The London Marathon has been a fixture on the global athletics calendar since its inaugural run 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 regarded as one of the most prestigious 26.2‑mile (42.195 km) contests in the world.
Historically staged in April, the race was temporarily shifted to October for the 2020‑2022 editions because of the COVID‑19 pandemic. For 2026 the organizers have reverted to the traditional spring timetable, with the wheelchair competition kicking off at 08:50 am on Sunday, the women’s elite field departing at 09:05 am, and the men’s elite and mass‑participation waves setting off at 09:35 am.
The 2026 course follows the classic London Marathon route. Runners will line up in three colour‑coded corrals – Red, Blue and Green – at either Greenwich Park or Blackheath. By the third mile, near Charlton, the three streams converge onto a single path that threads through Woolwich, skirts the Thames and passes the historic Cutty Sark. The route then weaves through Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe before reaching the 20 km marker at London Bridge.
From the bridge the course turns eastward, heading toward the modern skyline of Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. After a brief loop back through Shadwell and Wapping, the runners cross Tower Hill, glide past the iconic Blackfriars Bridge and continue along the Embankment. The London Eye will be on the left, and the chimes of Big Ben will echo ahead as the athletes approach Westminster and St James’s Park. The final stretch takes them past Buckingham Palace and down The Mall, culminating in a triumphant finish on the historic thoroughfare.
This year’s entry numbers are set to break records once again. After a staggering 1.13 million applications were received in the public ballot – a world‑record figure – organisers anticipate more than 59 000 participants will line up at the start.
The previous year’s finish‑line tally stood at 56 640, a record that held until the TCS New York City Marathon eclipsed it with 59 226 finishers in November. Fans have been speculating about pop‑star Harry Styles, who is not listed on the celebrity start roster. Despite his absence, many hope the Grammy‑winning singer might slip in a surprise entry, especially after he broke the three‑hour barrier at the Berlin Marathon last year and completed a marathon in Tokyo in 2025. Among the confirmed celebrity runners are four‑time Formula One champion Sebastian Vettel, who is raising money 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 gold‑medallist Dame Laura Kenny will run for The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust, while Sir Ben Ainslie backs the 1851 Trust. Former Arsenal captain Tony Adams is supporting The Forward Trust, ex‑England cricketer Sir Alastair Cook is representing the Ruth Strauss Foundation, and former tennis pro Laura Robson is fundraising for Give It Your Max. In a whimsical twist, the animated character Daddy Pig will appear both on‑screen and in the streets, with a costumed runner joining the race to promote the National Deaf Children’s Society. 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 celebrity lineup can be accessed through the official marathon website. The official starters for the 2026 edition will be distance‑running legend Sir Mo Farah – returning for his first London Marathon since retiring from elite athletics in 2024 – and Red Roses Rugby World Cup champion Ellie Kildunne, who will be fresh from England’s Six Nations clash against Wales the day before.
Past starters have featured royalty and sport icons such as Queen Elizabeth II, Sir Andy Murray, Lionesses captain Leah Williamson OBE, Jill Scott MBE, Ellen White MBE, Sir Steve Redgrave and Dame Kelly Holmes, underscoring the event’s broad cultural appeal. The elite fields are stacked with defending champions: Sebastian Sawe (men’s), Tigist Assefa (women’s), Marcel Hug (men’s wheelchair) and Catherine Debrunner (women’s wheelchair). Assefa entered the race as the women‑only world‑record holder after her record‑breaking performance last year, though Olympic champion Sifan Hassan withdrew with an Achilles injury.
The men’s race is expected to be a tight duel between Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, the half‑marathon world‑record holder, with Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto also in contention. In the wheelchair division, Marcel Hug aims to equal British Paralympian David Weir’s record of six London Marathon victories, while Catherine Debrunner seeks another win after missing the course record by just two seconds in 2025. Weather forecasts predict a dry day with intermittent sunshine and light breezes.
Temperatures should start around 10 °C (50 °F) at the gun and climb to a pleasant 17 °C (63 °F) by mid‑afternoon, creating ideal conditions for fast times. The current men’s course record of 2:01:25 was set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, and Tigist Assefa’s 2:15:50 from the previous year remains the women’s benchmark.
Hug’s five‑year streak in the men’s wheelchair and Debrunner’s three wins in the last four years illustrate the dominance of these athletes on the London course. 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 supporters 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 am on Friday 24 April and close at 16:00 pm on Friday 1 May, giving hopeful entrants another chance to secure a place in this iconic event.