London Marathon scale

London is preparing for its biggest marathon yet, with more than 59,000 runners due on the start line on Sunday, April 26. (olympics.com) The 2026 race is the 46th London Marathon and the third stop in this year’s World Marathon Majors series. Elite wheelchair races start from 8:50 a.m. British Summer Time, the elite women from 9:05 a.m., and the elite men and mass field from 9:35 a.m. (olympics.com) (visitlondon.com) The route still begins around Blackheath and Greenwich and finishes on The Mall by Buckingham Palace after 26.2 miles through Woolwich, Deptford, Canary Wharf, Tower Bridge and central London. London Marathon Events says road closures, parking suspensions and some footpath closures will be in force along the course. (visitlondon.com) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) The scale starts long before race day. A record 1,133,813 people applied for the 2026 public ballot, up from the previous record of 840,318 for the 2025 edition. (athleticsweekly.com) That demand sits on top of a race that already grew sharply last year. The 2025 London Marathon set a world record for marathon finishers, with 56,640 people completing the course, and organizers now expect the 2026 start field to be larger still. (olympics.com) (visitlondon.com) The event is also one of Britain’s biggest charity fixtures. London Marathon Events says the race has raised more than £1 billion for charity since it was founded in 1981. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) That size is why the disruption stretches well beyond the finish line. The official closure map shows affected areas from Greenwich and Westcombe Park to Rotherhithe, Wapping, Canary Wharf, Trafalgar Square and Queen Anne’s Gate, with separate resident guidance for each zone. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) For spectators, organizers are steering people toward planning tools instead of improvising on the day. The official app offers live runner tracking and race alerts, and London Marathon Events says BBC coverage starts at 8:30 a.m. on BBC One before moving to BBC Two at 2 p.m. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 1) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 2) London Marathon Events was founded by Olympians Chris Brasher and John Disley, and the first race in March 1981 drew more than 20,000 applicants. Forty-five years later, the same race is preparing to move tens of thousands of runners and far larger crowds across a city-sized course. (visitlondon.com)