The London Marathon has become a fixture of the global sporting calendar since its debut in 1981, and over the past four decades it has raised more than £1.4 billion for charitable causes. As one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors – alongside Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, New York City and, from 2025, Sydney – the event enjoys a reputation for both elite competition and massive public participation. Traditionally staged in April, the marathon was temporarily shifted to October between 2020 and 2022 because of the COVID‑19 pandemic.
For 2026 the race returns to its classic spring slot, with the wheelchair competition kicking off at 8:50 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the women’s elite field at 9:05 a.m. The men’s elite race and the mass‑participation start are scheduled for 9:35 a.m. All runners will line up at colour‑coded starting areas – Red, Blue and Green – located in either Greenwich Park or Blackheath.
By the third mile, near Charlton, the three streams converge onto a single course that weaves through Woolwich, skirts the Thames near the historic Cutty Sark, and then threads through Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe. At the 20 km mark participants cross the iconic London Bridge, after which the route veers east toward Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs before looping back through the bustling districts of Shadwell and Wapping.
Runners then pass Tower Hill, head toward Blackfriars, and follow the Embankment with the London Eye on their left and Big Ben ahead. The final stretch runs past Westminster, skirts St James’s Park, glides by Buckingham Palace and finishes on The Mall, offering a spectacular backdrop for the climax of the race.
Organisers anticipate a record‑breaking turnout this weekend. After a world‑record 1.13 million ballot applications, more than 59,000 athletes are expected to line up at the start. The 2025 edition saw 56,640 finishers, a figure that held the world record until the TCS New York City Marathon eclipsed it with 59,226 finishers last November.
The 2026 marathon will also feature a star‑studded roster of celebrity runners, each supporting a charitable cause. Four‑time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel will be in the field to raise money for the Brain & Spine Foundation and the Grand Prix Trust. Legendary jockey Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy will tackle his first marathon on behalf of the Matt Hampson Foundation. Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny will run for The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, while Sir Ben Ainslie backs the 1851 Trust.
Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams is running for The Forward Trust, ex‑England cricketer Sir Alastair Cook is supporting the Ruth Strauss Foundation, and former tennis professional Laura Robson will represent Give It Your Max. Even animated characters are joining the fun: Daddy Pig, representing the National Deaf Children’s Society, will appear both in a specially designed costume on the streets and in an upcoming episode of the children’s series Peppa Pig. Actors and musicians are also on board – Jack O'Connell (Skins) will run for Alzheimer’s Research UK, James Norton (House of Guinness) will support Breakthrough T1D, and Harry Judd of McFly will be in the lineup. A full list of celebrity participants can be accessed through the official marathon website.
The official starters for the 2026 race will be sprint legend Sir Mo Farah and rugby star Ellie Kildunne. Farah returns to the London Marathon for the first time since retiring from athletics in 2024, while Kildunne, a Red Roses Rugby World Cup winner, will be fresh from England’s Six Nations clash against Wales the day before. Past starters have included royalty such as Queen Elizabeth II, sporting icons like Sir Andy Murray, Leah Williamson OBE, Jill Scott MBE, Ellen White MBE, Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes.
In the elite categories, all four defending champions are back: Sebastian Sawe (men’s), Tigist Assefa (women’s), Marcel Hug (men’s wheelchair) and Catherine Debrunner (women’s wheelchair). Assefa leads the women’s field after shattering the women‑only record en route to her 2025 victory, though Olympic champion Sifan Hassan has withdrawn with an Achilles injury. The men’s race is expected to be a tight duel between Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, who set the half‑marathon world record earlier this year, with Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto also in contention. Wheelchair competition will be equally compelling.
Marcel Hug can equal British Paralympian David Weir’s record of six London Marathon victories if he repeats his 2023 win, while Catherine Debrunner seeks to improve on her near‑record performance from last year, having missed the course record by just two seconds. Weather forecasts predict dry conditions with sunny intervals and light breezes on race day.
Temperatures should start around 10 °C (50 °F) and climb to a pleasant 17 °C (63 °F) by mid‑afternoon, offering ideal running conditions. The current course records stand at 2:01:25 for men, set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, and 2:15:50 for women, set by Tigist Assefa in 2025.
In the wheelchair division, Hug’s 2023 victory also produced a new course record, and Debrunner has claimed three women’s wheelchair titles in the past four years. Spectators will line the streets in the hundreds of thousands, with the sections around the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf expected to be the most densely packed. Runners and fans alike can follow live updates via the official TCS London Marathon app, which provides real‑time tracking by name or bib number.
Looking ahead, the next edition of the marathon is scheduled for Sunday, 25 April 2027. The public ballot for the 2027 race will open at 9 a.m. on Friday, 24 April, and close at 4 p.m. on Friday, 1 May, giving hopeful participants another chance to join this iconic event.