Tower Bridge is a great place to watch the action

Follow BBC Sport Online's insider guide to the best spots to stand and you'll be certain of a world-beating position.

Greenwich Park
The advantage of being at the start is that you'll be able to hear the starter's pistol and see the runners at their best - fresh-faced and full of energy - and the excitement in the air will be palpable.

But your cheers of encouragement will not play the crucial role they could at a later stage of the race - and the chances of spotting your friend in the pack as the runners pour by are slim at best.

Cutty Sark
Seven miles into the race, the runners have begun to spread out a little, and the bend of the course around the dry-docked tea clipper slows the faster ones enough to give spectators a great view.

The proximity of the Greenwich Foot Tunnel also means you can scoot under the Thames and catch your mate a second time as they loop back round and pass the 18-mile point.

The only problem is that the Cutty Sark has become an extremely popular point for spectators for precisely these reasons - so get there early to avoid being six people back from the barriers.

Runners come down the Mall towards the finish

Tower Bridge
Another point on the course where you can see the runners twice - once as they cross the bridge after 12 miles, and again as they come back past the Tower of London after 22 miles.

Most runners should get to Tower Bridge without a problem, but the 12-mile point is where a shout of encouragement will begin to make a difference.

By the time they cross the cobblestones at 22, they'll need every little piece of help you can give them.

The legs will be almost dead for most runners - this is the point where the body has used up pretty much all of its available carbohydrate resources.

The end is in sight in more ways than one.

Isle of Dogs
Not the most glamorous of locations, unless you're at the top of Canary Wharf - in which case you can watch the runners make their way from Tower Bridge through Shadwell and Limehouse from 800ft above the course.

But it is here that the crowds begin to thin out, and here that you'll get the best chance of being right at the front for a close-up look at the front runners or famous faces.

Because of the way the course loops around Canary Wharf, you can also catch the runners twice without having to walk very far.

Fans get closer to Antonio Pinto than rival runners

The Embankment
With 23 miles gone, the runners will be hurting.

But they'll also be spread right out and going about as slowly as they will at any stage in the entire race, so spotting your pal shouldn't be a problem.

Not that you should keep your cheers reserved for the people you know - many runners will be going through hell at this stage.

The Mall
Everyone's smiling at this point - it's the end of the road.

Great scenery while you watch the tired runners go by - you've got Buckingham Palace in the foreground and the Houses of Parliament in the background - means there's no mistaking which marathon this is you're watching.

You're also right next-door to Horse Guards' Road, where there are clearly-marked areas organised alphabetically by surname for you to meet up with your exhausted - but euphoric - running chums.