1 / 9 arrow keys work too
Supporter Briefing · For Friends On The Day

Spectator top tips

Having people on the course is genuinely the best thing you can do for a runner, we're grateful for it. To make it work, organise yourselves before race day. From the start pen to the finish line we're unreachable: signal will be unreliable, the tracker only updates every 5 km, and our pace could slip ±30 min. This briefing gives you everything you need.

Race Day
Sun 26 Apr
Start Time
~10:30 (per runner)
02 / TL;DR If you remember nothing else
The whole briefing in five lines

Five things.
That's it.

  1. 01

    Install the app, add our bibs from the spreadsheet.

  2. 02

    Turn on location sharing with each other.

  3. 03

    (If you want) split into groups. Pick spots, add to the sheets.

  4. 04

    Agree a meet-up point.

  5. 05

    Do all of this before race day.

Optional: record a voice message for us to listen to mid-race: motivate Zaibaa · motivate JA.

02 / Tools Tracking options

How to track us

Official

TCS London Marathon app

Install it before the day. Add our bib numbers to your tracked runners (see next slide). You'll get push notifications as we cross each 5 km mat.

Limits: 5 km granularity, notifications can be delayed, the app can crash on race day under load.

Get the app
Peer-to-peer

Apple Find My (iPhone users)

You can use this with each others and with us. Let me know and we'll share our locations with each other before race day. This is a legitimate way to find each other in crowds when signal is patchy.

Try to set up by Wednesday 22nd April

The earlier the better.

03 / Resources The stuff you need saved to your phone

Save these.

All the shared info lives here. The spreadsheet is the source of truth.

Sheet

Bibs, pace, spectating spots

Shared Excel: bib numbers for everyone running, rough pace windows, and the candidate spectating locations with transport notes.

Open spreadsheet
Official

Course map & spectator guide

The official 2026 course map with mile markers, start pens, and the finish area. Look at this before choosing your spots.

Official route Spectator hub

Bib numbers — add these to the app

Runner Bib # Target pace window
José 55255 START: 10:23 || FINISH approx in 4:30–5:00h
Zaibaa 72952 START: 10:48 || FINISH approx in 4:30–5:00h
Katie 35855 START: 10:55 || FINISH approx in 4:30–5:00h

Full list and more info are in the spreadsheet.

04 / Geography Where to actually stand

A possible plan with
three cheer points.

These are the specific spots we've scouted. Gap between point 2 and point 3 is 2+ hours, plenty of time to eat, rest, or explore. Otherwise THIS is a great resource.

Cheer point 1 · Early race

Mile 9

Very close to Canada Water station. Gets busy, but there's a corner that offers a good view of the runners.

Cheer point 2 · Approaching Tower Bridge

Mile 11

Close to you, less crowded than Tower Bridge itself. After this, you're free to eat, explore, or rest until the final stretch.

Cheer point 3 · Late race

Just after Blackfriars underpass ~mile 24

Recommended last cheer point. Runners emerge from the underpass here. Nearest station: London Blackfriars (rail).

Finish area · Only if skipping Blackfriars

Horse Guards Parade

Post-race meeting points are alphabetically signposted along Horse Guards Road. Our letter is TBD — we'll share once we have it from the race pack.

Pick one: Blackfriars OR the finish

If you cheer at Blackfriars (mile 24), getting to Horse Guards in time is extremely difficult. Road closures and crowds make it nearly impossible to move fast enough. We tried spectating last year and couldn't make it. Choose the one that matters more to you.

05 / Self-Organising The bit that needs the most thought

Consider splitting into groups.

You may choose to be all together but if you're thinking of splitting in groups read here. Use the whatsapp group to coordinate, share locations, and ask for help on the day.

A sensible split looks like:

06 / Afterwards How we find each other

The finish area might be tricky.

It's chaos. Fences, baggage trucks, tens of thousands of tired runners, family reunion zones organised by surname letter. Don't agree to "just meet at the finish."

Process

What happens to me after I cross

I collect my medal, baggage, food, and walk very slowly through the finish funnel. Realistically that's 30–60 minutes before I'm out and mobile. I'll be on my phone once I have baggage back.

Reality check

We will be too tired to think clearly. Please don't plan anything that requires us to be sharp, walk far, or socialise with large groups in the first hour after finishing. A seat, food, and a quiet room is roughly the ceiling of what I can handle.

The plan after the finish:

Group photo

CHEEEZ Studio

Korean-style self-portrait photo booth at 130 Charing Cross Rd, WC2H 0LA (near Leicester Square / Tottenham Court Road). Walk-ins welcome, no booking needed.

Food

Honest Burgers

Pick a location, book it, and tell us where to show up. We will not be making decisions after 26.2 miles.

Covent Garden · Warren St · Leicester Sq