'After 23 miles of sheer hell': John Barnes to help marathon runners

There will be a familiar face to greet the 56,000 runners during tomorrow's London Marathon, just when their legs are heavy and their mouths desert-dry: at mile 23, the former England footballer John Barnes will be handing out drinks and revelling in a near-perfect day, with the race expected to break the world record for the most finishers and his former club Liverpool likely to win the Premier League.

- Sean Ingle

"It's going to be great," he says. "I'll be handing out Lucozade bottles at mile 23 as they're the longest-serving partner of the London Marathon, having worked with them for 24 years. From a charity point of view the race raises a lot of money, and for promoting fitness and mental health it's also fantastic. And hopefully we'll have 56,000 finishers, which will break the record of 55,646 held by New York."