The London Marathon is one of the world’s largest and most respected road races, and preparing for it well matters more than any single piece of kit or clever tactic. This guide is a practical preparation and race-day playbook: how to structure your training, fuel and hydrate, choose gear you can trust, pace the flat Greenwich-to-The-Mall course, and recover afterwards. It also covers the facts that have changed most recently, including a record-breaking 2026 edition and a one-off two-day race in 2027. For the ballot, entry routes and full course logistics, see our complete London Marathon entry and course guide.
What Is the London Marathon?
The London Marathon is an annual 42.195 km (26.2 mile) road race through central London, usually held on a Sunday in late April. It is one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, the series that also includes Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago, New York and Sydney, and it doubles as the world’s largest single-day charity fundraising event. The course starts at Blackheath in Greenwich, south-east London, and finishes on The Mall, beside St James’s Park and Buckingham Palace.
The event has grown sharply in scale. The 2025 edition, run on 27 April 2025, set a then-record with 56,640 finishers. The 2026 edition, on 26 April 2026, went further still: 59,830 runners crossed the line, making it the largest marathon ever staged and beating the previous New York record of 59,226 finishers, from a record 1.13 million ballot applications. Demand on this scale is why securing a place is so competitive.
Key Facts
| Event | TCS London Marathon |
|---|---|
| Distance | 42.195 km (26.2 miles) |
| Start | Blackheath, Greenwich (south-east London) |
| Finish | The Mall, by St James’s Park and Buckingham Palace |
| Typical date | A Sunday in late April (spring) |
| Course profile | Flat and fast, with only minor rises |
| Official water | Buxton |
| Official sports drink | Lucozade Sport (incl. edible Ooho capsules) |
| Status | Abbott World Marathon Major |
| Next edition | 24–25 April 2027 (first two-day race) |
What makes 2027 different?
The 2027 London Marathon will run across two days for the first time in its history, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April 2027. Organisers are expanding the field to roughly 100,000 runners over the two days, though the change applies to that one edition only. Runners follow the same Greenwich-to-Westminster course on both days, and anyone with a place can also take part in the virtual London Marathon on the day they are not racing in person. If you are planning your build-up around that edition, treat it like any other spring marathon: the extra day changes the event’s logistics, not your training.
Recent London Marathon Editions
| Edition | Date | Finishers / field | Notable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 27 April 2025 | 56,640 finishers | A then-record field; Sabastian Sawe and Tigst Assefa won, with Assefa setting a women-only world record |
| 2026 | 26 April 2026 | 59,830 finishers | Largest marathon ever staged, from a record 1.13 million ballot applications |
| 2027 | 24–25 April 2027 | Up to ~100,000 over two days | First two-day edition, planned for one year only |
How Do You Get a Place?
Getting into the London Marathon usually means one of a few routes, and the public ballot is the hardest. With more than a million applications in recent years, ballot odds are long, so most overseas runners rely on alternatives. The main options are:
- Public ballot: a free prize-draw-style entry that opens for a limited window after each year’s race; most applicants are unsuccessful.
- Charity places: guaranteed entries in exchange for a fundraising commitment, typically the most reliable route for international runners.
- Good for Age and Championship: qualifying places for runners who have already recorded a fast marathon time in a set qualifying window.
- Tour operators: travel packages that bundle an entry with accommodation, popular with runners travelling from New Zealand and Australia.
Because entry rules and deadlines change each year, confirm the current process before you apply. Our dedicated entry guide covers the detail; this article focuses on what you do once you have a place.
How Long Should You Train for the London Marathon?
Most London Marathon finishers train for 12 to 16 weeks, on top of a base of regular running. The block length depends on your starting point: a runner already comfortable with 25 to 30 km a week can use a 12-week plan, while someone building from a lower base is better served by 16 weeks or more. Across all levels, three to five runs per week is the realistic range.
How many runs per week?
