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, the event shares the spotlight with Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, New York City and, beginning in 2025, Sydney.
Traditionally staged in April, the race was temporarily shifted to October for three years (2020‑2022) because of the COVID‑19 pandemic, but the spring slot has now been restored. For the 2026 edition, the wheelchair competition will kick off at 08:50 am on Sunday, followed shortly by the women’s elite field at 09:05 am. The men’s elite race and the mass‑participation start will then commence at 09:35 am. All competitors will line up at colour‑coded starting zones—Red, Blue and Green—situated in either Greenwich Park or Blackheath.
By the third mile, near Charlton, the separate streams converge into a single course that heads westward through Woolwich, skirts the historic Cutty Sark, and weaves through the docklands neighbourhoods of Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe. Runners reach the 20 km marker as they cross the iconic London Bridge.
From there the route turns east, taking athletes past the gleaming skyscrapers of Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs before looping back through the riverside districts of Shadwell and Wapping. The course then sweeps past Tower Hill, continues along the Thames embankment beside the London Eye, and offers a fleeting glimpse of Big Ben as participants approach Westminster.
The final stretch runs through St James’s Park, glides past Buckingham Palace and finishes on The Mall, delivering a dramatic conclusion in front of the royal residence. Organisers anticipate a record‑breaking turnout this weekend. After a historic ballot that attracted 1.13 million applications, more than 59 000 runners are slated to line up at the start.
The 2025 marathon set a previous high with 56 640 finishers—a figure that held the world record until the TCS New York City Marathon surpassed it with 59 226 finishers last November. Among the celebrity hopefuls, pop star Harry Styles does not appear on the official celebrity start list, yet fans continue to speculate about a possible covert entry.
Styles made headlines last year when he broke the three‑hour barrier at the Berlin Marathon and also completed the Tokyo Marathon in 2025, proving his endurance credentials beyond his musical career. Other high‑profile participants include four‑time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel, who is running to raise funds for the Brain & Spine Foundation and the Grand Prix Trust, and legendary jockey Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy, who will tackle his first marathon on behalf of the Matt Hampson Foundation. Olympians Dame Laura Kenny (supporting The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust) and Sir Ben Ainslie (advocating the 1851 Trust) are also confirmed, alongside former Arsenal captain Tony Adams (The Forward Trust), ex‑England cricketer Sir Alastair Cook (the Ruth Strauss Foundation) and former tennis pro Laura Robson (Give It Your Max). In a whimsical nod to popular culture, the cartoon character Daddy Pig will be represented both on screen and in the streets, with a runner dressed in a specially designed costume and an upcoming episode of the children’s series Peppa Pig featuring the marathon.
Additional celebrity entrants include actor Jack O'Connell (Alzheimer's Research UK), James Norton (Breakthrough T1D), and McFly drummer Harry Judd. A full roster of 2026 TCS London Marathon celebrities can be accessed via the official 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 competitive 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 and sporting greats 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.
Their involvement underscores the marathon’s status as a national celebration. The elite fields feature defending champions across all categories. In the women’s race, Tigist Assefa will lead after shattering the women‑only world 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 duel between Sebastian Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, who set the half‑marathon world record earlier this year.
Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto will also be in contention. In the wheelchair divisions, Marcel Hug aims to equal British Paralympian David Weir’s record of six London Marathon victories if he repeats his 2023 triumph, while Catherine Debrunner seeks to add another title after missing the course record by just two seconds in the previous year. Weather forecasts predict dry conditions with intermittent sunshine and light breezes on race day.
Temperatures should start around 10 °C (50 °F) at the gun and rise to a pleasant 17 °C (63 °F) by mid‑afternoon, offering ideal running conditions. 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 in the men’s wheelchair race and Debrunner’s three wins in the women’s wheelchair event over the last four years highlight the dominance of these athletes. Spectator numbers will be massive, with the sections around the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf expected to attract the densest crowds.
Runners can be tracked in real time via the official TCS London Marathon app, which allows fans 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 another generation of hopefuls the chance to join this historic event.