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The London Marathon is an 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 ...
held in
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, United Kingdom, and is the 2nd largest annual road race in the UK, after the Great North Run in Newcastle. Founded by athletes
Chris Brasher
Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.
Early life and education
Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went t ...
and
John Disley
John Ivor Disley Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the London Marathon and becoming active in sports promotion and ad ...
in 1981, it is typically held in April but has moved to October for 2020 and 2021 due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
. The 2022 edition was also postponed to October with Hugh Brasher stating "We believe that by moving the 2022 event to October we give ourselves the best chances of welcoming the world to the streets of London, enabling tens of millions to be raised for good causes and giving people the certainty that their hard work and training will allow them to experience the amazing crowds cheering them every step of the way from Greenwich to Westminster". The largely flat course is set around the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, starting in
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 ...
and finishing at
The Mall. Hugh Brasher (son of Chris) is the current Race Director and Nick Bitel its Chief Executive.
The race has several components: it has a
mass race for the public, professional races for men and women
long-distance runners, elite level
wheelchair race
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...
s for men and women, plus a 3-mile mini marathon event for under-17 athletes. The mass race is the largest marathon event in the United Kingdom and its third largest running event (after the
Great North Run
The Great North Run (branded the Simplyhealth Great North Run for sponsorship purposes) is the largest half marathon in the world, taking place annually in North East England each September. Participants run between Newcastle upon Tyne and South ...
and
Great Manchester Run). There is a significant
charity running A charity runner is a participant in a road race, usually of half marathon or marathon distance, who raises money or awareness for an established charitable organization. For more elite marathons, such as the World Marathon Majors, runners who ar ...
aspect to the marathon, with participants helping to raise over £1 billion since its founding, including £66.4 million at the
2019 London Marathon which was the highest amount for a single-day fund-raising event.
[
Since 2006, the elite race has been part of the ]World Marathon Majors
The World Marathon Majors (WMM) (known for sponsorship reasons as the Abbott World Marathon Majors) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races reco ...
, which includes six of the world's top level marathon races. The London Marathon has seen the marathon world record
This list is a chronological progression of record times for the marathon. World records in the marathon are now ratified by World Athletics, the international governing body for the sport of athletics.
Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge set a world recor ...
broken on seven occasions: Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi ( ar, خالد خنّوشي) (born September 12, 1971) is a retired American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km ...
broke the men's record in 2002, while women's records have been broken by Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz wo ...
(1983), Ingrid Kristiansen
Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon ...
(1985), Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Maratho ...
(2002, 2003, 2005) and Mary Jepkosgei 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 p ...
(2017). The current elite course records are held by Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge ( ; born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 ...
(2:02:37 in 2019) and Paula Radcliffe (2:15:25 in 2003). The current wheelchair course records are held by Marcel Hug (1:24:38 in 2022) and Manuela Schär
Manuela Schär (born 5 December 1984) is a Paralympian athlete from Switzerland competing mainly in category T54 sprint events. She has used a wheelchair since the age of 8, when a playground accident paralysed her from the waist down.
Ca ...
(1:39:52 in 2021).
The 2020 London Marathon was postponed and only allowed elite participants due to the COVID-19
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...
outbreak. The race often has a title sponsorship
Naming rights are a financial transaction and form of advertising or memorialization whereby a corporation, person, or other entity purchases the right to name a facility, object, location, program, or event, typically for a defined period of t ...
, sponsored by Virgin Money
Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South Af ...
for several years, it is branded the "TCS TCS may refer to:
Organisations
* Tata Consultancy Services, an IT company headquartered in India
* Taxpayers for Common Sense, a US nonpartisan federal budget watchdog organization
* TCS Courier, a Pakistani courier service
* Touring Club Suisse ...
London Marathon" for 2022.
The 2023 London Marathon will revert to its traditional spring date which will be held on 23 April.
Editions
*All information from official website.
''NOTE: The 2020 race was restricted to elite athletes in able-bodied (30 each gender) and invited wheelchair athletes.''
History
The London Marathon was not the first long-distance running event held in the city, which has a long history of marathon events. The Polytechnic Marathon
The Polytechnic Marathon, often called the Poly, was a marathon held annually between 1909 and 1996, over various courses in or near London. It was the first marathon to be run regularly over the distance of 26 miles, 385 yards which is now the g ...
