Man sprints to the start of the London Marathon to lead the race for a memorable 10 seconds

A man taking part in the London Marathon managed to lead the race for a 10 glorious seconds and social media is loving it.

The annual event is taking place in the very wet and rainy streets of the capital today (23 April) for the first time in the Spring since 2019.

The race is set to be the largest ever London Marathon, with thousands of people taking part. One man decided to make his mark on this year's race by whizzing past his fellow runners to the front of the pack.

That's one way to make an entrance!

He managed to hold his lead position for 10 whole seconds before other runners in the race overtook him. Regardless, the unknown man has now become a social media sensation.

Viewers watching the BBC's broadcast of the marathon were quick to notice the rather keen runner and they rushed to Twitter celebrate his achievement - which unfortunately came to a premature end.

One person tweeted: "Some guy at the start of London marathon sprinting past the elite athletes to have his moment leading the race, geeing up the crowd once for the full 10 seconds he was there #LondonMarathon."

BBC

Another viewer wrote: "Lol some d**k in the London marathon sprinting at the start to get in the lead for a few seconds. Aye son, eh led the London marathon back in the day."

Today’s race - the 43rd since its inception in 1981 - marks the first time since 2019 that the event has taken place in April. The 2020, 2021 and 2022 events were all delayed until the autumn due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Twitter/@li4mlufc

The 2023 London Marathon also marks the first time competitors in the mass participation event could register as non-binary.

The course is officially 26.219 miles long and is mostly flat. The runners began in Blackheath and crosses paths with landmarks like the Cutty Sark in Greenwich and Tower Bridge before heading east into Shadwell and Canary Wharf. Participants will see Embankment and the London Eye along the route.

The course runs parallel to St James’s Park before turning onto The Mall and finishing in front of Buckingham Palace.

Exactly 58,015 people signed up for the race this year - including the gentleman in the video above - with 90-year-old David Picksley being the eldest while Lana Dales, who turned 18 yesterday, being the youngest.