The additional presence of defending champion Amos Kipruto of Kenya, world champion Tamirat Tola of Ethiopia and - for the last time in a marathon - Britain’s multiple world and Olympic 5,000 and 10,000 metres champion Sir Mo Farah, means that the men’s race will be rich in quality.

But if anything the women’s race is even richer, and has been described by London Marathon event organiser Hugh Brasher as not only the greatest women’s marathon field in history but "arguably the greatest field ever assembled for a women’s distance race."

The only lurking worry for organisers with all this talent is the influx of an expected 28,000 environmental protesters into the capital over the weekend for planned protests in Westminster.

While Brasher reports that Extinction Rebellion members have agreed to "help guard" the event, the position of other activists, such as those representing Just Stop Oil, two of whose members disrupted play at last week's World Snooker Championship, is unclear. 

Ethiopia’s 23-year-old Yalemzerf Yehualaw, who became the youngest winner of the women’s race last year in running 2hr 17min 26sec, will defend her title against a fearsome field that includes Kenya’s Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir, her compatriot in world record holder Brigid Kosgei, and wild card Sifan Hassan of The Netherlands, the Tokyo 2020 5,000 and 10,000m champion who is making her debut at the distance.

The only dint in that shiny surface came with yesterday’s news that Britain’s Commonwealth 10,000m champion Eilish McColgan, whose mother Liz won the 1996 race - and, twice, the Commonwealth 10,000m title - had had to drop out of the race because of a knee injury.

Yehualaw was full of confidence in this week’s pre-event media conference, insisting she had come to retain her title and happy to target the women-only race world record of 2:17:01 set by Kenya’s Mary Keitany at the 2017 London race.

But in the October edition she didn’t have to deal with Jepchirchir and Kosgei, who are racing each other for only the second time following the Tokyo 2020 marathon, where Kosgei - whose world record of 2:14:04 was set at the 2019 Chicago Marathon - took silver.

Jepchirchir is running her first marathon since having to miss last year’s New York City Marathon on November 6 because of an injury to her gluteus muscle, but she was optimistic about the possibility of breaking the women-only race record in a race that starts at 9.25am BST, 35 minutes before the elite men and mass runners get underway.

Kosgei, who had to miss the 2022 London Marathon because of hamstring problems, was a more subdued presence at the media conference, saying: "Some weeks back I was suffering with my hamstring.

"Now it is not bad and that is why I decided to come here to race."

How the mercurial Hassan will run, no one knows - including, it would seem, Hassan herself.

"Maybe I will finish the marathon, or maybe the marathon will finish me!" she said, adding that she just wanted to see what happened and to complete the race.

"I don’t have any thoughts about times.

"I have been nervous for a month.

"I guess I’m scared of the marathon, I don’t know whether I will finish it or not.

"Sometimes I wake up and think ‘Why the hell do I decide to run a marathon?’

"Maybe if I run well I will consider another marathon at the end of the year."

Two other track champions, both from Ethiopia, are scheduled to race in the form of world 2015 1500m champion Genzebe Dibaba and Rio 2016 10,000m champion and former world record holder Almaz Ayana, who made the fastest women’s marathon debut in winning last year’s Amsterdam Marathon in 2:17:20.

On that day she finished 45 seconds ahead of compatriot Genzebe Dibaba, the 2015 1500m world champion and former world indoor record holder who is also in the London field.

In his pre-event media conference the defending men’s champion Kipruto, 30, said he would be seeking to break the London Marathon course record of 2:02:27 set by Kipchoge in 2019.

But his fellow countryman Kiptum could beat him to it.

Kiptum, 23, made the fastest marathon debut ever last December when he won the Valencia Marathon in 2:01:53 to become the third-fastest man in history over the marathon distance, behind Kipchoge and Bekele.

The latter, whose 2019 Berlin time of 2:01.41 was only two seconds shy of Kipchoge’s previous world record, is still a potentially significant force at the age of 40 and - if his hamstrings hold up - should not be underestimated.

Legese is another class act who will be in the mix, having run 2:02:48 in finishing second to Bekele in the 2019 Berlin race.

Other top-class talents in the men’s field include Kenya’s Geoffrey Kamworor, the three-times half marathon champion, and last year’s runner-up, Leul Gebresilase of Ethiopia.

Britain’s David Weir, who will compete in the men’s wheelchair race for a record 24^th time, is in fine form at the age of 43 after winning this month’s Paris Marathon.

But he admitted this week that Switzerland’s Tokyo 2020 champion Marcel Hug, who won a record sixth Boston Marathon title on April 17, taking a minute off the course record despite heavy rain, looks odds-on to equal his own feat of winning three consecutive London titles.

"Anyone who saw that race in Boston knows it was astonishing," said Weir.

"I think the rest of us are all battling for second and third, to be honest.

"Right now, I feel privileged just to be on the same podium with him."

In the women’s wheelchair race last year’s winner Catherine Debrunner of Switzerland, who made a big impact in her first marathon last year by winning in Berlin, will defend her title against a field including the 2022 runner-up, Susannah Scaroni of the United States.

The latter racer arrives with confidence high having earned her first win in Boston on April 17.

But the task will be tougher for these two given the return of the Swiss athlete who has won this race twice and took silver at the Tokyo 2020 Paralympics, Manuela Schar.

Only six months have elapsed since the last London Marathon with the event returning to its traditional pre COVID-19 April timing.