TCS London Marathon
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Apr 25, 2027
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The TCS London Marathon is run through central London every spring, normally on a Sunday in April, and holds World Athletics Platinum Label status. It is a point-to-point course from three start lines in south-east London, at Blackheath and Greenwich Park, to a finish on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace. The runners from the three starts meet just before Mile Three, in Woolwich. The route loops around the Cutty Sark between Miles Six and Seven, crosses Tower Bridge near the halfway point, circles through Mudchute, the Docklands and Canary Wharf, then returns west from Tower Hill along the Victoria Embankment to Parliament Square and Birdcage Walk. The organisers describe the first miles as net downhill and the middle section as relatively flat, with a slight incline just before Tower Bridge. Chris Brasher and John Disley founded the race, and the first edition was held on 29 March 1981, with 6,255 finishers. In 2026 a record 59,830 runners finished, which Guinness World Records lists as the largest number of finishers in a marathon, and Sabastian Sawe set the men's course record and world record of 1:59:30. For the first and only time, the 2027 race will be held over two days, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
April in London is mild and changeable: average highs are about 15°C and lows about 6°C, with rain of 1 mm or more on roughly nine days of the month.
The Race
London
After running the New York Marathon in 1979, Chris Brasher wrote an article in The Observer asking whether London could stage such a festival. He and John Disley chose a largely flat route around the Thames from Blackheath to near Buckingham Palace, and the first race took place on 29 March 1981. About 20,000 people applied, 7,747 were accepted and 6,255 finished.
On 26 April 2026 Sabastian Sawe won in 1:59:30, taking 65 seconds off the world record set by Kelvin Kiptum in Chicago in 2023 and becoming the first athlete to run a legal sub-two-hour marathon. Yomif Kejelcha was second in 1:59:41. In the women's race Tigst Assefa won in 2:15:41, and three women finished inside 2:16 in the same race for the first time.
Demand for places has grown so large that the 2027 edition will be split across Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April, with a record 100,000 places. The organisers expanded the race after more than 1.3 million people entered the ballot.
Gordon Ramsay
Chef and TV presenter
Richard Branson
Founder of the Virgin Group
Natalie Imbruglia
Singer-songwriter and actress
Chris Evans
Radio and TV presenter
Sophie Raworth
BBC newsreader
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1:59:30
Sabastian Sawe (2026)
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