12.49 per month with an annual subscription.

If you’re a huge fan of athletics, the annual sub might be worth considering. If you’re only interested in watching the London Marathon online, though, you may prefer simply to connect to a server in the UK to watch it on iPlayer.

Flotrack is only available in the US and Australia, so if you want to stream the race you will need to connect to a VPN server in one of those countries.

Canada

FloSports will also be broadcasting the London Marathon to Canadian audiences via  FloTrack. This service costs $29.99 USD per month (around $40 CAD), with discounts available if you’re willing to commit to an annual subscription. Either way, FloTrack is a fairly expensive way to watch, particularly if you’re only interested in the London Marathon.

While FloSports allows users to sign up from anywhere as long as they have a Visa, Mastercard, American Express, or Discover card, the London Marathon will only be shown in Canada, the US, and Australia. Canadians in other countries can log in and stream the event on FloTrack by connecting to a VPN server in Canada.

Other locations

The London Marathon website lists all of the official international broadcasters. This event will be airing in dozens of countries around the world, including Seychelles, Madagascar, China, Australia, and Spain, so no matter where you are, you should still be able to watch.

Can I track the progress of a specific racer?

Know someone who’s competing in this year’s event? You can follow individual participants as they run using the TCS London Marathon app for Android. This app is completely free to use and allows you to search for specific runners by entering either their running number or surname. Their position will be updated on your map whenever they cross a checkpoint, and the app can even predict their current location based on their average speed.

Everything you need to know about the London Marathon

The London Marathon is known for its huge turnout; in 2022  over 400,000 people applied to run. Obviously, not everyone gets to participate, but there are numerous ways to qualify. The majority of runners are chosen by ballot but there are also spots for charity workers, celebrities, members of recognized running clubs, elite athletes, and those who’ve finished other races with a particularly impressive time for their age. In 2022, 42,000 people ran, so we can expect a similar number this time around.

While there are three different starting points, all routes merge on John Wilson street about three miles (4.8km) into the run. From here, participants run a loop of Crossharbour and the surrounding area before finishing at The Mall, opposite St. James’ Park. The current men’s record is 2:02:37 (Eliud Kipchoge, 2019) whereas three-time winner Paula Radcliffe holds the women’s title with a time of 2:15:25.

London Marathon 2023 schedule

While everyone thinks of the Mass Race when they think of the London Marathon, there are actually several overlapping events. Below, you’ll find the full 2023 London Marathon schedule:

Who is expected to win?

All eyes are on Kenenisa Bekle and Mo Farah this year. The former has taken gold at the Olympics on three seperate occasions, so he’s always one to watch. However, this will be Farah’s final London Marathon, so fans are hoping he can leave on a high note.

One thing’s for sure: whoever wins, the 2023 London Marathon promises to be a very close race, and one many runners will remember for a long time.