The London Marathon is an annual marathon held in London, England. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to October for 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The largely flat course is set around the River Thames, starting in Blackheath and finishing at The Mall. Hugh Brasher (son of Chris) is the current race director and Nick Bitel its chief executive.
The race has several components: it has a mass race for the public, professional races for men and women long-distance runners, elite-level wheelchair races for men and women, and a 3-mile mini marathon event for under-17 athletes. In 2026, London Marathon Events launched a collaboration with Friday Night Lights, a paid-for 5km run at Battersea Park on the Friday prior to the marathon.
There is a significant charity running aspect to the marathon, with participants helping to raise over £1.4 billion since its founding.
Since 2006, the elite race has been part of the World Marathon Majors, which includes seven of the world's top level marathon races. The London Marathon has seen the marathon world record broken on seven occasions: Khalid Khannouchi broke the men's record in 2002, and Sabastian Sawe notably broke the 2 hours barrier in 2026, while women's records have been broken by Grete Waitz (1983), Ingrid Kristiansen (1985), Paula Radcliffe (2002, 2003, 2005) and Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (2017). The current elite course records are held by Sabastian Sawe (1:59:30 in 2026) and Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25 in 2003). The current wheelchair course records are held by Marcel Hug (1:23:44 in 2023) and Catherine Debrunner (1:38:24 in 2022). The race often has a title sponsorship, it has been branded the "TCS London Marathon" since 2022.
Editions Edition Date Applicants Accepted Starters Finishers Charity raised(£ millions) Official charity1 29 March 1981 20,000 7,747 7,055 6,255 2 9 May 1982 90,000 18,059 16,350 15,116 3 17 April 1983 60,000 19,735 16,500 15,793 4 13 May 1984 70,000 21,142 16,992 15,675 5 21 April 1985 83,000 22,274 17,500 15,873 6 20 April 1986 80,000 25,566 19,261 18,067 British Sports Association for the Disabled (autistic)7 10 May 1987 80,000 28,364 21,485 19,586 Farnham Park Trust8 17 April 1988 73,000 29,979 22,469 20,932 SportsAid9 23 April 1989 72,000 31,772 24,452 22,701 The Evelina Family TrustSpecial Olympics10 22 April 1990 73,000 34,882 26,500 25,013 Battle of Britain AppealCommunity Action Trust11 21 April 1991 79,000 33,485 24,500 23,435 Action on AddictionRoyal Marsden Cancer Research12 12 April 1992 83,000 34,250 24,500 23,833 Guy's HospitalEvelina London Children's HospitalTuskforce13 18 April 1993 68,000 35,820 25,000 24,495 St John AmbulanceSnowden Award Scheme14 17 April 1994 72,000 37,379 26,000 25,242 British Heart FoundationChildline15 2 April 1995 79,000 39,097 27,000 25,377 Leonard Cheshire DisabilityCancer Relief Macmillan16 21 April 1996 68,000 39,173 27,134 26,806 British Heart FoundationNational Asthma Campaign17 13 April 1997 78,000 39,813 29,500 29,189 British Heart FoundationNSPCC18 26 April 1998 96,000 42,228 30,663 29,972 Age ConcernDiana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fund19 18 April 1999 87,000 43,774 31,582 30,849 Whizz-KidzLeukaemia Research20 16 April 2000 93,000 42,596 32,620 31,698 Mencap21 22 April 2001 92,000 43,517 31,156 30,318 MS Society22 14 April 2002 99,000 46,083 33,297 32,950 Outward BoundFCWL23 13 April 2003 111,000 45,629 32,746 32,324 Shelter24 18 April 2004 108,000 45,219 32,746 32,012 SenseBritish Heart Foundation25 17 April 2005 132,000 47,969 35,600 35,300 Help the Hospices26 23 April 2006 119,000 47,020 33,578 33,250 The Stroke AssociationAnthony Nolan27 22 April 2007 128,000 50,039 36,396 35,729 46.5 WellChild28 13 April 2008 120,000 48,630 35,037 34,637 46.7 Heart UKSpinal Injuries Association29 26 April 2009 155,000 49,995 35,884 35,404 47.2 The Children's Trust30 25 April 2010 163,000 51,378 36,956 36,666 50.6 CLIC Sargent31 17 April 2011 163,926 50,532 35,303 34,872 51.8 Oxfam32 22 April 2012 170,150 50,200 37,227 36,812 52.8 Prostate Cancer Charity (now Prostate Cancer UK)(Breast Cancer Care)33 21 April 2013 167,449 48,323 34,631 34,381 53.0 YouthNetAge UK34 13 April 2014 169,682 49,872 36,337 35,977 53.2 Anthony Nolan35 26 April 2015 172,888 51,696 38,020 37,793 54.1 Cancer Research UK36 24 April 2016 247,069 53,152 39,523 39,140 59.4 NSPCC37 23 April 2017 253,930 53,229 40,048 39,487 61.5 Heads Together38 22 April 2018 386,050 54,685 40,926 40,220 63.7 Teenage Cancer Trust39 28 April 2019 414,168 56,398 42,906 42,549 66.4 Dementia Revolution40 4 October 2020 457,861 77 77 61 Mencap41 3 October 2021 36,401 35,596 Macmillan42 2 October 2022 350,000 42,000 40,619 British Heart Foundation43 23 April 2023 49,675 49,272 43,965. Two course records and a pair of spectacular races crown the biggest ever London Marathon 63.02023 TCS London Marathon raises £63 million for charity, TCS London Marathon Official Press Release Great Ormond Street Hospital44 21 April 2024 578,304Most ballot entries for a marathon event, Guinness Records 65,725London Marathon 2024: Elite runners, world record bids, GB athletes to watch, celebrities and weather, BBC 54,218Records tumble as London celebrates its biggest marathon, TCS London Marathon Official Press Release 53,000 67.0 Samaritans45 27 April 2025 840,318 57,449 56,640 87.3 Pancreatic Cancer UK46 26 April 2026 1,133,813 Marie Curie
All information from official website.Stats and Figures . London Marathon. Retrieved 26 April 2020.2019 London Marathon Media Guide. London Marathon. Retrieved 26 April 2020.
