The 2016 London Marathon was the 36th running of the annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

race in London, England, which took place on Sunday, 24 April. The men's elite race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge and the women's race was won by Kenyan Jemima Sumgong. The men's wheelchair race was won by

Marcel Hug Marcel Eric Hug (born 16 January 1986) is a Paralympian athlete from Switzerland competing in category T54 wheelchair racing events. Hug, nicknamed 'The Silver Bullet', has competed in four Summer Paralympic Games for Switzerland, winning two ...

from Switzerland and the women's wheelchair race was won by American

Tatyana McFadden Tatyana McFadden (russian: Татьяна Макфадден; born April 21, 1989) is an American Paralympic athlete of Russian descent competing in the category T54. McFadden has won twenty Paralympic medals in multiple Summer Paralympic Game ...

. Around 247,069 people applied to enter the race: 53,152 had their applications accepted and 39,523 started the race. These were all record highs for the race. A total of 39,091 runners, 23,983 men and 15,108 women, finished the race. In the under-17 Mini Marathon, the 3-mile able-bodied and wheelchair events were won by Thomas Mortimer (14:14), Sabrina Sinha (16:23),

Jack Agnew Jack may refer to: Places * Jack, Alabama, US, an unincorporated community * Jack, Missouri, US, an unincorporated community * Jack County, Texas, a county in Texas, USA People and fictional characters * Jack (given name), a male given name, ...

(12:18) and Kare Adenegan (13:40).

Course

The London Marathon is run over a largely flat course around the River Thames, and spans 42.195 kilometres (26 miles and 385 yards). The route has markers at one mile and five kilometre intervals. The course begins at three separate points: the 'red start' in southern Greenwich Park on Charlton Way, the 'green start' in St John's Park, and the 'blue start' on Shooter's Hill Road. From these points around

Blackheath Blackheath may refer to: Places England *Blackheath, London, England ** Blackheath railway station **Hundred of Blackheath, Kent, an ancient hundred in the north west of the county of Kent, England *Blackheath, Surrey, England ** Hundred of Blackh ...

at above sea level, south of the River Thames, the route heads east through

Charlton Charlton may refer to: People * Charlton (surname) * Charlton (given name) Places Australia * Charlton, Queensland * Charlton, Victoria * Division of Charlton, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in New South Wale ...

. The three courses converge after in Woolwich, close to the Royal Artillery Barracks. As the runners reach the , they pass by the Old Royal Naval College and head towards '' Cutty Sark'' drydocked in Greenwich. Heading next into Deptford and Surrey Quays in the Docklands, and out towards Bermondsey, competitors race along Jamaica Road before reaching the half-way point as they cross Tower Bridge. Running east again along The Highway through Wapping, competitors head up towards Limehouse and into Mudchute in the Isle of Dogs via Westferry Road, before heading into Canary Wharf. As the route leads away from Canary Wharf into Poplar, competitors run west down Poplar High Street back towards Limehouse and on through Commercial Road. They then move back onto The Highway, onto Lower and Upper Thames Streets. Heading into the final leg of the race, competitors pass The Tower of London on Tower Hill. In the penultimate mile along The Embankment, the

London Eye The London Eye, or the Millennium Wheel, is a cantilevered observation wheel on the South Bank of the River Thames in London. It is Europe's tallest cantilevered observation wheel, and is the most popular paid tourist attraction in the United ...

comes into view, before the athletes turn right into Birdcage Walk to complete the final , catching the sights of

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England, and the name is frequently extended to refer also to the clock and the clock tower. The officia ...

and

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...

, and finishing in The Mall alongside

St. James's Palace St James's Palace is the most senior royal palace in London, the capital of the United Kingdom. The palace gives its name to the Court of St James's, which is the monarch's royal court, and is located in the City of Westminster in London. Alt ...

Race summary

The men's race was won by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in a new course record, eight seconds shy of the world record. Kipchoge, after running alongside

Stanley Biwott Stanley Kipleting Biwott (born 21 April 1986) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in half marathon and marathon races. He won the 2012 Paris Marathon in a course record time of 2:05:11 hours and the 2015 New York City Marathon. His half ...

for most of the race, broke off to defend the title he won the previous year. The women's race was won by Kenyan Jemima Sumgong, who fell along with two-time winner

Mary Keitany Mary Jepkosgei Keitany (born 18 January 1982) is a Kenyan former professional long distance runner. She is the world record holder in a women-only marathon, having won the 2017 London Marathon in a time of 2:17:01. As of November 2022, she plac ...

and 2010 winner Aselefech Mergia in the latter stages of the race. Sumgong recovered to take the finish line, in front of 2015 winner

Tigist Tufa Tigist Tufa (born 26 January 1987) is an Ethiopian marathon runner. She was the winner of the 2014 Shanghai Marathon, setting a new course record and a personal best time of 2:21:52. Her previous bests were 2:28:04 at the Los Angeles Marathon in ...

. Coming less than a week after the

Boston Marathon The Boston Marathon is an annual marathon race hosted by several cities and towns in greater Boston in eastern Massachusetts, United States. It is traditionally held on Patriots' Day, the third Monday of April. Begun in 1897, the event was i ...

, the same winners won the London wheelchair races.

from Switzerland won the men's wheelchair division and the women's wheelchair division was won by American

. Hug won ahead of course record holder Kurt Fearnley and six-time winner David Weir, with the top three finishers each separated by a second. McFadden held off Manuela Schär by a single second to claim her fourth consecutive title, with 2010 winner Wakako Tsuchida coming in third. Astronaut Tim Peake ran the London Marathon from the International Space Station's treadmill, timed to begin just as the race did. Peake became the first man to run a marathon from space, and the second person after Sunita Williams ran the 2007 Boston Marathon from the ISS.Tim Peake 'runs' London Marathon from space
/ref>

Results

Men

Women

*† = Ran in mass race

Wheelchair men

Wheelchair women

References

;Results
Virgin Money London Marathon 2016 Tracking and Results
London Marathon. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
Men Results

Association of Road Racing Statisticians The Association of Road Racing Statisticians is an independent, non-profit organization that collects, analyzes, and publishes statistics regarding road running races. The primary purpose of the ARRS is to maintain a valid list of world road record ...

. Retrieved 2020-05-02.
Women Results

. Retrieved 2020-05-02.

External links

* {{2016 in athletics

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

London Marathon London Marathon April 2016 sports events in the United Kingdom