This week’s London Marathon claims to be the biggest and most inclusive marathon in history thanks to technology from Tata Consultancy Services (TCS).

The official 2021 Virgin Money London Marathon app was designed and built by TCS and available to download from the iOS App Store and Google Play Store.

This year’s event was the first London Marathon to include more than 40,000 participants on the historic London course and an additional 40,000 taking part virtually from across the world via the app. This approach to mass participation events means this year’s event was the biggest, and most inclusive, marathon in history.

The app lets users track an unlimited number of participants, so they can follow all their friends, family and even celebrities and elite athletes on the interactive course map. They received live updates every five kilometres, to get to the best viewing points throughout the event. And they could donate directly to participants’ Virgin Money Giving fundraising page.

For those participating in the virtual event, the app let them earn their medal, digital certificate and the chance to share an official finish-line selfie with their event stats. It brought the virtual experience to life, with an exclusive audio commentary featuring famous voices, providing a memorable soundtrack to the day. The sound of a cheering crowd was triggered at intervals to motivate participants to cross the virtual finishing line.

Participants could name two supporters who would be able to see their live location, and all supporters would be able to see their progress mapped on the London course.

Virtual participants could try the app before starting their event, for a 5km practice run.

Last year, while elite athletes raced around a loop course in St James’s Park, all other participants took part virtually. This saw people around the globe take on the 42km on a course of their choice on the day, using the app powered by TCS, to register their time.

Following this year’s event, TCS has taken over the title partnership with a six-year partnership covering the 2022 to 2027 London Marathons. A key part of TCS’s role will be to use technology to enhance the marathon experience, promote a healthy lifestyle and amplify one of the founding pillars of the London Marathon to show the family of mankind can be united.

“We are excited to get back to the in-person event because nothing comes close to the energy and exhilaration of tens of thousands of runners and spectators coming together as a community,” said Amit Kapur, head of TCS in the UK and Ireland. “That said, a combined approach will be the way forward for global marathons because it democratises access, enabling people from across the world to participate in iconic events like the London Marathon no matter what their location or circumstance. In the latest edition of the marathon app, we have tried to further enhance the experience for runners as well as spectators in both forms of participation.”

Hugh Brasher, event director of London Marathon Events, added: “The app is a vital part of this year’s inaugural combined event experience. Our campaign this year is We Run Together and the app enables participants to connect whether they are in London or anywhere across the globe. We have had a great experience with TCS, which has provided the technology for the official app for the last five years, and we’re looking forward to their new role as title partner in 2022 and beyond. Having a technology company as the headline sponsor in the future means we’ll benefit from the latest technology and allows us to grow our digital reach. This means we can inspire millions more to become active, as well as raise more for charities.”

TCS has been the technology partner of the London Marathon since 2016 and developed the official event app, which provides participants and spectators with the fullest experience. Over these past five years, the marathon app has been progressively enriched with more features and functionality, including support for the first ever virtual marathon in 2020. The app has steadily grown in popularity, setting a world record in number of downloads in 2019.