London Marathon

Course & Elevation

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.