(also known as the ''Poly'') was first held in 1909.
The current London Marathon was founded in 1981 by Olympic champion and journalist Chris Brasher
Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon.
Early life and education
Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went t ...
and athlete John Disley
John Ivor Disley Order of the British Empire, CBE (20 November 1928 – 8 February 2016) was a Welsh athlete. He competed mainly in the 3000 metres steeplechase before co-founding the London Marathon and becoming active in sports promotion and ad ...
. Shortly after completing the New York City Marathon
The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...
in November 1979 Brasher wrote an article for ''The Observer
''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. It is a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', whose parent company Guardian Media Group Limited acquired it in 1993. First published in 1791, it is the w ...
'' newspaper which began:
To believe this story you must believe that the human race be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, in one of the most trouble-stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen.
The first London Marathon was held on 29 March 1981, more than 20,000 applied to run. 6,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed the finish line on Constitution Hill. The Marathon's popularity has steadily grown since then. As at 2009, 746,635 people have completed the race since its inception.[ In 2010, 36,549 people crossed the line, the biggest field since the race began. The first wheelchair marathon race was held in 1983 and the event was credited with reducing the stigma surrounding disabled athletes. In 2013 the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup was held within the London Marathon featuring athletes of both genders in the T42–T46 and T11–T13 categories. In August 2013 it was announced that the event would be staged in London until 2017 and feature athletes in the T11-T12, T13, T42-T44, T43, T45-46, T51-52 and the T53-54 class.
For many years the London and Polytechnic Marathons competed with each other until, in 1996, the latter folded in due to the popularity of the former.][
Following the ]Boston Marathon bombing
The Boston Marathon bombing was a domestic terrorist attack that took place during the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Two terrorists, brothers Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and Tamerlan Tsarnaev, planted two homemade pressure cooker bombs, w ...
, organisers of the 2013 London Marathon undertook a review of their security arrangements, despite no specific threats against the event. A 30-second silence was held before the start of the marathon to show respect and support to those affected by the tragedy.
Organisation
The race is currently organised by Hugh Brasher, son of Chris, as Race Director and Nick Bitel as Chief Executive. Previously David Bedford
David Vickerman Bedford (4 August 1937 – 1 October 2011) was an English composer and musician. He wrote and played both popular and classical music. He was the brother of the conductor Steuart Bedford, the grandson of the composer, painter ...
and Bitel had overseen a period of great change for the race, including amendments to the course in 2005 which saw the cobbled section by the Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
replaced with a flat stretch along the Highway.
Dan Tunstall Pedoe
Dan Tunstall Pedoe (30 December 1939, Southampton – 13 February 2015, London) – "Dr Dan" and the "father of marathon medicine" – was a cardiologist who developed pioneering methods of diagnosis. He is popularly known for his co ...
was the medical director of the London Marathon for 25 years between the first one in 1981 until 2005. In 2003, Pedoe was shadowed by Sanjay Sharma from St George's Hospital (University of London) who took over the role in its entirety in 2006. Medical cover is provided by 150 doctors. Also assisting were more than 1,500 volunteers of St. John Ambulance, who organise over 50 first aid posts along the route, and three field hospitals at the finish. St John Ambulance also provide a number of healthcare professions for the event, including nurses, paramedics, ambulances with crews.
The BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC
Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
covers the event, devoting rolling coverage for most of the morning. The theme music associated with this coverage, and with the event itself, is called "Main Titles to The Trap", composed by
Ron Goodwin
Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''Battle ...
for the film ''
The Trap''.
![London Marathon at Shooters Hill - wheelchairs - geograph](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/London_Marathon_at_Shooters_Hill_-_wheelchairs_-_geograph.org.uk_-_761541.jpg)
There are three separate groups of starters: Elite Women, Wheelchair (Men and Women), and Elite Men followed by Mass Race.
Since 2010, the race has been sponsored by
Virgin Money
Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South Af ...
.
Course
![Top Three Men at London Marathon 2009 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/Top_Three_Men_at_London_Marathon_2009_crop.jpg)
The marathon is run over a largely flat course around the
River Thames
The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...
, and spans .
