Highlights
- London Marathon will be held across two days for the first time next year
- The event on April 24-25 will allow a record 100,000 participants to run
- More than 1.33 million people entered the ballot for the 2027 race
THE London Marathon will be staged over two days for the first time in its history in 2027, allowing a record 100,000 runners to take part in a one-off expanded edition of the race, organisers announced on Friday (19).
The 47th edition of the marathon will take place on April 24 and 25, with elite women racing on Saturday and elite men competing on Sunday. The expanded format is expected to give more runners an opportunity to participate after a record number of entries for the ballot.
A total of 1,338,544 people applied for the 2027 London Marathon, breaking the previous record of 1,133,813 entries for the 2026 race, according to organisers.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, said the decision was made to respond to the huge demand while creating wider benefits for charities and communities.
“The 2027 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,” Brasher said.
“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.”
Brasher added that the event could raise more than £150 million for good causes and provide a £400m boost to the UK economy.
Additional participants will run on the traditional route
The additional participants will run on the traditional London Marathon route from Greenwich to Westminster. Organisers said all format details would be confirmed in the coming months.
The two-day schedule will see elite women, elite female wheelchair athletes, championship and “good for age” women lead one day of racing, while elite men, elite male wheelchair athletes, championship and “good for age” men will lead the other day.
London mayor Sadiq Khan, welcomed the announcement, saying: “London is the sporting capital of the world and I am delighted that, for one year only in 2027, the world famous London Marathon will expand into a two-day event.”
The 2026 London Marathon raised a record £90m for charity, strengthening its position as the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event. The 2026 race also saw a record 59,830 finishers.
Brasher said the idea of expanding the event had been under discussion for several years. He told BBC Sport that the concept was first developed in 2017 to stage it in 2020, but permission could not be secured at the time.
The Mini London Marathon will take place on Friday as part of the 2027 weekend, with more than 20,000 young participants expected to take part.
Organisers said additional income from the two-day format will be distributed by the London Marathon Foundation to projects encouraging activity among children and young people across London and the UK.
(with inputs from Reuters)
