Rain or shine for the London Marathon?
As the weekend approaches, thousands of people are gearing up to take part in this year’s London Marathon. Given the enduring 26.2 mile course that runners have to complete, the weather has a big influence on how tough their experience will be.
Hot, humid weather would not be welcome as it puts extra strain on the body causing an increased rate of sweating and potential dehydration.
Also, humid air struggles to soak up any excess moisture, meaning that sweat doesn’t evaporate readily, reducing the body’s natural cooling mechanism.
At the other end of the spectrum, cold weather can be problematic when runners are waiting to set off at the starting line, as they struggle to keep warm whilst being stationary.
Ideal weather for running a marathon would be a typical spring day in the UK – dry with a light breeze, relatively low humidity and a temperature around 12-15C.
Before I come on to what the weather will offer runners and spectators this year, I thought I’d take a look back at the extremes of weather on London Marathon days in the past.
Past London Marathon weather
With April being a spring month, there’s a huge range of weather that can be experienced here in the UK as warm and cold air battle it out on our shores.
The hottest marathon days occurred in 1996 and 2007, when the temperature reached 22.2C in the sunshine.
Both the coldest and wettest marathon day was in 2004, when the temperature struggle to just 5.3C and 12.4mm of rain fell, accompanied by a cold wind.
The sunniest marathon day was in 2009, when there was 12.3 hours of sunshine bathing the capital.
2013 London Marathon weather
The weather for this year’s marathon is looking promising – especially for the runners, with a ridge of high pressure hanging on across south east England.
It will be a dry, cool morning, with spells of sunshine. The best of the sunshine will be early on, with cloud gradually increasing through the afternoon, but staying dry.
Temperatures will be around 2C at 6am, 6C at 9am, 11C at midday and peaking at 13C mid-afternoon, with humidity generally around 50-60 percent.
The wind will be south westerly at around 3-8mph, increasing to 8-12mph in the afternoon, with occasional gusts up to 17mph.
Don’t forget, you can get the latest weather forecast on the Channel 4 Weather website. I’ll also be giving occasional updates on Twitter – @liamdutton
Historical weather data: Met Office