Held every year in the Excel Exhibition Centre, the main purpose of the London Marathon Expo is to get 30,000 or so runners registered for the London Marathon. As such the first thing you’ll see as you go in is runners queuing up with their entry info, and getting plastic kit bags, timing chips and other stuff in return. However you don’t have to be entered in the race to go. (And just to be clear, you can’t enter the race at the Expo: it’s registration for runners who already have an entry).

Entry to the Expo is free, and if you walk through past the registration desks, you’ll find yourself in the middle of a massive event, with hundreds of stalls. A good proportion are for charities. You’ll also find lots of stuff for runners: it’s a great place to find cheap running gear (including end of line shoes: but don’t wear them for the race…) and fuelling options (including lots of free samples of bars etc). A couple of years ago I got brand name running tights for a tenner, and last year a Runners’ World bum bag, that I’m still using, for a fiver. Or you could pick up a package deal holiday to one of the world’s other top marathons, or get your name printed on your running vest…

They also have the rather over-hyped pasta party (it’s really a canteen with a very limited menu and slightly expensive), though whether you buy or not it’s a good place to stop and watch the talks and films on stage. You’ll find places to have your gait checked (too late if you are running this year…), or find out your percentage of body fat. There’s also an area where you can get a massage for a reasonable fee (though none-runners should note that it’s a sports massage and will hurt!). There’s often also stalls demonstrating massage machines so you can grab a go on them.

The Expo is on Tuesday to Saturday of the week before London Marathon. Obviously many runners arrive on Saturday, so that is the busiest day by far, and you should go during the week if you can. It’s a short walk from Custom House on the DLR. Tickets for the tube are valid on the DLR, but if you use Oyster be careful to touch out: it’s easy to walk past the readers. Personally I’m planning on heading down there on foot, as part of my last long session before the Neolithic Marathon.

Use the tag ‘flm’ to find reviews along the London Marathon Course.