Men in chicken suits, absurdly tight Lycra, the odd celebrity and tens of thousands of spectators are welcome.
But one former priest is not.
Cornelius Horan, 57, who flattened a Brazilian runner by leaping out of the crowd at the Athens Olympics, will be prevented from a similar lunge at this year's London marathon after a court imposed an anti-social behavior order (Asbo) on him this week.
The former Catholic priest will face a lengthy prison sentence if he flouts the Asbo, which was sought by police and prevents him from going near the route of the April 17 race, even when it passes close to his home in Southwark, south London.
Dressed in a kilt and beret, Horan gained notoriety when he jumped on to the track at the Olympics last year and bundled over leading runner Vanderlei De Lima.
`Second coming'
He told police he was disrupting the race to "prepare for the second coming."
The County Kerry-born former priest received a suspended sentence for his Athens stunt. He earlier picked up a two-month jail sentence in Britain when he sprinted across a track at Silverstone during the 2003 Grand Prix.
But he was foiled by police at last year's London marathon after clambering over a barrier in the Mall just as the Kenyan runner Margaret Okayo was passing.
The Asbo bars him from entering any boroughs along the route on race day apart from Southwark, where he will not be allowed to enter a prescribed exclusion zone.
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