The London Marathon, a cornerstone of the global running calendar since its inaugural race in 1981, has raised more than £1.4 billion for charitable causes over its four‑decade history. As part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, it shares the elite company of Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, New York City and, from 2025 onward, Sydney.
Traditionally held in April, the event was temporarily shifted to October between 2020 and 2022 because of the COVID‑19 pandemic, but it has now returned to its spring slot. For 2026, the wheelchair competition will kick off at 08:50 a.m.
on Sunday, followed by the women’s elite race at 09:05 a.m. The men’s elite field and the mass‑participation start will then commence at 09:35 a.m.
Runners will gather at colour‑coded start zones—Red, Blue and Green—situated in either Greenwich Park or Blackheath. By the third mile, near Charlton, all the groups merge onto a single course that threads through Woolwich, skirts the historic Cutty Sark, and sweeps past Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe before reaching the 20 km marker at London Bridge.
From there the route heads east toward the modern skyline of Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs, loops back through Shadwell and Wapping, and then passes the iconic Tower Hill. Runners continue along the Embankment, with the London Eye on their left and the chimes of Big Ben ringing 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 concluding moments.
A detailed map of the course is available on the official marathon website. This year’s entry numbers are set to break all previous records. After a world‑record 1.13 million ballot applications, organisers anticipate more than 59 000 participants lining up at the start. The 2025 edition already set a high bar with 56 640 finishers—a figure that held the global record until the TCS New York City Marathon surpassed it with 59 226 finishers last November.
Among the celebrity runners, the roster is a mix of musicians, athletes and television personalities. While pop sensation Harry Styles is not listed on the official celebrity start, fans remain hopeful that the Grammy‑winning singer might slip in a surprise entry, especially after his sub‑three‑hour performance at the Berlin Marathon last year and his participation in the Tokyo Marathon in 2025. Four‑time Formula One World Champion Sebastian Vettel will be on the course to raise money for the Brain & Spine Foundation and the Grand Prix Trust.
Legendary jockey Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy is tackling his first marathon in support of the Matt Hampson Foundation. Olympians Dame Laura Kenny (benefitting The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust) and Sir Ben Ainslie (supporting the 1851 Trust) are also slated to run, alongside former Arsenal captain Tony Adams (The Forward Trust), ex‑England cricketer Sir Alastair Cook (the Ruth Strauss Foundation) and former tennis star Laura Robson (Give It Your Max). In a whimsical twist, the animated character Daddy Pig will appear both on screen and on the streets, with a runner dressed in a specially designed costume representing the National Deaf Children’s Society, coinciding with an upcoming episode of the children’s series Peppa Pig. Other notable participants include actor Jack O’Connell (Alzheimer’s Research UK), James Norton of House of Guinness (Breakthrough T1D), and McFly drummer Harry Judd.
A full list of the 2026 celebrity field can be accessed through the marathon’s official portal. 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 competitive athletics in 2024, while Kildunne, a Red Roses Rugby World Cup winner, will be on the course after playing in England’s Six Nations clash against Wales the previous day. Past starters have included Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Andy Murray, Lionesses captain Leah Williamson OBE, Jill Scott MBE, Ellen White MBE, Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes.
The elite races feature defending champions across all categories: Sebastian Sawe (men’s open), Tigist Assefa (women’s open), Marcel Hug (men’s wheelchair) and Catherine Debrunner (women’s wheelchair). Assefa leads the women’s field after shattering the women‑only marathon record en route to her 2025 victory, although Olympic champion Sifan Hassan has withdrawn with an Achilles injury.
The men’s elite showdown is expected to be a tight battle 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. In the wheelchair division, Hug could equal British Paralympian David Weir’s record of six London Marathon victories if he repeats his 2023 triumph, while Debrunner seeks to add a fourth title after missing the course record by just two seconds last year. Weather forecasts predict a dry day with intermittent sunshine and light breezes.
Temperatures should start around 10 °C (50 °F) at the opening gun and climb to a pleasant 17 °C (63 °F) by mid‑afternoon, providing ideal conditions for fast times. The current course records stand at 2:01:25 for men, set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, and 2:15:50 for women, achieved by Assefa in 2025.
Hug’s five‑year streak of men’s wheelchair victories includes a course record performance in 2023, while Debrunner has claimed three women’s wheelchair titles in the last four years. Spectators are expected to line the streets in the hundreds of thousands, with the sections around the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf drawing the largest crowds. Runners can be tracked in real time via the official TCS London Marathon app, which allows users to follow participants 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 09:00 a.m. on Friday, 24 April, and close at 16:00 p.m.
on Friday, 1 May, giving hopeful entrants another chance to join this iconic event.