The route has markers at one mile intervals. Although the race publicity (athlete advice, timing charts and so on) is mile-oriented, the individual timing splits that are available to competitors after the event are kilometre-oriented.
The course begins at three separate points: the 'red start' in southern
Greenwich Park
Greenwich Park is a former hunting park in Greenwich and one of the largest single green spaces in south-east London. One of the Royal Parks of London, and the first to be enclosed (in 1433), it covers , and is part of the Greenwich World Heritag ...
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. The three courses converge after in
Woolwich
Woolwich () is a district in southeast London, England, within the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
The district's location on the River Thames led to its status as an important naval, military and industrial area; a role that was maintained throu ...
, close to the
Royal Artillery Barracks
Royal Artillery Barracks, Woolwich, is a barracks of the British Army which forms part of Woolwich Garrison. The Royal Regiment of Artillery had its headquarters here from 1776 until 2007, when it was moved to Larkhill Garrison.
History
In 17 ...
.
As the runners reach the , they pass by the
Old Royal Naval College
The Old Royal Naval College is the architectural centrepiece of Maritime Greenwich, a World Heritage Site in Greenwich, London, described by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) as being of "outstanding ...
and head towards ''
Cutty Sark
''Cutty Sark'' is a British clipper ship. Built on the River Leven, Dumbarton, Scotland in 1869 for the Jock Willis Shipping Line, she was one of the last tea clippers to be built and one of the fastest, coming at the end of a long period ...
''
drydock
A dry dock (sometimes drydock or dry-dock) is a narrow basin or vessel that can be flooded to allow a load to be floated in, then drained to allow that load to come to rest on a dry platform. Dry docks are used for the construction, maintenance, ...
ed in
Greenwich
Greenwich ( , ,) is a town in south-east London, England, within the ceremonial county of Greater London. It is situated east-southeast of Charing Cross.
Greenwich is notable for its maritime history and for giving its name to the Greenwich ...
. Heading next into
Deptford
Deptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in southeast London, within the London Borough of Lewisham. It is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne. From the mid 16th century to the late 19th it was home to Deptford Dock ...
and
Surrey Quays
Surrey Quays is a largely residential area of Rotherhithe in south-east London, occupied until 1970 by the Surrey Commercial Docks. Previously known as Surrey Docks, the area was renamed following the construction of the Surrey Quays shopping ce ...
/
Rotherhithe
Rotherhithe () is a district of south-east London, England, and part of the London Borough of Southwark. It is on a peninsula on the south bank of the Thames, facing Wapping, Shadwell and Limehouse on the north bank, as well as the Isle of Dogs ...
in the
Docklands, and out towards
Bermondsey
Bermondsey () is a district in southeast London, part of the London Borough of Southwark, England, southeast of Charing Cross. To the west of Bermondsey lies Southwark, to the east Rotherhithe and Deptford, to the south Walworth and Peckham, a ...
, competitors race along
Jamaica Road
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of Hispan ...
before reaching the half-way point as they cross
Tower Bridge
Tower Bridge is a Listed building#Grade I, Grade I listed combined Bascule bridge, bascule and Suspended-deck suspension bridge, suspension bridge in London, built between 1886 and 1894, designed by Horace Jones (architect), Horace Jones and e ...
. Running east again along
The Highway
A highway is a long road giving a relatively fast connection between two places.
Highway may also refer to:
Roads in England
* The Highway (London) (previously Ratcliff Highway), a road in the East End of London
* The Highway, a road in Br ...
through
Wapping
Wapping () is a district in East London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Wapping's position, on the north bank of the River Thames, has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains through its riverside public houses and steps, ...
, competitors head up towards
Limehouse
Limehouse is a district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in East London. It is east of Charing Cross, on the northern bank of the River Thames. Its proximity to the river has given it a strong maritime character, which it retains throug ...
and into
Mudchute
Mudchute Park and Farm is a large urban park and farm in Cubitt Town on the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, just south of Canary Wharf. It is a Local Nature Reserve and a Site of Metropolitan Importance for Nature Conse ...
in the
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...
via Westferry Road, before heading into
Canary Wharf
Canary Wharf is an area of London, England, located near the Isle of Dogs in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. Canary Wharf is defined by the Greater London Authority as being part of London's central business district, alongside Central Lo ...
.
