The 2027 London Marathon will be run over two days for the first time, with 100,000 runners set to participate across the weekend.
London Marathon Events confirmed this morning that the 2027 edition of the famous race will take place on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April in a one-off change to celebrate the popular 26.2-mile event.
The unique double format means 100,000 participants will be able to take part across the two days, a considerable increase in the 60,512 participants that begin the 2026 race two months ago. They will all take on the usual iconic route, from Greenwich to Westminster, on the same course run by the elite athletes.
Armed with data on the surge of interest from Gen Z, particularly women aged 18 to 29, organisers are said to believe hosting the world’s biggest marathon and bringing people together could act as a counterbalance to troubled times: amid fears over the climate emergency, global conflict, and the negative consequences of AI, to name but a few.
The race was already iconic but hosted a new feat this year, with the first ever sub-two hour marathon in race conditions, after Sabastian Sawe and Yomif Kejelcha both broke the barrier in the elite men’s race.
The increased numbers in 2027 will help tackle the extraordinary demand for places, with 1.33m people having entered the ballot for next year’s event, and likely smash previous records for the amount of money raised by a UK sporting event, with this year’s total currently standing at more than £90m.
Everyone who has applied to take part will be entered into a ballot for both the Saturday and Sunday, while participants will not be allowed to take part in the event on both days.
Every school in London will receive two guaranteed entries for teachers or staff and extra guaranteed entries have also been allocated to every London borough along the route.
The elite women, elite female para-athletes, championship and ‘good for age’ women will race on one of the two days, while the elite men, elite male para-athletes, championship and ‘good for age’ men racing on the other, with specific format details set to be released in the coming months.
Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events said: “The 2027 TCS London Marathon Double is our most ambitious evolution to date – a once-in-a-generation one-time-only reimagining of what a marathon and city-wide celebration of activity can be.
“By expanding to 100,000 runners across two days, we’re opening the door for more people, more charities and more communities to take part in the world’s greatest marathon. We believe that more than £150m can be raised for good causes and the UK economy will have a £400m social and economic benefit.”
And mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, added: “London is the sporting capital of the world and I am delighted that, for one year only in 2027, the world famous TCS London Marathon will expand into a two-day event.
“This unique, one-off double will allow a record 100,000 participants to take part across the two days – creating the largest fundraising moment in UK sporting history and supporting the work of so many incredible charities.”
