Runners reach the finish line at the 2018 London Marathon. Image: Faith Waddell

The 2018 London Marathon has been one for the record books.

Mo Farah came third in the men’s elite race with a new British record.

He finished in two hours, six minutes and 21 seconds, beating Steve Jones’ 33 year record.

Mo Farah was two minutes and four seconds behind Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge, who won the men’s elite race.

Mo Farah finished third at the London Marathon and set a new British record time of 2:06.22. #SSNpic.twitter.com/13IGB3P0y8

— Sky Sports News (@SkySportsNews) April 22, 2018

 

The women’s elite race saw Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot take first place with a personal best of 2:18:31.

Watch Vivian Cheruiyot win the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon!

What a performance.

Watch now on @bbcone and @bbcsport online.#LondonMarathon #SpiritofLondon pic.twitter.com/v49GeJpNM9

— London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 22, 2018

 

As well as speed, there were unprecedented numbers of runners this year.

2018 saw 40,255 people compete in the London Marathon, up by 768 from last year.

And, of course, the heat.

2018 was the hottest London marathon on record.

During the warmest #LondonMarathon ever, temperatures have now reached 24.1ºC at St James’s Park 🌡 The previous record was 22.7ºC in 1996, closely followed by 22.6ºC in 2007 🏅 pic.twitter.com/KFl7aRSLWP

— Met Office (@metoffice) April 22, 2018

The Met Office recorded temperatures of 24.1 degrees in St. James’s Park.

London Marathon runners sweat through record-breaking 24.1C heat https://t.co/0fd4gDO1p0 (Pic: Reuters) pic.twitter.com/IG5s6NDdD6

— ABC News (@abcnews) April 23, 2018

 

Most runners powered on despite the sweltering conditions.

Absolutely buzzing after my first London marathon! The heat was relentless,but we all love a challenge eh!! 😎#londonmarathonpic.twitter.com/G6mB9yv1Tf

— Steve’s gone running 🏃🏻‍♂️ (@mkrunner68) April 23, 2018

This year’s marathon was the most popular in the world, with 386,050 people applying.

As always, the atmosphere was uplifting and supportive.

Homemade signs cheer on friends and family. Image: Faith Waddell

Costumes hit record highs, too.

Of the 90 records broken on the day, most involved fancy dress!

Rob Pope set a new world record for his time of 2 hours 36 minutes dressed as Forrest Gump, the fastest time recorded for a competitor dressed as a film character.

This is incredible.

Rob Pope has run 15,348 miles in 409 days! 👏👏#LondonMarathon#SpiritofLondonpic.twitter.com/BitsGrPUqz

— London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) April 22, 2018

Mr Pope is running the route of Forrest Gump through America. He’s already covered over 15,000 miles.

Other fancy dress record wonders included:

• Amy Shadblot – the fastest marathon runner dressed as a vegetable (carrot)
• Tim Perkins – the fastest marathon runner dressed as a tree
• Victoria Bell – the fastest marathon runner dressed as an emoji (poo)
• Edward Low – the fastest marathon runner dressed as a padlock

The World Record for “fastest marathon as a vegetable” is now held by this carrot! Bravo, another @GWR at the #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/v4EY6vfwuD

— Virgin Money (@VirginMoney) April 22, 2018

@LondonMarathon we’re super excited that Tim Perkins is going to be attempting to beat @GWR for fastest marathon dressed as a tree to raise funds for @TheMoneyCharity pic.twitter.com/Va3vNcc2uM

— Nudge Global (@nudgeglobal) March 23, 2018

Delighted to have completed the @LondonMarathon in 4:18:06 and earning a @GWR for the ‘Fastest Female to Complete a Marathon Dressed as an Emoji’ whilst raising money for @WaterAidUK – Incredible experience! 💩 pic.twitter.com/MNqyl5tseK

— Vicky Bell (@vic_the_poop) April 23, 2018

Congrats and thank you to Edward Low – Ed raised money for us by breaking the Guinness World Record for ‘the fastest marathon dressed as a padlock’!
You can still donate to Ed and support our work here: https://t.co/pS7jt7qrSN #londonmarathon pic.twitter.com/Z071kUpkHU

— Down Syndrome Int. (@DSiupdate) April 23, 2018

You can see more spectacular costumes here.