Date, route map, road closures and how to watch
This Sunday the capital will play host to the 44th London Marathon – an event which sees elite athletes and amateur runners alike make their way round a 26.2-mile route of the city.
It started in 1981 with 6,255 runners crossing the finish line. By 2016, more than a million had completed the course. And this year will see more than 50,000 people taking part.
Seven world records have been broken in the history of the event, including elite runner Paula Radcliffe’s historic time of 2:15:25 in 2003.
Aside from the sporting achievements, it has also become the largest annual one-day fundraising event in the world, with the total raised for charities in the history of the event surpassing £1bn in 2019.
Last year’s event raised a total of £63m for charities, the highest since 2019.
When is the 2024 London Marathon?
This year’s TCS London Marathon will be held on Sunday 21 April.
Elite wheelchair athletes will begin their race at 8.50am followed by the elite women at 9am and elite men at 9.40am.
For the rest of the participants, it will be a staggered start between 10am and 11.30am.
What is the marathon route?
The world-famous 26.2-mile TCS London Marathon route has remained largely unchanged since the first event in 1981, with runners passing many of the capital’s landmarks on route including the Tower of London and the Houses of Parliament.
Starting in Greenwich Park in Blackheath, south of the River Thames, competitors will wend their way past the iconic Cutty Sark, over Tower Bridge, through the tower blocks of Canary Wharf, back through the city and along Victoria Embankment by the Palace of Westminster before ending up on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
There are three colour-coded start lines (blue, green or red) near Greenwich Park, depending on runners’ expected finish times. The Red Start is located at southern Greenwich Park on Charlton Way, the Green Start can be found at St John’s Park, and the Blue Start is on Shooter’s Hill Road.
Which roads will be closed?
Such a massive event on the streets of the capital means there will be a number of road closures throughout the day in different areas of the city as runners make their way around the route.
South of the river:
Construction work taking place at Blackheath Station means four additional roads will be closed this year: Southvale Road, Hurren Close, Collins Street, and Baizdon will be closed from 7am to 1pm.
Charlton Way and Shooters Hill Road will be closed from 4am to 1pm.
Charlton Park Road, St John’s Park, Old Dover Road, Little Heath, Charlton Park Lane , Artillery Place and John Wilson Street will be closed from 7am to 1pm.
Woolwich Church Street and Woolwich Road will be closed from 7am to 2pm.
Trafalgar and Creek Road will be closed from 7am until 3pm.
Evelyn Street, Surrey Quays Road, Salter Road, Brunel Road and Jamaica Road will be closed from 8am to 4pm.
Tower Bridge will be closed from 8am until 7pm.
North of the river:
The Highway (south side), narrow Street, Westferry Road, East Ferry Road and Marsh Wall, North Colonnade, Poplar High Street, Commerical Road and The Highway (north side) will be closed from 8am to 7pm.
Byward Street, Upper Thames Street and Victoria Embankment will be closed from 7.30am until 8.30pm.
The Mall and Marlborough Road will be closed from 5am on Thursday 18th April until 6pm on Monday 22 April.
Spur Road, Constitution Hill, Horseguards Road and Birdcage Walk (eastbound) will be closed from 6am on Friday 19 April until 6am on Monday 22 April.
Birdcage Walk (westbound) will be closed from 7.30am Saturday 20 April until 6am Monday 22 April.
How can I watch the London Marathon?
Whether you want to watch from the sidelines or the sofa, here are the details of how to keep track of the marathon.
The route takes in some of the city’s most famous landmarks and spectators are welcome to watch from almost anywhere along the 26.2-mile stretch.
If you plump for The Highway, you will see the runners go past twice and if you stand on Tower Bridge you will see them at almost the halfway mark.
Some parts of the route, such as close to the Cutty Sark and St James’ Park do get very busy on Marathon Day.
For spectators with disabilities, there are accessible viewing areas at: the Cutty Sark, Canary Wharf, Rainbow Row, Tower Hill and Victoria Embankment.
You can also track the progress of any friends or loved ones taking part using the TCS London Marathon app.
For those who prefer to watch from the comfort of home, television coverage will be on BBC One from 8.30am until 2pm, then on BBC Two from 2pm to 3pm with highlights shown on BBC Two at 6pm.
There will also be two live streams from Tower Bridge and the Finish Line on BBC iPlayer and BBC Sport app. Tower Bridge cam runs from 11.30am to 2.30pm and the Finish Line cam runs from 1pm to 6pm.
