The TCS London Marathon 2026 is just days away now and over 50,000 runners will take to the streets of the capital in a bid to conquer 26.2 miles.
Sabastian Sawe and Tigst Assefa, last year’s champions in the elite men’s and women’s fields, return to defend their titles.
Huge prize money is on offer for the winners, while bonuses are available for breaking tough barriers and even world records.
There is talk of a two-day London Marathon in 2027, too, with the running boom showing no signs of stopping.
Here’s everything you need to know about the London Marathon 2026:
When is the London Marathon 2026?
The 2026 London Marathon is on Sunday, 26 April. The race starts in Blackheath and Greenwich, with the finish near Buckingham Palace and Horse Guards Road, opposite St James’s Park.
London Marathon start times
All times BST
08:50am Men’s and women’s elite wheelchair races
09:05am Elite women’s race at 9:05am.
09:35am Elite men and first mass participation wave (championship wave)
Regular additional waves through to 11:30am.
How to watch the London Marathon 2026
You can follow the elite races and mass participation race with Independent Sport and our live blog. While the race will be on BBC One, BBC Two and BBC iPlayer in the UK. Coverage starts at 8:30am on BBC One. But live coverage will move to BBC Two at 2pm. While a second live stream will afford family and friends to spot their loved ones on the live stream of Tower Bridge from 10:30 and the Finish Line from 12:30 on BBC iPlayer.
London Marathon 2026 Elite fields
Women’s Field
- Tigst Assefa 2:11:53
- Joyciline Jepkosgei 2:14:00
- Hellen Obiri 2:17:41
- Degitu Azimeraw 2:17:58
- Magdalena Shauri 2:18:02
- Eunice Chebichii Chumba 2:20:02
- Catherine Reline Amanang’ole 2:20:34
- Balemelay Shumet 2:21:59
- Rose Harvey 2:23:21
- Florencia Borelli 2:24:18
- Eilish McColgan 2:24:25
- Jessica Warner-Judd 2:24:45
- Fadouwa Ledhem 2:25:50
- Marta Galimany 2:26:14
- Lucy Reid 2:26:35
- Julia Paternain 2:27:09
- Louise Small 2:27:48
- Verity Hopkins 2:31:19
Men’s Field
- Sabastian Sawe 2:02:05
- Jacob Kiplimo 2:02:23
- Deresa Geleta 2:02:38
- Amos Kipruto 2:03:13
- Tamirat Tola 2:03:39
- Amanal Petros 2:04:03
- Geoffrey Kamworor 2:04:23
- Joshua Cheptegei2:04:52
- Shunya Kikuchi 2:06:06
- Mahamed Mahamed 2:07:05
- Philip Sesemann 2:07:10
- Hassan Chahdi 2:07:30
- Adam Lipschitz 2:08:54
- Patrick Dever 2:08:58
- Peter Lynch 2:09:36
- Tim Vincent 2:09:40
- Weynay Ghebresilasie 2:09:50
- Tewelde Menges 2:09:58
- Liam Boudin 2:10:28
- Jake Smith 2:11:00
- Jack Rowe 2:12:31
- Andrew Fyfe 2:13:20
- Alex Milne 2:14:03
- Peter Le Grice 2:14:45
- Sean Hogan 2:14:51
- Christopher Thomas 2:14:55
- Chris Perry 2:14:57
- David Bishop 2:15:16
- Charlie Sandison 2:15:38
- William Mycroft 2:15:54
- Yomif Kejelcha Debut
- Hagos Gebrhiwet Debut
- Isaia Kipkoech Lasoi Debut
- Alfie Manthorpe Debut
What is the prize money?
Men’s and women’s elite races
1st place – $55,000
2nd place – $30,000
3rd place – $22,500
4th place – $15,000
5th place – $10,000
6th place – $7,500
7th place – $5,000
8th place – $4,000
9th place – $3,000
10th place – $2,000
11th place – $1,500
12th place – $1,000
Additional bonuses
Elite men
2:02:00 – $150,000
2:03:00 – £100,000
2:03:30 – $75,000
2:04:00 – $50,000
Elite women
2:15:00 – $150,000
2:15:30 – £100,000
2:16:00 – $75,000
2:17:00 – $50,000
Elite men
- First and men’s course record (2:01:25) – $25,000
- First and men’s world record (2:00:35) - $125,000
Elite women
- First and women’s course record (2:15:50) – $25,000
- First and women’s world record (2:15:50) - $125,000
Elite men’s wheelchair
- First and men’s course record (1:23:44) $5,000
Elite women’s wheelchair
- First and women’s course record (1:34:18) $5,000