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
Commercial Road is a street in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets in the East End of London. It is long, running from Gardiner's Corner (previously the site of Gardiners department store, and now Aldgate East Underground station), through ...
. 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 Thames Embankment is a work of 19th-century civil engineering that reclaimed marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria Embankment and Chelsea Embankment.
History
There had been a long history of f ...
, 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
Birdcage Walk is a street in the City of Westminster in London. It runs east–west as a continuation of Great George Street, from the crossroads with Horse Guards Road and Storey's Gate, with the Treasury building and the Institution of Mec ...
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.
This final section of the route formed part of the
2012 Olympic Marathon Course.
Since the first marathon, the course has undergone very few route changes. In the first race, the course took a diversion around Southwark Park before re-joining Jamaica Road on the way to Tower Bridge and was routed through St Katherine Docks past the Tower Hotel, en route to the Tower of London and the cobblestoned stretch of road that in later years was carpeted, to help runners prevent injury on the uneven surface. In 1982, the finishing post was moved from
Constitution Hill to
Westminster Bridge
Westminster Bridge is a road-and-foot-traffic bridge over the River Thames in London, linking Westminster on the west side and Lambeth on the east side.
The bridge is painted predominantly green, the same colour as the leather seats in the ...
due to construction works. It remained there for twelve years before moving to its present location at The Mall. In 2005, the route around the
Isle of Dogs
The Isle of Dogs is a large peninsula bounded on three sides by a large meander in the River Thames in East London, England, which includes the Cubitt Town, Millwall and Canary Wharf districts. The area was historically part of the Manor, Ha ...
between was switched from a clockwise to an anti-clockwise direction, and at the route was diverted to avoid St Katherine Docks and the
cobblestone
Cobblestone is a natural building material based on cobble-sized stones, and is used for pavement roads, streets, and buildings.
Setts, also called Belgian blocks, are often casually referred to as "cobbles", although a sett is distinct fro ...
d area near the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
. In 2008, a suspected gas leak at a pub in Wapping diverted the course, but in 2009 the race followed the same path as in 2007.
Since 2012 mile 21 has become a significant cheer zone with
Run Dem Crew
Run Dem Crew is a London based running crew founded in 2007 by DJ, poet and youth mentor Charlie Dark as “a running club for people who don’t consider themselves runners”. Their name is derived from the reggae group Scare Dem Crew. The crew ...
transforming the stretch of Commercial Road outside the former
Limehouse Town Hall
Limehouse Town Hall is a former town hall building on Commercial Road, in Limehouse, in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. It is a Grade II listed building.
History
The building was commissioned by the Limehouse Board of Works as a vestry ...
into a street party with music and confetti cannons.
Due to the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...
, the 2020 London Marathon was run on a non-traditional course, consisting of 19.6 laps of length around
St James's Park
St James's Park is a park in the City of Westminster, central London. It is at the southernmost tip of the St James's area, which was named after a leper hospital dedicated to St James the Less. It is the most easterly of a near-continuous c ...
, taking in
The Mall,
Horse Guards Parade
Horse Guards Parade is a large parade ground off Whitehall in central London (at grid reference ). It is the site of the annual ceremonies of Trooping the Colour, which commemorates the monarch's official birthday, and the Beating Retreat.
Hi ...
,
Birdcage Walk
Birdcage Walk is a street in the City of Westminster in London. It runs east–west as a continuation of Great George Street, from the crossroads with Horse Guards Road and Storey's Gate, with the Treasury building and the Institution of Mec ...
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 ...
. The final circuit was along the Mall, following the finish line of the traditional London Marathon course.
Results
![Paula Radcliffe London marathon 2005 crop](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c6/Paula_Radcliffe_London_marathon_2005_crop.jpg)
London is one of the top six world marathons that form the
World Marathon Majors
The World Marathon Majors (WMM) (known for sponsorship reasons as the Abbott World Marathon Majors) is a championship-style competition for marathon runners that started in 2006. A points-based competition founded on six major marathon races reco ...
competition with a million prize purse. The inaugural marathon had 7,741 entrants, 6,255 of whom completed the race. The first Men's Elite Race in 1981 was
tied between American
Dick Beardsley and Norwegian
Inge Simonsen, who crossed the
finish line holding hands in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds.
