London Marathon is the world’s most iconic marathon and an epic achievement!
Before the main race, the elite men’s, elite women’s, wheelchair and world para athletes set off fist thing. Then, the main race for members of the public starts mid-morning, as 40,000 people tackle the gruelling 26.2 mile route.
The course is flat and fast. It starts in Blackheath, heads east through Charlton and Woolwich for three miles, turns west and passes the Cutty Sark in Greenwich after six to seven miles. It crosses the River Thames at Tower Bridge and then loops around the east end of London, past Canary Wharf in Docklands, before heading west again along the Highway and the Embankment to Parliament Square, Birdcage Walk and the final corner in front of Buckingham Palace.
The London Marathon is the largest annual fundraising event on the planet – runners have raised more than £1 billion for good causes since the race began in 1981.