Records fall at this year's London Marathon

LONDON, April 23 (Xinhua) -- A total of 40,255 runners completed the London Marathon after record number of participants left the starting line of the London Marathon on Sunday morning.

It is the first time that the London Marathon has registered more than 40,000 finishers during the hottest race day on record, beating last year's record total by 768 runners.

41,003 runners set off on the 42.195-kilometer journey from east London's Blackheath to Westminster at 10:00am on Sunday morning. The runners were sent on their way by the Queen, who pushed the event's red button in front of Windsor Castle as a hooter sounded over the heads of the men's elite field.

Eliud Kipchoge of Kenya became the first person to finish the race and became only the third three-time men's champion and cemented his status as the king of the roads. Kipchoge clocked a time of 2:04:17 and the women's race was won by his compatriot Vivian Cheruiyot who finished with a time of 2:18:31.

There were 34 Guinness world records as runners cautiously braved temperatures of up to 24 degrees Celsius in all manner of fancy dress costumes.

Among them was Rob Pope, who set the record for the fastest marathon in a film costume as he took to the streets of London dressed as Forrest Gump and clocked a near-elite time of 2:36:28.

Women's running pioneer, 71-year old Kathrine Switzer, completed her first London Marathon with a time of 4:44:49. The oldest runner of all, Samuel Starbrook, 87, was some way back with a time of 8:21:44. Enditem