The 43-year-old, who has competed at every Olympic Games since Sydney 2000, will be part of the elite field in the women’s race at the iconic event which is due to take place on April 23.

Pavey, who became the oldest female gold medallist at the European Championships when she topped the 10,000 metres podium at Zurich in 2014, has not run the race around London’s streets since 2011.

Speaking about entering the marathon, the mother-of-two said her targets were to clock a personal best and also qualify for the IAAF World Championships in August, which are also being hosted by London.

"I have been thinking about doing a marathon again for the past few years and for a British athlete, the London Marathon with the amazing home crowds and the iconic course is the pinnacle," Pavey said.

"I would love to qualify for the World Championships in London.

"I know it’s a tough ask, but it is an exciting challenge to think about the possibility of representing my country over distances from 1,500m right up to the marathon."

To qualify for the World Championships, Pavey will have to clock a time of or better than 2 hours 36 minutes and be in the top two British finishers.

She will be part of a strong field which features the reigning Olympic marathon champions Jemima Sumgong of Kenya, who also won in London last year.

Ethiopian duo Mare Dibaba and her namesake Tirunesh are also heading to London.

In the men’s race, Britain’s Tsegai Tewelde has been added to the elite field.