When you’ve invested months training for a marathon it can be disheartening when the weather intervenes on race day to make life harder for you. That’s one reason most major marathons are scheduled for spring and autumn, when milder conditions are more likely—and, at the moment, mild conditions are what runners are forecast to enjoy at the London Marathon 2024.
I’m running the London Marathon this year and my maranoia has meant that I’ve been checking the forecast for over a week and conditions have been improving day by day. Early on it looked set to be quite hot, and while the wind forecast was weak, it was going to be a headwind for long stretches of the race.
This has all changed in the past few days, with the temperature forecast dropping, and the wind direction changing to either be blowing from the north, which is not really a factor aside from when running over Tower Bridge, or the north-east, which could mean a handy tailwind at times when running from west to east, such as in the final few miles of the race.
The BBC is predicting light clouds and light winds from the north-east, with a temperature of between 9°C (48°F) and 12°C (54°F). The Apple weather app concurs with the BBC forecast, while the Met Office predicts slightly heavier cloud cover at the start, as well as giving a predicted humility of 50-66% throughout the day.
Whatever the final forecast is leading up to the day, the British weather can be changeable, so I’d recommend making sure you have warm, waterproof clothes to wear at the start. You can take old clothes you’re happy to donate in the bins provided around the start line, or use a black binbag to keep yourself warm and dry while waiting in the start area. Another option is to get a cheap waterproof poncho. Here’s the Amazon UK search page with next-day delivery selected. You’re welcome.
Whatever you do use, make sure to pop it into a bin rather than discarding it on the floor for the runners behind you to trip over. It’s already crowded and chaotic enough at the London Marathon start line without having to worry you’re going to get tangled up in a disposable poncho.
