It's official - London Marathon 2027 will be a two-day event

Double the spots, but you'll still need good luck

Fun runners compete near the Houses of Parliament during the London Marathon in central London
(Image credit: HENRY NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images)

The London Marathon is famously tricky to get into without a promise to raise a small fortune for charity, but a whole lot more people will get to run through the capital next year.

London Marathon 2027 will take place across two days rather than the one, 24th and 25th April.

It will allow almost double the runners to take part compared to London Marathon 2026, which had 59,830 finishers.

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100,000 people will take part next year according to the organisers, marking a new record for the event. However, this two-day version is planned to be a one-off, for now.

Want to get involved? It’s actually too late to take the standard route. The ballot for London Marathon 2027 entries closed on 1st May, with the results expected to be announced within the next couple of weeks.

“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,” says Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events.

Anyone who entered the ballot will get a chance for Saturday and Sunday. But you’ll still need some luck — 1.33 million people entered the ballot, so there’s a well under 10 per cent chance of getting the nod.

You won’t able to run both the Saturday and Sunday, which let’s be honest would be a bit mad anyway. But there is a “virtual” alternative called TCS London Marathon MyWay. This takes place on the same day, asking you to run wherever you like. But this too is sold out, and came with a £30 for UK runners, £40 for the international crowd.

London Marathon is one of the eight “major” marathons, with the Cape Town Marathon joining this esteemed crowd in 2027.

The London route sees runners start in Blackheath and snake their way across Woolwich and Greenwich, before ending up nearby Westminster.

2026’s London Marathon was won by Sebastian Sawe, who finished the course in a record-breaking one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds. It was the first time someone had cracked the two-hour barrier in a competitive race.


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Andrew Williams
Contributor

Andrew Williams has written about all sorts of stuff for more than a decade — from tech and fitness to entertainment and fashion. He has written for a stack of magazines and websites including Wired, TrustedReviews, TechRadar and Stuff, enjoys going to gigs and painting in his spare time. He's also suspiciously good at poker.

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