It can take anywhere from two to 40 minutes to actually cross the line after the gun sounds because of the number of people filing through. You can also opt for the tried-and-tested “black bin bag” approach, if you have no clothes you’re happy to donate.

There will be charity collection points around the start so you can wear old clothes to stay warm and then give them away before you start. Even if the weather looks great it’ll still be chilly when you’re in your shorts and T-shirt waiting for the start. Once you’ve dropped off your bag at the race you’ll probably still have an hour or so to wait before you start running. Oh, and you'll probably need to go two or three times before the race starts.

Chances are by the time you make the front you’ll be grateful you did. Even if you don’t think you need to go, get into the queue when you can. That’s a lot of pre-race nerves, which leads to a lot of pre-race dashes to the Portaloos. More than 40,000 people will be running the London Marathon. You don’t want to be trying to access it on your phone as the signal strains under the demands of the crowds. Just make sure you download the final instructions to your phone before leaving for the start. In the past, runners received a magazine containing all the details you needed to get to the start line, including relevant train times-but in a bid to become more sustainable, the race organizers now email these details and put them on the event website.

London Marathon travel: How to get to the race.

On the way back time is less of an issue-but plan a route with minimal walking and stairs, obviously. And don’t underestimate how big Greenwich Park is-once you get there, you still have a pretty long walk to the starting area. Work out how much time you need, then double it to be safe. Public transport on both Transport for London and Southeastern trains is free with your race number (tip 4½: don’t forget your race number), but with huge crowds of people heading to the race, don’t let travel become a nightmare. Plan Your Routes To And From The Race Meticulously A sticking plaster over each nipple is also an excellent preventative measure to consider. It’s also useful for using as lip balm because breathing hard through your mouth, even on a warm morning, for 26.2 miles will chap your lips something rotten. You can tackle chafing in all sorts of ways-tight base layers and 2-in-1 running shorts are a good bet-but having a trusty tub of Vaseline is a time-honored solution.

Follow your favourite runners with the London Marathon tracker app.

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