With 50,000 runners, being prepared is key if you’re trying to spot someone special
It’s very easy to track a loved one or celebrity during this year’s London marathon. The 26.2-mile run takes place on Sunday, April 26, and is expected to attract 800,000 spectators along the route to watch runners in all sorts of outfits and gear run for different charities.
If you’re going to be cheering someone on, or even just soaking up the ambience, it’s quite hard to look out for a sole runner in a moving group of 50,000. It’s easier to download the official London Marathon app – here you can track the live progress of any runner.
The 2026 London Marathon tracker app can be downloaded for iPhone and Android from the App Store and Google Play, respectively. Runners and fans can use it – but be warned that you can’t use the 2025 app, so delete it and use the current one.
Once the app is downloaded, head to the tracking section and search for a runner using either their name or their bib number. Then, press ‘add’ and they automatically appear on your tracking list. There’s no limit to how many people you can track.
You will get pinged whenever tracked runners hit a 5K split. It will also give you their predicted finish time, based on their current pace.
If your runner is carrying a phone, they may choose to share their live location – which is tracked via GPS rather than the chip attached to the bib – with up to three spectators. That way, these spectators can follow the runner’s progress continually, in real time, rather than just at the 5K splits.
The app will also include the Wayfinder feature, which enables spectators to identify when tracked participants are likely to reach specific landmarks along the route. Wayfinder offers detailed information about each landmark and gives spectators live directions to them, using public transport or on foot, via Google Maps or Apple Maps.
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