Too lazy to get off your backside, spend months training and then run 26 miles through the streets of London? Shame on you.

If you’re taking the easy option on Sunday and not running the London Marathon you might instead be watching it from the comfort of your sofa in your PJs with a cup of coffee in your hand.

If that’s you, you could watch it through a sleepy Sunday morning haze not really knowing what’s going on. Or you swot up a bit so you know the basics of what to expect during the several hours of coverage from the BBC – cue our couch potato’s guide to the London Marathon.

The favourites

The men's favourite, at odds of 5/2 from William Hill, is defending champion Wilson Kipsang from Kenya, who won the marathon last year (when he broke the course record with a time of 2:04:29) and in 2012.

Female favourite at 9/4 is Mary Keitany, also from Kenya, who won the women's race in 2011 and 2012.

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Look out for one of the British men's favourites, Steve Way, with odds to win from William Hill of 150/1. Back in 2007, he was a smoker weighing more than 16 stone. Last year, he was selected to run for England in the Commonwealth Games. There's hope for us all!

The celebs

Formula 1 star Jenson Button will be running to raise money for Cancer Research UK.

Call The Midwife actress Helen George (Trixie Franklin) is taking part for Macmillan Cancer Support, and BBC Radio 1 DJ Greg James says his "legs have been aching since Christmas" as a result of his training in aid of the Lord's Taverners sports charity.

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Emmerdale's Tony Audenshaw (who plays Bob Hope) is running his 15th London Marathon (and his 45th marathon in total) for Leukaemia & Lymphoma Research.

The novelty outfits

Watch out for first-time marathon runner Gemma Kirkham from Bedford, who's running in a giant picture frame as the Mona Lisa, and Natalie Eckert from Stoke-On-Trent, who'll be taking part in stilettos (just imagine the blisters!).

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Jerry Knox from Los Angeles will be attempting to reclaim his Guinness World Records title for fastest marathon dribbling two basketballs.

The bride and groom

London couple Laura Harvey and Paul Elliott will be hoping they get to the church on time - as they'll be breaking off halfway through their run to tie the knot.

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They must cover the first 12.5 miles in less than two hours and 35 minutes, then attend their 45-minute wedding ceremony before hitting the road again while their guests tuck into lunch before watching the newlyweds run past again at the 22-mile mark.

Once they cross the finish line, they'll head off to enjoy their wedding reception. As for outfits, the bride plans to wear a tennis dress gown while her groom will don a top hat.

The politicians

Five MPs will be taking a break from election campaigning to run the marathon (although Parliament dissolved on March 30, meaning they'll be running as members of the public).

Four Conservative MPs - Edward Timpson, Alun Cairns, Graham Evans and Richard Drax will take part along with Labour's Dan Jarvis.

The everyday heroes

Among the countless heart-warming stories are Margaret Sinclair, running to raise money for the Childhood Eye Cancer Trust, which has supported her grandson Zach in his fight against retinoblastoma and pineoblastoma, and siblings Rosie, Ella and Will Martin, whose mother Sand died last year after being diagnosed with ovarian cancer. They'll be running to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.

Jane Sutton will be running her first ever marathon to raise money for the Teenage Cancer Trust. She was inspired to get involved by her late son Stephen, who touched the nation's hearts when he wrote a 'bucket list' of things he wanted to achieve and raised millions of pounds for the charity, before he passed away last year aged 19.

What will you be doing on marathon day? Are you taking part, will you be a spectator, are you planning to watch it on TV? Teell us in the comments below – and we’d love you to share photos on the day using our online form or on Twitter at @local_london