Three well-chosen sessions are enough for a first marathon: one long run, one easy or recovery run, and one faster session such as a tempo or intervals. Intermediate and advanced runners add volume and structure, including strides, marathon-pace efforts and hill repeats. The long run is the non-negotiable session, building gradually towards 30 to 35 km so your legs and mind have rehearsed sustained fatigue.
Do you need strength and cross-training?
Strength work and cross-training reduce injury risk and support the running itself. One session of cycling or swimming a week helps maintain aerobic fitness without extra pounding, which is useful during recovery weeks. Runners who skip strength training are more prone to stability problems and repetitive-stress injuries such as IT band pain or Achilles strain. Two short strength sessions a week, focused on hips, glutes and calves, are usually enough.
Nutrition and Hydration
Fuelling and hydration decide how the final 10 kilometres feel more than almost anything else. The principle is simple: practise your race-day fuelling in training so nothing is new on the day. Runners who rehearse their intake during long runs almost always cope better late in the race.
How much should you fuel during the race?
Aim for roughly 30 to 60 grams of carbohydrate per hour while running, taken little and often rather than in one go. Gels, energy chews and sports drinks are the common options; whichever you choose, test the exact product and timing in training to be sure your stomach tolerates it. A pre-race meal of about 200 to 300 grams of carbohydrate, eaten two to three hours before the start, tops up your stores without leaving you heavy or needing the toilet mid-race.
What is on the course?
The London Marathon provides water and a sports drink at regular points along the route, so you rarely need to carry much fluid yourself. The official water is Buxton, handed out at stations spaced every few miles, and the official sports drink is Lucozade Sport, offered at several stations along with Lucozade gels. In recent years some drinks have been served in edible Ooho seaweed capsules as part of the event’s sustainability push. Because the exact mile markers shift from year to year, check the current race-day drinks map before you plan where to take fuel, and carry a backup gel or two in case a station is congested.
How warm is it on race day?
Late-April temperatures in London are usually mild, often around 10 to 16°C, so severe dehydration is uncommon, but fluid loss still adds up over three or four hours. Drink to thirst at the stations rather than forcing large volumes, and adjust upward if the day is unusually warm or sunny, as some recent editions have been.
Choosing Your Gear
The safest race-day gear is gear you have already tested, not the newest model on the shelf. Comfort and fit matter far more than any single brand or technology, and nothing you wear or carry on race day should be making its debut.
Shoes and socks
Carbon-plated racing shoes are popular and can help, but mainly for runners who have trained in them and adapted to the feel; a shoe with 100 to 200 km of wear-in behind it is a better bet than a box-fresh pair. Equally important are your running socks: blisters are one of the most common race-day problems, and they usually come from new socks or shoes worn too close to the day. Pair tested footwear with an anti-chafe balm on the usual hot spots.
Watch and clothing
A GPS running watch helps you hold an even pace, though be aware that the tall buildings around Canary Wharf can briefly disrupt the signal, so trust your effort as well as the screen. Choose technical, moisture-wicking clothing you have run long in, and plan for changeable spring weather: light rain early and humidity later are both common in London, so a throwaway layer at the start is sensible.
The Course and How to Pace It
The London Marathon course is flat and fast, which is why it attracts so many runners chasing a personal best. From the Greenwich start the route is largely gentle, with only modest rises near Tower Hill and a final slight pull before Birdcage Walk. Crowd support is huge and continuous, peaking at Tower Bridge around halfway, along the Embankment and at the finish, with quieter stretches through the Docklands and the Isle of Dogs.
How should you pace it?
Even pacing is the single most reliable tactic on this course. Going out just five seconds per kilometre too fast is enough to cost you minutes after 30 km, so hold back in the first five kilometres even when the crowds and adrenaline push you on. Work out your target splits in advance with a marathon pace chart, and use the timing mats along the route to check you are on plan rather than drifting. Official pace groups are available for a wide range of finish times, but your own numbers should lead the decision.