The first Women's Elite Race, also in 1981, was won by Briton
Joyce Smith
Joyce Esther Smith (née Byatt, born 26 October 1937) is a British former long-distance runner. She broke the world record in the 3000 metres in 1971 and is a three-time medallist at the International/World Cross Country Championships, inclu ...
in 2:29:57.
In 1983, the first
wheelchair race
Wheelchair racing is the racing of wheelchairs in track and road races. Wheelchair racing is open to athletes with any qualifying type of disability, amputees, spinal cord injuries, cerebral palsy and partially sighted (when combined with another ...
s took place. Organized by the
British Sports Association for the Disabled (BASD), 19 people competed and 17 finished.
Gordon Perry of the United Kingdom won the Men's Wheelchair Race, coming in at 3:20:07, and
Denise Smith
Denise Jacqueline Smith is a former British wheelchair athlete. A Paralympian and longtime wheelchair athlete, Smith won the inaugural London Marathon wheelchair race in a time of 4:29:03. She competed in ice sledge speed racing at the 1984 Win ...
, also of the UK, won the Women's Wheelchair Race in 4:29:03.
World records for marathon running have been set several times.
Khalid Khannouchi
Khalid Khannouchi ( ar, خالد خنّوشي) (born September 12, 1971) is a retired American marathoner. He was born in Meknes, Morocco. He is the former world record holder for the marathon and held the former road world best for the 20 km ...
, representing the United States, set the men's world record in 2:05:38 in 2002. The following year, British runner
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe MBE (born 17 December 1973) is a former British long-distance runner. She is a three-time winner of the London Marathon (2002, 2003, 2005), three-time New York Marathon champion (2004, 2007, 2008), and 2002 Chicago Maratho ...
set the women's world record in 2:15:25 (later briefly downgraded to "world best" by the IAAF as it was achieved in a mixed race, but restored to the title of "world Record" shortly thereafter); in 2017 Mary Keitany of Kenya set a world record of 2:17:01 for an all-women's marathon. Previous women's world records were set in 1983 and 1985 by
Grete Waitz
Grete Waitz (, 1 October 195319 April 2011) was a Norwegian marathon runner and former world record holder. In 1979, at the New York City Marathon, she became the first woman in history to run the marathon in under two and a half hours. Waitz wo ...
and
Ingrid Kristiansen
Ingrid Kristiansen (née Christensen on 21 March 1956) is a Norwegian former athlete. She was one of the best female long-distance runners during the 1980s. She is a former world record holder in the 5000 metres, 10,000 metres and the marathon ...
respectively, both of Norway. The current men's course record is 2:02:37 set by Kenyan
Eliud Kipchoge
Eliud Kipchoge ( ; born 5 November 1984) is a Kenyan long-distance runner who competes in the marathon and formerly specialized at the 5000 metre distance. Widely regarded as the greatest marathon runner of all time, he is the 2016 and 2020 ...
in 2019.
Marcel Hug of Switzerland set the Men's Wheelchair Race course record at 1:26:27 in 2021, and the Women's equivalent was set by Swiss athlete
Manuela Schär
Manuela Schär (born 5 December 1984) is a Paralympian athlete from Switzerland competing mainly in category T54 sprint events. She has used a wheelchair since the age of 8, when a playground accident paralysed her from the waist down.
Ca ...
in 2021, with 1:39:52.
Amateur runners
![2013 London Marathon at Victoria Embankment (1)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/1d/2013_London_Marathon_at_Victoria_Embankment_%281%29.JPG)
The race attracts amateur runners who make up the bulk of the thirty thousand or more participants; commonly running in fancy dress for charity causes. In 2002,
Lloyd Scott
Lloyd Scott, MBE (born 13 October 1961) is an English former professional football goalkeeper and now charity fundraiser, best known in the UK for his charity marathons. He is notable for competing in the 2002 London Marathon in a deep-sea ...
completed the marathon wearing a
deep sea diving
Underwater diving, as a human activity, is the practice of descending below the water's surface to interact with the environment. It is also often referred to as diving, an ambiguous term with several possible meanings, depending on contex ...
suit that weighed a total of , with each shoe weighing ; he also set a record for the slowest London Marathon time. On 19 April 2003, former boxer
Michael Watson
Michael Watson (born 15 March 1965) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1984 to 1991. He held the Commonwealth middleweight title from 1989 to 1991, and challenged three times for a world title between 1990 and 1991. Wats ...