NOTE: The 2020 race was restricted to elite athletes in able-bodied (30 for each sex) and invited wheelchair athletes.
History
The London Marathon was not the first long-distance running event held in the city, which has a long history of marathon events. The Polytechnic Marathon (also known as the Poly) was first held in 1909.
The current London Marathon was founded in 1981 by Olympic champion and journalist Chris Brasher and athlete John Disley. Shortly after completing the New York City Marathon in November 1979 Brasher wrote an article for The Observer newspaper which began:
To believe this story you must believe that the human race be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, in one of the most trouble-stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen.
The first London Marathon was held on 29 March 1981, more than 20,000 applied to run. 6,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed the finish line on Constitution Hill. The Marathon's popularity has steadily grown since then. As at 2009, 746,635 people have completed the race since its inception. In 2010, 36,549 people crossed the line, the biggest field since the race began. The first wheelchair marathon race was held in 1983 and the event was credited with reducing the stigma surrounding disabled athletes.London Marathon. Museum of London. Retrieved 29 April 2009. In 2013 the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup was held within the London Marathon featuring athletes of both genders in the T42–T46 and T11–T13 categories. In August 2013 it was announced that the event would be staged in London until 2017 and feature athletes in the T11-T12, T13, T42-T44, T43, T45-46, T51-52 and the T53-54 class.
For many years the London and Polytechnic Marathons competed with each other until, in 1996, the latter folded in due to the popularity of the former.
Following the Boston Marathon bombing, organisers of the 2013 London Marathon undertook a review of their security arrangements, despite no specific threats against the event. A 30-second silence was held before the start of the marathon to show respect and support to those affected by the tragedy.
In April 2025, race organisers announced they will no longer post on X.
Organisation The race is currently organised by Hugh Brasher, son of Chris, as race director and Nick Bitel as chief executive. Previously David Bedford and Bitel had overseen a period of great change for the race, including amendments to the course in 2005 which saw the cobbled section by the Tower of London replaced with a flat stretch along the Highway.
Dan Tunstall Pedoe was the medical director of the London Marathon for 25 years between the first one in 1981 until 2005. In 2003, Pedoe was shadowed by Sanjay Sharma from St George's Hospital (University of London) who took over the role in its entirety in 2006. Medical cover is provided by 150 doctors. Also assisting were more than 1,500 volunteers of St. John Ambulance, who organise over 50 first aid posts along the route, and three field hospitals at the finish. St John Ambulance also provide a number of healthcare professions for the event, including nurses, paramedics, ambulances with crews. After pressure from Sophie Power and sheRACES, the marathon now allows pregnant and post-partum women to defer their place to a later date of their choosing, thus ensuring they are fully fit and well when they race.
The BBC covers the event, devoting rolling coverage for most of the morning. The theme music associated with this coverage, and with the event itself, is called "Main Titles to The Trap", composed by Ron Goodwin for the film The Trap.
There are three separate groups of starters: Elite Women, Wheelchair (Men and Women), and Elite Men followed by Mass Race.
First mooted in March 2026, in 2027, for "one year only", the marathon will be held on both days of the weekend. Format details are still to be confirmed but could see female elite and good-for-age entrants run on one day, and male elite and good-for-age entrants on the other.
Course
The marathon is run over a largely flat course around the River Thames, and spans . The course gains only in elevation"The Course", London Marathon Events; accessed 2026.04.29. and is widely regarded as one of the fastest marathon courses in the world.E.g., "What Are The Major Marathon Course Records?", The Running Channel; accessed 2026.04.29.
The route has markers at one mile intervals. Although the race publicity (athlete advice, timing charts and so on) is mile-orientated, the individual timing splits that are available to competitors after the event are kilometre-oriented.
The course begins at three separate points: the 'red start' in southern Greenwich Park on Charlton Way, the 'green start' in St John's Park, and the 'blue start' on Shooter's Hill Road. From these points around Blackheath at above sea level, south of the River Thames, the route heads east through Charlton. The three courses converge after in Woolwich, close to the Royal Artillery Barracks.
As the runners reach the , they pass by the Old Royal Naval College and head towards Cutty Sark drydocked in Greenwich. Heading next into Deptford and Surrey Quays/Rotherhithe in the Docklands, and out towards Bermondsey, competitors race along Jamaica Road before reaching the half-way point as they cross Tower Bridge. Running east again along The Highway through Wapping, competitors head up towards Limehouse and into Mudchute in the Isle of Dogs via Westferry Road, before heading into Canary Wharf.