Watching London Marathon With Children

[chickpea4]

My husband is running in the London Marathon for the first time this year. He has done his fundraising, trained for it, and is ready to go. Myself and my two children (3 and 6) would love to cheer him on. We live in central London and plan to watch by Embankment as it will be easy for us to arrive there via tube. Any advice or things I should be aware of? I'm planning to bring loads of toys/books/snacks, check out the Embankment Gardens, and hit up Starbucks for a coffee for me and bribes (cookies) for the children.

He will not be running with his phone, and I believe I will be able to track him on the Marathon route by number, but debating whether to try and also meet up at the finish line. Also, I'm wondering if I should bring the pram in case it is a lot of people it might be easier to have younger child sitting, but will it be more of a hassle do you think?

Well done to your husband! I ran it a few years ago and it is still one of the best days of my life.

The embankment will be rammed and you may struggle to get to the front of the crowds. This might mean that your little one in the pram won't see much. A friend of mine went to Canary Wharf to cheer me on and I was so pleased to see her. Everything was starting to hurt by then, the crowds were really thin and it was in many ways the hardest bit of the run.

Wherever you decide to watch, make sure he knows where you'll be. I missed my husband and kids the first time around because the crowds were just too big to spot them.

I would advise your DH to run with his phone (unless he's going for a super quick time and thinks the phone will hinder that). It may be hard to find you afterwards otherwise - its crowded! It'll also mean that you'll be able to see where he is at any point if he shares his location with you on WhatsApp. London Marathon only track runners every 5km I believe.

We all met up afterwards on Horseguards Parade. He'll naturally feed into there after he gets his medal and bag.

Your kids could take sweets to hand out to the runners to pass the time while youre waiting for him to pass by and most runners love a loud cheer and a high 5!

Good luck to your DH!

Thanks for this advice @Hotcuppatea I actually think getting to Canary Wharf may be easier as I can can take the Lizzie Line from Paddington and be there in about 40 mins.

I might be overly ambitious but then it looks like its about 30 minutes via tube to Embankment... and then we'll meet up at the end.

Always go to two places. I always went to Jamaica Road and then to The Mall. There are so many great things to see. People in brilliant costumes. Have a great day. It gets very busy when you get close to the end so a buggy would be good. It’s brilliantly organised.

No advice but I hope you and the kids have a great day and your DH has a good run. Best of luck with finding a good spot!

I've not personally been but a few bits of advice I have seen elsewhere in recent days are don't rely on the marathon tracker as it's pretty unreliable, meet whoever you are supporting at the end somewhere as they may be feeling pretty unwell by that point (I saw the theatre where jersey boys was on recommend) and a good 'quiet area' to watch is Limehouse.

No advice but as a runner wishing your dh the very best
and hope you all enjoy it

runners love little kids giving out bowls of sweets and high fives if that is a possibility

I did Canary Wharf to Embankment to the Finish when my DH ran. I didn't have children with me though so it depends how good they are at navigating crowds and the tube.

I seem to remember that the different charities had 'stands' after the finish so we met him under the one for the charity he was running for.

Marathon complete and it was a success! Canary Wharf was very easy to navigate and we were able to see DH. We ended up skipping Embankment and going straight to his charity's after party - was such a great vibe down around Pall Mall and Leicester Square. We ended up taking the Elizabeth Line to beat the crowds at the stations - and I did bring the pram. It worked out well as my youngest actually had a nap for about an hour while waiting on daddy to run past! Thanks for everyone's advice.

congrats to your dh

Can I ask what station you got off at for when you headed to the finish / charity party please?