London Marathon 2026 - all you need to know
The 2025 event set a world record for the number of finishers, despite hot conditions, with a total of 56,640 entrants completing the distance. Before this year's race, organisers confirmed discussions are ongoing over holding a two-day event in 2027, which event director Hugh Brasher says could allow for 100,000 finishers and raise over £130m for charity. This year's elite races feature all four defending champions, as Sabastian Sawe, Tigst Assefa, Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner return to defend their titles.
Britons Mahamed Mahamed, Phil Sesemann, Patrick Dever, Rose Harvey, Eilish McColgan, Jess Warner-Judd, David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper will be among those hoping to star on home soil. Four-time Olympic champion Sir Mo Farah and England's Women's Rugby World Cup winner Ellie Kildunne have the honour of officially starting the event in Greenwich Park, live on the BBC. Wheelchair race 08:50 BST, women's elite race 09:05 BST, men's elite race and mass event 09:35 BST Watch live on BBC One from 08:30 BST with additional streams featuring the elite races, Tower Bridge and the finish line on BBC iPlayer; follow live text updates and watch live streams on BBC Sport website and app.
The course begins at Greenwich Park and ends on The Mall, where runners will cross the finishing line after passing Buckingham Palace. The mostly flat route - there is a total elevation gain of 246 feet - takes in several other London landmarks, including Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and Big Ben. Last year, Ethiopia's Assefa ran a world record for a women-only field, crossing the line in two hours 15 minutes 50 seconds, while Kenya's Sawe won the men's race in 2:02:27.
The official cut-off time to complete the course is eight hours after the last runner starts at 11:30. The Mall closes at 19:30, when the finish line moves to St James's Park. The London Marathon takes in famous landmarks as the athletes travel west across the city Not only will Sawe aim to retain his men's marathon title, but the 30-year-old will have the late Kelvin Kiptum's course record of 2:01:25 in his sights.
Sawe, who finished 62 seconds slower than Kiptum's London best in winning last year, has a personal best of 2:02:05. He targeted the world record in Berlin last September, but his bid was undone by the hot weather. Sawe will again go head to head with Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo, who was runner-up in London last year and regained the half-marathon world record by clocking 57:20 in Lisbon in March.