Olympics August 5 (From Oxford Mail)

1:23pm

Gelana is going to win

1:20pm

Keitany is dropped with 1.3km to go

1:12pm

Less than 4km to go and the Africans are trying to drop Petrova

1:01pm

Maybe I spoke too soon. Russian Petrova leads now

12:55pm

Yamauchi was well enough to speak afterwards. Said she pulled out due to heel problem. Leaders have around 9km left and it is a straight shoot out between Kenya and Ethiopia

12:23pm

And the sun is starting to shine a little

12:18pm

Meanwhile, the leaders have gone through halfway in 1.13.13

12:16pm

Hoping to get more information on Yamauchi's injury. Keep checking this site.

12:14pm

11:32am

The weather is brightening up a bit as they go through 9km

11:24am

That is around 5.35-mile pace, which would give a finishing time of around 2.26. This will not be a quick race.

11:20am

Yamauchi goes through 5km in 17.26. She is already 6 secs adrift of leaders, but don't despair yet

11:09am

Still a big bunch at the front. May take time to settle down or maybe no one fancies a solo run in these conditions?

11:06am

I ran the Belfast Marathon in May and it pretty much rained throughout the race. That was disappointing. I wonder how these elite athletes feel?

11:04am

The compact course features 3 laps round central London, so the race could be quite tactical

11:00am

And they're off. Expect the winner to finish in around 2hrs 20mins

10:58am

Double London Marathon champion, Kenya's Mary Keitany, is the big favourite.

10:56am

They are lining up at the start. Come on Mara!

10:53am

It has cleared up a bit, but the umbrellas are well and truly out among the hardy supporters

10:26am

Oxford's Mara Yamauchi runs for Britain in the women's marathon at 11am. The rain is absolutely lashing down at the start/finish area on The Mall. Can they really start in this?