, who had been told he would never be able to walk again after a fight with
Chris Eubank
Christopher Livingstone Eubank (born 8 August 1966) is a British former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 1998. He held the WBO middleweight and super-middleweight titles between 1990 and 1995, and is ranked by BoxRec as the thir ...
, made headlines by finishing the marathon in six days. In 2006, Sir
Steve Redgrave (winner of five consecutive Olympic gold medals) set a new
Guinness World Record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world ...
for money raised through a marathon by collecting £1.8 million in sponsorship. This broke the record set the previous year by the founder of the
Oasis Trust
Oasis Charitable Trust, commonly known as Oasis, is a UK-based Christian registered charity. It was founded by the Reverend Steve Chalke in September 1985. Chalke had been assistant minister at Tonbridge Baptist Church, Kent, for four years. He ...
,
Steve Chalke, who had collected over £1.25 million. In 2011, Chalke raised a new record £2.32 million. The £500 that Claire Squires collected before the race increased to over £1 million after she died having collapsed during the 2012 race.
A small number of runners, known as the "
Ever Presents", have completed each of the London Marathons since 1981. When the list was first established in 1995, there were 42. After
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
, their number has shrunk to 10. At the running of the 2019 event, the oldest runner was 85-year old Kenneth Jones, whilst the youngest runner was 60-year-old Chris Finill. They are all male.
Mini Marathon
The Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon is the sister of The London Marathon. The course is the last of the London Marathon and is for u13s, u15s and u17s from all 33 London Boroughs along with 13 teams from ten English regions and three Home Countries: Scotland, Wales and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. There is also a Mini Wheelchair race on the day. The race doubles as the British Athletics 3mile Championships.
BBC live coverage
The BBC has broadcast live coverage of the London Marathon since its inception in 1981 and has broadcast the race in full since 1984. Originally hosted out-of-vision by
David Coleman
David Robert Coleman OBE (26 April 1926 – 21 December 2013) was a British sports commentator and television presenter who worked for the BBC for 46 years. He covered eleven Summer Olympic Games from 1960 to 2000 and six FIFA World Cups from ...
, more recently the main presenters on
BBC One
BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News television bulletins, p ...
have been
Sue Barker,
Jonathan Edwards and
Gabby Logan
Gabrielle Nicole Logan (''née'' Yorath; born 24 April 1973) is a Welsh presenter and a former international rhythmic gymnast who represented Wales and Great Britain. She hosted '' Final Score'' for BBC Sport from 2009 until 2013. She has also ...
. The highlight presenters on
BBC Two
BBC Two is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It covers a wide range of subject matter, with a remit "to broadcast programmes of depth and substance" in contrast to the more mainstream an ...
have been Jonathan Edwards (2007–12),
Sonali Shah
Sonali Shah (born 26 July 1980 in Edgware, London) is a British TV and Radio Broadcaster who currently presents Sunday Breakfast on Magic FM as well as BBC television programme ''Escape to the Country'', ITV's Tonight and has her own segment o ...
(2013), and
Helen Skelton
Helen Elizabeth Skelton (born 19 July 1983) is an English television presenter and Actor, actress. She co-presented the BBC children's programme ''Blue Peter'' from 2008 until 2013, and since 2014 has been a presenter on ''Countryfile''. She als ...
(2014–15). The commentators between for the Marathon on the BBC were David Coleman, Ron Pickering, Brendan Foster, Paul Dickinson, Steve Cram, Andrew Cotter, Stuart Storey, Paula Radcliffe, Dame Tanni Grey-Thompson, Liz McColgan and Rob Walker.
Theme tune
The theme tune used by the BBC every year is from the film score of ''
The Trap'', a 1966 film about a Canadian fur trapper, starring
Oliver Reed
Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...
and
Rita Tushingham
Rita Tushingham (born 14 March 1942) is an English actress. She is known for her starring roles in films including ''A Taste of Honey'' (1961), ''The Leather Boys'' (1964), '' The Knack ...and How to Get It'' (1965), ''Doctor Zhivago'' (1965), ...
