British astronaut Peake to start 2016 London Marathon

British ESA astronaut and digital marathon runner Tim Peake will be the official race starter of the 2016 London Marathon on Sunday.

Peake, who's currently orbiting the Earth on board the International Space Station (ISS), has recorded a good luck message to start the race which will be relayed via giant screens to runners gathered at the event's Blue, Red and Green Start Lines.

The message finishes with a 10-second countdown to 10:00 when 40 elite men and more than 37,000 mass race runners will set off on their journey from Shooters Hill in south east London to Westminster.

Earlier, Sylvia Disley, widow of the event's co-founder John Disley CBE and a 1952 Olympic relay medallist, will provide the more down-to-Earth send-off for the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup wheelchair and ambulant races, and for the elite women.

Peake, who's part of a European Space Agency program, will then embark on his own marathon mission when he straps himself onto the ISS treadmill to run the first ever London Marathon in space.

Peake completed the 1999 London Marathon at ground level in 3:18:50, but this year is aiming to become the first man to run a marathon in space. He will start at 10:00 on 24 April, just like his fellow runners on Earth. He will follow a virtual "mixed reality" video of the London Marathon course alongside avatars of other digital runners around the world who have also downloaded the London Marathon course in the RunSocial app. Endit