The London Marathon has been a staple of the global running calendar since its inaugural edition in 1981, and over the past four decades it has generated 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 is renowned for its high‑profile elite fields, massive public participation and iconic city‑scape route. Historically staged in April, the race was temporarily shifted to October for three years (2020‑2022) because of the Covid‑19 pandemic, but it will once again roll through the streets of London in its traditional spring slot.
This year’s schedule begins with the wheelchair competition at 08:50 a.m. on Sunday, followed by the women’s elite race at 09:05 a.m. The men’s elite and the mass‑participation start are slated for 09:35 a.m. The 2026 course returns to the classic layout that runners have come to recognize.
Participants line up at three colour‑coded starting zones – Red, Blue and Green – located in Greenwich Park and Blackheath. By the third mile, near Charlton, the three streams converge into a single path that heads westward through Woolwich, skirts the historic Cutty Sark, and then weaves through Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe. Around the 20‑kilometre mark the route passes the iconic London Bridge, before turning east toward the modern skyline of Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. After a loop around the Docklands, the race swings back westward, threading through Shadwell and Wapping, then past Tower Hill and along the Thames embankment.
Runners get a spectacular view of the London Eye on their left and the chimes of Big Ben ahead as they approach Westminster. The final stretch runs past the Houses of Parliament, through St James’s Park and by Buckingham Palace, before finishing on The Mall – a finish line that has witnessed countless record‑breaking performances and emotional moments.
Participation this year is expected to hit a new high. After a record‑breaking ballot that attracted 1.13 million applications, organisers anticipate more than 59 000 athletes will line up at the start.
The previous year’s finish‑line tally of 56 640 runners held the world record until it was surpassed by the TCS New York City Marathon, which recorded 59 226 finishers in November. The celebrity roster generates as much buzz as the elite competition. While pop star Harry Styles does not appear on the official celebrity start list, 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.
Other high‑profile entrants include four‑time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is running for the Brain & Spine Foundation and the Grand Prix Trust, and legendary jockey Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy, who is tackling his first marathon on behalf of the Matt Hampson Foundation. Olympic champions Dame Laura Kenny (supporting The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust) and Sir Ben Ainslie (backing 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 tennis star Laura Robson (Give It Your Max). In a whimsical twist, the cartoon character Daddy Pig will appear both on‑screen and in real life, with a costumed runner representing the National Deaf Children’s Society and an upcoming episode of the children’s series *Peppa Pig* featuring the marathon.
Actors and musicians are well represented too: Jack O’Connell (Alzheimer’s Research UK), James Norton (Breakthrough T1D) and McFly drummer Harry Judd will all take part. A full list of celebrity participants for the 2026 TCS London Marathon can be accessed on the official website.
The race will be officially kicked off by two British sporting icons – Sir Mo Farah and England women’s rugby star Ellie Kildunne. Farah returns to the marathon for the first time since retiring from track in 2024, while Kildunne, fresh from England’s Six Nations clash with Wales the day before, will join him at the start line. 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. On the elite side, defending champions Sebastian Sawe (men’s), Tigist Assefa (women’s), Marcel Hug (men’s wheelchair) and Catherine Debrunner (women’s wheelchair) will all be back to defend their titles.
Assefa currently 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 race is expected to be a tight duel between Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, who earlier this year set a new half‑marathon world record, with Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto also in contention. In the wheelchair division, Marcel Hug is on the brink of equalling British Paralympian David Weir’s record of six London Marathon victories if he repeats his 2023 win, while Catherine Debrunner seeks to improve on a near‑record performance that fell just two seconds short of the course record last year.
Weather forecasts predict a dry day with intermittent sunshine and light breezes. Temperatures should start around 10 °C (50 °F) at the gun‑time and rise to a pleasant 17 °C (63 °F) by mid‑afternoon, 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, set by Tigist Assefa in 2025. In the wheelchair categories, Hug’s 2023 triumph established a new men’s wheelchair record, 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 surrounding the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf traditionally drawing the largest crowds. Runners and fans alike can follow the race in real time using the official TCS London Marathon app, which offers live 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 another wave of hopeful participants the chance to secure a spot in one of the world’s most celebrated long‑distance events.