. The music was written by
Ron Goodwin
Ronald Alfred Goodwin (17 February 19258 January 2003) was an English composer and conductor known for his film music. He scored over 70 films in a career lasting over fifty years. His most famous works included ''Where Eagles Dare'', ''Battle ...
and is performed by the
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra
The Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra (BSO) is an English orchestra, founded in 1893 and originally based in Bournemouth. With a remit to serve the South and South West of England, the BSO is administratively based in the adjacent town of Poole, s ...
.
Sponsorship and marketing
The original sponsors of the London Marathon were
Gillette
Gillette is an American brand of safety razors and other personal care products including shaving supplies, owned by the multi-national corporation Procter & Gamble (P&G).
Based in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, it was owned by The Gil ...
, who sponsored the event from 1981 to 1983. Subsequent sponsors have been
Mars
Mars is the fourth planet from the Sun and the second-smallest planet in the Solar System, only being larger than Mercury (planet), Mercury. In the English language, Mars is named for the Mars (mythology), Roman god of war. Mars is a terr ...
(1984–1988),
ADT (1989–1992),
NutraSweet
The NutraSweet Company is an American nutrient company that produces and markets NutraSweet Neotame, their trademarked brand name for the high-intensity sweetener neotame.
In 2021, NutraSweet was placed 43rd by FoodTalks' list of Top 50 Global S ...
(1993–1995), and
Flora
Flora is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous) native plants. Sometimes bacteria and fungi are also referred to as flora, as in the terms '' gut flora'' or '' skin flora''.
E ...
(1996–2009).
Virgin Money
Virgin Money is a financial services brand used by two independent brand-licensees worldwide from the Virgin Group. Virgin Money branded services are currently available in Australia and the United Kingdom. The brand formerly operated in South Af ...
sponsored the marathon from 2010, after signing a five-year £17m sponsorship deal in 2008. In April 2013, the London Marathon renewed its sponsorship deal with Virgin Money for a further five years and the race changed its name to the Virgin Money London Marathon. In 2021 it was announced that Indian consultancy company
Tata Consultancy Services
Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) is an Indian multinational information technology (IT) services and consulting company with its headquarters in Mumbai. It is a part of the Tata Group and operates in 150 locations across 46 countries. In July ...
would take over sponsorship of the London Marathon from 2022.
A number of other companies and organisations also use the event for
brand
A brand is a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that distinguishes one seller's good or service from those of other sellers. Brands are used in business, marketing, and advertising for recognition and, importantly, to create an ...
identification and
marketing
Marketing is the process of exploring, creating, and delivering value to meet the needs of a target market in terms of goods and services; potentially including selection of a target audience; selection of certain attributes or themes to emph ...
, including
New Balance
New Balance Athletics, Inc. (NB), best known as simply New Balance, is one of the world's major sports footwear and apparel manufacturers. Based in Boston, Massachusetts, the multinational corporation was founded in 1906 as the New Balance Arch ...
,
Lucozade Sport
Lucozade is a British brand of soft drink manufactured and marketed by the Japanese company Suntory. Created as "Glucozade" in the UK in 1927 by a Newcastle pharmacist, William Walker Hunter (trading as W. Owen & Son), it was acquired by the ...
, and
Fuller's Brewery.
See also
*
London Triathlon
The London Triathlon (currently known as the "AJ Bell London Triathlon", and previously the ''Virgin Active London Triathlon'', ''Mazda London Triathlon'' and the ''Michelob ULTRA London Triathlon'', for sponsorship reasons) is an annual triathlo ...
References
External links
*
Official map - splits given in milesResults of previous races - splits given in kilometresInteractive Route map from the Guardian (2009 route)Historical weather information for marathon days in LondonThe Official Register of London Marathon Runners 2001-2010, published by Aubrey Books
{{Coord, 51, 28, 22, N, 00, 00, 34, E, scale:25000_region:GB, display=title
Recurring sporting events established in 1981
1981 establishments in England
April sporting events
Marathons in the United Kingdom
Athletics in London
Sports competitions in London
Annual events in London
World Marathon Majors
Sports festivals in the United Kingdom
Spring (season) events in England
Wheelchair marathons
Athletics competitions in England