London Marathon 2024 celebrity runners: all the famous faces to spot

The 2024 London Marathon is nearly upon us, and by that, we mean 50,000-odd of Britain’s fastest, gel-slurping elite will quite literally cover the streets as they set off to raise money for various charities and chase personal goals.

Like every year, we’ll see a few familiar faces dotting the sea of sweaty runners, faces with the power to illicit squeals amongst participants. Of course, we’re talking about celebs. 

They’ve been spotted training all over London. From Hyde Park to Battersea, Hampstead to Southbank, these athletes are gearing up for another special race this year. So who will we see at the starting line come April 21? These are the must-spot celebs and otherwise rather cool people taking part in this year’s gruelling course. 

Which celebrities are running the London Marathon 2024?

Phil Dunster

The Ted Lasso star who rose to popularity for his character’s no-nonsense, eyebrow-nick-worthy demeanour will be participating in this year’s London Marathon, proudly sporting a ‘Young Lives Versus Cancer’ tee. According to Dunster, the charity cemented a place in his heart when they helped his cousin’s family to cover their medical expenses and provided emotional support throughout a difficult time.

In a TCS press release, the actor said: ‘I’m equal parts excited and terrified... that I’ll be running the London Marathon this year. I want to raise as much as I can to help Young Lives vs Cancer social workers be there for more children like Rory and their parents.’

Natalie Pinkham

Pinkham is best known for her time on the sidelines of the action and can often be found reporting from the Formula 1 pit for Sky Sports F1. But now she’s traded her microphone for a pair of trainers, having committed to running the marathon for Samaritans, the 2024 TCS London Marathon’s Official Charity of the Year. 

According to Pinkham’s Instagram, she’s ‘excited aka bloody nervous’ to take part in her first marathon – but is training hard and is nearly ready for race day. You go girl.

Romesh Ranganathan

Britain’s favourite deadpan humorist is now giving fans something to take seriously as he prepares to run for Calm (Campaign Against Living Miserably), a suicide prevention program and hotline.

The comedian, who lost a friend to suicide, said: ‘It’s a sad fact that 125 people in the UK die every week as a result of suicide. And it’s something that I couldn’t in good conscience do nothing about. And so for that reason, I am running the London Marathon in order to raise as much money as I possibly can.’

Tom Grennan

This London-based singer-songwriter has been vlogging his running journey ahead of the TCS marathon – prompting a load of us to wonder what music he’s blasting on his cute little wired headphones. But since Grennan only started training with eight weeks to go, should we be worried? Chances are we’ll be able to watch his recap video and hear all about it, so watch this space.

Ruth Wilson

While she’s famous for her roles in shows like Jane Eyre and Luther, actress Ruth Wilson is also going to be making an appearance this Sunday – sweating out support for Alzheimer’s Research UK. After her father’s recent diagnosis, Wilson, her three siblings and nephew made the decision to run the marathon (and perhaps even beat their dad’s time of 3 hours and 15 minutes).

In a statement released ahead of lacing up, the family said: ‘Whether we run together or in healthy competition with each other is yet to be seen but with every step, Dad will be in our hearts, together with the hundreds of thousands living with this awful disease and those caring for them.’

Christopher Eccleston

And the star-studded runners don’t stop there. Christopher Eccleston, the actor and ninth incarnation of Doctor Who, will be swapping his TARDIS for a pair of trainers to tackle 26.2 miles of London streets, all in the name of The Big Issue. 

Emma Barton and Jamie Borthwick 

The iconic EastEnders duo will not only be taking part in this year’s marathon, but will be doing so in a very lights, camera, fast-paced-action way. 

Instead of participating as themselves, the two actors will be running as their characters, Honey Mitchell and Jay Brown, and will be filmed for a later episode. It’s still unclear if they’ll be supporting a charity, but we know that the two will be running to honour Jay’s late wife, whose character passed away from a brain tumour in last year’s unfolding.

Anoosheh Ashoori, the British-Iranian man falsely imprisoned for five years

Ashoori, who was famously unjustly jailed for four-and-a-half years in Iran, first made a name for himself by running the London Marathon in his prison uniform three years ago. This year will be his third go. He continues to credit the initial inspiration to Haruki Murakami’s book, What I talk about when I talk about running.

Aimi Battershall, the Cambridgeshire mum with a permanent brain tumour

Already a hero to her husband, kids, and community, Battershall has been living with a calcified brain tumour since 2018. Now, she’s taking to the streets in this year’s marathon to raise money for a very personal cause: aspiring to raise £2,700 for The Brain Tumour Charity.

ICYMI: Here’s our one-stop guide to all things London Marathon 2024

Plus, check out the marathon route map and work out where you’ll spot the celebs

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