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Two stacked London Marathon elite fields have left pundits divided as to who to back in 2026, with records threatening to be broken on what promises to be a sunny Sunday morning in the U.K. capital.
Read on and we'll show you how to watch London Marathon live streams from anywhere with a VPN — and potentially for FREE.
2026 London Marathon live streams take place on Sunday, April 26
► Time: From 3:50 a.m. ET / 12:50 a.m. PT / 8:50 a.m. BST / 5:50 p.m. AEST. Full raceday schedule below.
• FREE STREAMS — BBC iPlayer (U.K.)
• U.S./CAN/AUS — FloTrack
• Watch anywhere — Try NordVPN 100% risk free
Kenya's Sabastian Sawe is among this year's bookies' favorites in the men's race, having taken the win last year. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo was the 2025 runner-up in his London Marathon debut, so will be eager to go one better this time around. Ethiopia haven't had a male winner here for half a decade, an anomaly that the likes of Deresa Geleta and Olympic champion Tamirat Tola will hope to redress.
Having set the world record last year for the women's-only race, crossing the line in 2 hours, 15 minutes, 50 seconds, Ethiopian Tigst Assefa is back to defend her crown. Kenya's Joyciline JepkosgeiIt — the 2021 victor — looks like the woman most likely to disrupt the first back-to-back in six years, while Hellen Obiri of Kenya and Julia Paternain of Uruguay have also won significant marathon medals recently. It's just a pity that both Peres Jepchirchir and Sifan Hassan have had to withdraw in the lead-up to Sunday's race,
Aside from the elite competitors, the much-loved mass participation event is set to feature an array of famous faces, with the likes of "Wicked" actor Cynthia Erivo, former F1 driver Sebastian Vettel and Olympians Dame Laura Kenny and Sir Ben Ainslie all running. Here's how to watch the 2026 London Marathon online and on TV today — including FREE streaming options — and you'll find the raceday schedule at the bottom of this page.
How to watch London Marathon 2026 for FREE
The 2026 London Marathon is being live streamed for FREE on the BBC iPlayer in the U.K.
Additionally, coverage will go out for free on Rai in Italy, RTVE in Spain and the Olympics.com website in selected other locations (China, Japan, Middle East & North Africa, New Zealand).
Traveling overseas? You won't be able to watch the action on your free streaming platform like you normally would due to regional restrictions. Fortunately, there’s an easy solution. Use a VPN to watch London Marathon 2026 live streams for free — we’ll explain more below.
How to watch London Marathon online from anywhere
Away from home at the moment and blocked from watching the 2026 London Marathon on your usual service?
You can still watch all 26.2 miles live thanks to the wonders of a VPN (Virtual Private Network). The software can make your devices appear to be back in your home country regardless of where you are, making it ideal for viewers away on vacation or on business. Our favorite is NordVPN — we explain why in our NordVPN review.
Using a VPN is incredibly simple.
1. Install the VPN of your choice. As we've said, NordVPN is our favorite.
2. Choose the location you wish to connect to in the VPN app. For instance, if you want to watch your free BBC coverage of the race, choose 'United Kingdom' from the list.
3. Sit back and enjoy the action. Head to BBC iPlayer and watch the London Marathon live.
How to watch London Marathon 2026 live streams in the U.K.
The 2026 London Marathon will be shown on the free-to-air BBC One in the U.K.
That means you can watch London Marathon live streams for FREE on BBC iPlayer, which is free to use (with a valid TV Licence) and works across a wide range of devices including smart TVs, laptops, games consoles, mobile phones, tablets and streaming sticks.
If you're not currently in the U.K. don't worry, as you can use NordVPN to watch BBC iPlayer from abroad.
How to watch London Marathon 2026 in the U.S, Canada and Australia
The London Marathon 2026 is streaming exclusively on the dedicated FloTrack streaming platform in the U.S., Canada and Australia.
Subscriptions cost $30/month on a rolling basis. Or, if you know that you'll want all of the platform's coverage throughout the year, get a $150 annual plan and effectively get seven months free.
British resident visiting one of these countries? Use NordVPN or another VPN service to trick your device into thinking you're still in the U.K. so you can watch your streams for free.
London Marathon start times and schedule 2026
Elite wheelchair — 3:50 a.m. ET / 12:50 a.m. PT / 8:50 a.m. BST / 5:50 p.m. AEST
Elite women — 4:05 a.m. ET / 1:05 a.m. PT / 9:05 a.m. BST / 6:05 p.m. AEST
Elite men — 4:35 a.m. ET / 1:35 a.m. PT / 9:35 a.m. BST / 6:35 p.m. AEST
Followed by mass participation start
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We test and review VPN services in the context of legal recreational uses. For example: 1. Accessing a service from another country (subject to the terms and conditions of that service). 2. Protecting your online security and strengthening your online privacy when abroad. We do not support or condone the illegal or malicious use of VPN services. Consuming pirated content that is paid-for is neither endorsed nor approved by Future Publishing.
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