How to watch the London Marathon 2018: live stream free anywhere in the world

The surge of the adrenaline, the smell of the vaseline, the shine of the silver foil blanket. It must be London Marathon time! 26.2 gruelling miles around the streets of the United Kingdom's capital city, it's one of the world's most famous long-distance road races. And the 2018 London Marathon is likely to be one of the most watched in recent years, thanks to the presence of one Sir Mo Farah.

Yep, Mo's back. And having finished in eighth place last time he ran in 2014, he'll be more determined than ever to be victorious this year and capture the long standing British record of two hours seven minutes and thirteen seconds. Will it be misery or the Mobot? Either way, TechRadar will tell you how to live stream all the Marathon action.

But the London Marathon isn't just about the so-called elite runners. It's the fun runners, wheelchair athletes and plethora of weird and wacky fancy-dress costumes that make the event so iconic. Around 40,000 people will be running today, the vast majority fulfilling long held dreams.

And the great news is that getting a live stream of the 2018 London Marathon is really easy, as the BBC has the rights to show it in all its glory - just as it has since the inaugural year in 1981. And even if you live outside the UK keep reading as we’ll show you how to stream the London Marathon 2018 from wherever you are in the world.

How to watch the London Marathon for free: UK stream

The BBC goes all out with its coverage of the national treasure that is the London Marathon. So if you're in the UK and you have a TV license, then you can catch it on BBC One from 8.30am all the way until 2pm as the last of the fun runners stumble passed the finish line.

If you're not in front of a television, then the iPlayer or BBC Sport app is the way to go for uninterrupted action and your pick of what to watch.

The other way to watch the BBC online is to go via TVPlayer.com, which doesn't require any sign ins and hosts all of the UK's free-to-air channels without having to worry about hopping around from site to site or app to app.

Stream the London Marathon anywhere else in the world for free

If you don’t happen to live in the UK don’t worry as you can watch the London Marathon on the BBC from anywhere in the world. Simply download and install a VPN to change your IP address to one in the UK and head over to BBC iPlayer or TVPlayer.com. Great news if no local broadcaster is showing it or it is but you don't fancy the annoyance of constant commercial breaks. Here's how to stream the London Marathon with a VPN: