The London Marathon remains a cornerstone of the global running calendar, having first taken place in 1981. Over the past four decades the event has become synonymous with charitable fundraising, having generated more than £1.4 billion for a wide range of causes.
It is one of the six Abbott World Marathon Majors, a collection of the most prestigious 26.2‑mile (42.195 km) races in the world, alongside Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, New York City and, from 2025, the newly added Sydney Marathon. Traditionally scheduled for April, the race was temporarily shifted to October between 2020 and 2022 because of the COVID‑19 pandemic. For 2026 the classic spring timetable returns, with the wheelchair competition kicking off at 08:50 a.m. on Sunday.
The women’s elite field follows at 09:05 a.m., and the men’s elite as well as the mass‑participation start line open at 09:35 a.m. The 2026 route mirrors the historic course that runners have come to love. Participants line up at three colour‑coded start zones – Red, Blue and Green – situated in either Greenwich Park or Blackheath.
By the third mile, near Charlton, the three streams converge onto a single path that heads westward through Woolwich, skirting the River Thames and the historic Cutty Sark. The course then weaves through Deptford, Surrey Quays and Rotherhithe before reaching the 20 km marker at London Bridge.
From the bridge the race turns east, taking runners past the modern skyline of Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs. After a brief loop back through Shadwell and Wapping, the route swings northward past Tower Hill, crosses the river again at Blackfriars, and follows the Embankment. Runners enjoy iconic London landmarks on their left – the London Eye – while Big Ben looms ahead as they approach Westminster. The final stretch leads past St James’s Park, glides by Buckingham Palace and finishes on The Mall, offering a dramatic backdrop for the climax of the day.
Organisers anticipate a record‑breaking field this weekend. After a staggering 1.13 million ballot applications set a new world record for demand, more than 59 000 athletes are expected to line up at the start.
The 2025 edition produced a previous high of 56 640 finishers, a figure that was eclipsed only by the TCS New York City Marathon, which recorded 59 226 finishers last November. Fans have been speculating about pop star Harry Styles, who is not listed on the official celebrity start roster. Despite his absence, many hope the Grammy‑winning singer might make a surprise appearance, recalling his impressive sub‑three‑hour performance at the Berlin Marathon last year and his participation in the 2025 Tokyo Marathon.
Among the confirmed celebrities, four‑time Formula One world champion Sebastian Vettel is running to raise money for the Brain & Spine Foundation and the Grand Prix Trust. Legendary jockey Sir Anthony (AP) McCoy is tackling his first marathon on behalf of the Matt Hampson Foundation.
Olympians Dame Laura Kenny (supporting The Ectopic Pregnancy Trust) and Sir Ben Ainslie (backing the 1851 Trust) will also be in the mix, 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 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. 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 list can be found on the official marathon website. Sporting legends Sir Mo Farah and England women’s rugby star Ellie Kildunne will serve as the official starters for 2026. Farah returns to the London Marathon for the first time since retiring from elite 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. The elite field is stacked with defending champions: Sebastian Sawe, Tigist Assefa, Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner.
Assefa, who shattered the women‑only record en route to last year’s victory, remains the favorite despite Olympic champion Sifan Hassan withdrawing with an Achilles injury. The men’s race is likely to be a tactical battle between Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, the half‑marathon world‑record holder, with Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta and Kenya’s Amos Kipruto also expected to challenge for the title. In the wheelchair division, Marcel Hug aims to equal British Paralympian David Weir as the most successful London Marathon athlete if he repeats his fifth consecutive win. Catherine Debrunner returns after missing the course record by just two seconds last year and hopes to add another victory to her three‑win tally.
Weather forecasts predict dry conditions, with sunny spells and light breezes. Temperatures should start around 10 °C (50 °F) at the gun and climb to a comfortable 17 °C (63 °F) by mid‑afternoon, ideal 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 last year.
Hug’s five‑year dominance in the men’s wheelchair race includes a course record set in 2023, while Debrunner has claimed three of the last four women’s wheelchair titles. Spectators are expected to line the streets in the hundreds of thousands, with the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf sections drawing the largest crowds. Runners can be tracked in real time via the official TCS London Marathon app, which allows friends and family 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 opens at 09:00 a.m. on Friday, 24 April, and closes at 16:00 p.m. on Friday, 1 May, giving hopeful entrants another chance to secure a place in this iconic event.