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London Marathon 2026: How to follow Sebastian Vettel, Alastair Cook, Aaron Ramsey, more

The London Marathon returns on Sunday with the usual array of elite athletes and fancy dress-wearing fun runners, but there is also a host of sports stars testing themselves against the famous 26.2-mile course -- and you can follow their progress.

A mix of former Olympians, an ex-Formula 1 driver and former football players will be running. The majority of them will be making their debut, but a former cricket legend will be returning to the streets of London.

Create your best and biggest banner, cheer on your favourite sports star, and you might even get a high-five.

The best way to track their progress is to download the London Marathon app on your phone and to search each of their allocated numbers below. You can then "follow" them and it will appear on your homepage. It will let you know where they are on their route and which mile they are on, along with their split times.

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An ex-F1 driver, England cricket legend and an FA Cup winner: The sports stars taking part

Sebastian Vettel -- Number: 45294

The four-time Formula 1 world champion will be taking part to help raise money for two charities -- Grand Prix Trust and the Brain and Spine Foundation.

The Grand Prix Trust provides support to F1's trackside and factory-based personnel and the Brain and Spine Foundation helps people affected by disorders of the brain and spine.

Vettel retired at the end of the 2022 season after he spent his last two seasons in the sport at Aston Martin.

Sir Alastair Cook -- Number: 44496

The former England cricketer participated in the 2025 event and is now back to do it all over again, but this time with his brother.

Cook, who retired in 2023, will be supporting the Ruth Strauss Foundation which focuses on diagnosis, treatment and cure of rare forms of lung cancer.

This charity was set up in the memory of the wife of his former fellow England opening batsman Andrew Strauss, who he ran the event with last year.

Aaron Ramsey -- Number: 42380

The former professional footballer and three-time FA Cup winner will be making his marathon debut.

The Arsenal midfielder will be running in support of It's Never You, which is a charity dedicated to helping parents of children with cancer.

Dame Laura Kenny -- Number: 55585

The five-time Olympic champion cyclist will be running in her first London Marathon. She will be supporting and raising money for The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust.

She retired in 2024 and has been open about her struggles and experience of a miscarriage and an ectopic pregnancy.

Sir Ben Ainslie -- Number: 18154

The four-time Olympic gold-medallist will also be making his marathon debut. The sailor retired from the Olympics after London 2012, but continued in other competitions such as SailGP, before handing the baton over to the younger generation in 2024.

He will be supporting the 1851 Trust, the education charity he launched to help raise money to inspire young people through sailing.

Sir Anthony "AP" McCoy -- Number: 47950

The jockey legend will be raising money for the Matt Hampson Foundation in support of his friend and former rival Graham Lee, who had a fall in 2023 paralysing him from the neck down.

McCoy, who won the Grand National in 2010, will be running his first ever marathon.

What time does the London Marathon start and can you watch it?

On Sunday, the day kicks off at 8.50 a.m. BST with the elite wheelchair races [men and women], the elite women's following, and the elite men's starting 30 minutes later.

You can watch the London Marathon on BBC One from the start of the race and it will then move to BBC Two from 2 p.m.