British astronaut Tim Peake will be among thousands of people running the London Marathon today - but he will be doing it from hundreds of miles above Earth.
Mr Peake will complete the 26.2-mile route while strapped to a treadmill at the International Space Station while thousands of other competitors pound the streets of the capital.
The 44-year-old, who will see the roads underneath his feet in real time thanks to an iPad app, has recorded a good luck message for his fellow runners. It will be shown on a big screen with a 10-second countdown leading to the start of the race.
He has previous experience, having run the course in three hours, 18 minutes and 50 seconds in 1999.
The 36th London Marathon has seen more than 39,000 people allocated places and the one millionth competitor in the race's history will cross the finish line this weekend.
Other runners include Game of Thrones actress Natalie Dormer, competing for the NSPCC, Top Gear host Chris Evans for Children in Need, and Olympic athlete Dame Kelly Holmes aiming to raise money for a number of charities.
Iva Barr, 88, will be running in her 20th London Marathon, raising money for disabled children's charity Whizz-Kidz.
The Bedford resident likened the experience to "being at the centre of a big street party".
The youngest competitor is Rebecca Manners from Manningtree in Essex and she will turn 18 on race day, celebrating by running the path alongside her parents for charity VICTA, which supports visually-impaired children.
Earlier in the week snow had been forecast but, although the Met Office says this is now unlikely, that does not mean it will be warm: runners have been warned to wrap up, as a high of just 12C is forecast.
The races start at Blackheath and Greenwich Park from 8.55am and end on The Mall.
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