Race-Day Execution
A calm, rehearsed race-day routine protects the months of training behind it. Arrive at the start area at least 90 minutes before your wave so you have time for bag drop, toilet queues and a light warm-up without rushing. Eat your familiar pre-race meal, keep your gels somewhere you can reach them on the move, and start in the wave you were assigned so the pacing around you matches your goal.
From the gun, discipline beats enthusiasm. Settle into goal pace, take fluid and fuel on your planned schedule rather than waiting until you feel you need it, and break the distance into manageable chunks — for example three 10 km blocks plus a final effort. Many runners find simple mental cues help through the hard middle miles; research on mental mantras suggests a short repeated phrase can genuinely steady effort and mood when fatigue sets in. A couple of reminders written on your hand or bib work for the same reason.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
Most London Marathon disappointments come from a small set of avoidable errors rather than bad luck. Knowing them in advance is half the fix:
- Starting too fast: the flat opening miles and roaring crowds tempt runners into a pace they cannot hold, which almost always backfires after 30 km.
- New kit on race day: fresh shoes, socks or a belt worn for the first time are a leading cause of blisters and chafing.
- Under-fuelling or over-fuelling: skipping early gels, or trying a product you have never used, leaves you either empty or nauseous late on.
- Skipping the long runs: without runs of 30 to 35 km, the final stretch is a leap into the unknown.
- Last-minute changes: big tweaks to diet, gear or routine during the taper tend to cause problems, not solve them.
- Chasing group pacers blindly: pace groups drift and bunch; track your own splits and leave room to adjust.
Tapering and Recovery
Tapering in the final two weeks is what lets your training translate into a strong race. Cut your weekly mileage by roughly 40 to 60 percent while keeping some intensity, so you arrive fresh rather than flat, and resist the urge to cram in missed sessions. The fitness is already banked; the taper simply lets it surface.
Recovery starts the moment you cross the line on The Mall. Rehydrate, eat a mix of carbohydrate and protein within an hour or two, and keep moving gently rather than seizing up. Light walking and stretching over the following days, plus a few easy weeks before any hard training returns, will clear the deep fatigue a marathon leaves behind. You can usually check your net and gun times and splits within hours through the official event app, and compare them against the elite field in our round-up of the London Marathon 2025 results.
Who Is the London Marathon For?
The London Marathon suits a far wider range of runners than its elite headlines suggest. The flat course and generous time limit make it realistic for first-timers and charity runners, while the fast profile and deep field draw experienced athletes chasing a personal best or a World Marathon Majors medal. For runners travelling from New Zealand, it is a long-haul trip that rewards early planning, both for the flights and for the entry; building your overseas goal around a home-season base is easier if you map it against the New Zealand running calendar first. Whatever your level, the demands are the same: respect the distance, rehearse your race, and let months of consistent training, not race-day heroics, carry you to The Mall.
For the full history of the event, see the race’s entry on Wikipedia.
Sources
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)
How long is the London Marathon?
The London Marathon is a standard marathon distance of 42.195 kilometres, or 26.2 miles. The course runs from Blackheath in Greenwich to a finish on The Mall, beside St James’s Park and Buckingham Palace.
When is the next London Marathon?
The 2027 London Marathon will run across two days for the first time, on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April 2027, with the field expanded to around 100,000 runners. In normal years the race is held on a single Sunday in late April.
How hard is it to get a place in the London Marathon?
The public ballot is very competitive, with more than a million applications in recent years, so most runners are unsuccessful. Charity places, Good for Age and Championship qualifying times, and tour-operator packages are the more reliable routes, especially for runners travelling from overseas.
How long should I train for the London Marathon?
Most finishers train for 12 to 16 weeks on top of a regular running base, running three to five times a week. The key session is a long run that builds gradually towards 30 to 35 kilometres, supported by easy runs, one faster session and some strength work.
What food and drink are provided on the course?
The official on-course water is Buxton, handed out at stations spaced every few miles, and the official sports drink is Lucozade Sport, offered at several points along with Lucozade gels. Because the exact locations change each year, check the current race-day drinks map and carry a backup gel in case a station is busy.
