London Marathon update

London’s marathon weekend is here: the 46th edition starts on Sunday, April 26, with elite races from 8:50 a.m. British Summer Time and the mass field on the same 26.2-mile course from Greenwich and Blackheath to The Mall. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) (espn.co.uk) The elite wheelchair races are scheduled for 8:50 a.m., the elite women for 9:05 a.m. and the elite men for 9:35 a.m., with BBC coverage beginning at 8:30 a.m. and moving from BBC One to BBC Two at 2 p.m. (espn.co.uk) Organizers say the course is fast and flat, with 246 feet of elevation gain and an eight-hour cutoff, and 2026 adds a new section called Woodland Way to mark out part of the route. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 1) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 2) The elite fields still anchor the event. London Marathon Events says men’s champion Sabastian Sawe returns after wins in London and Berlin in 2025, while Tigst Assefa heads the women’s race after her 2025 London victory and women-only world record. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 1) (londonmarathonevents.co.uk 2) Prize money remains a draw at the front of the race. Winners in the elite men’s, elite women’s and both wheelchair races receive $55,000, with time bonuses rising to $150,000 for sub-2:02:00 in the men’s race and sub-2:15:00 in the women’s race. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) The British subplot includes Jess Warner-Judd, who is set for her London debut after telling BBC Sport she feared her career might be over following a mid-race seizure in Rome less than two years ago. Other reports on the British field say she already ran 2:24:45 on her marathon debut in New York in 2025, making Sunday her first London Marathon rather than her first marathon. (sports.yahoo.com) (fastrunning.com) Celebrity runners are again part of the build-up. Run247 reports Joe Wicks is back for his third London Marathon after finishing the 2025 race in 5:54:59, and says Tilly Ramsay and Ore Oduba are also among this year’s entrants. (run247.com) London Marathon Events has pushed that crossover further by putting Joe Wicks alongside Daddy Pig, the “Peppa Pig” character, in a charity run for the National Deaf Children’s Society. The organizer says Daddy Pig will appear both on the road and in an upcoming episode of the children’s show. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) The race is also arriving with the usual practical planning around the finish line. The Independent has already rounded up medal-based offers for runners, including free food and drinks at participating London venues after they cross the line. (independent.co.uk) Sunday now turns on the same formula that has made London one of the sport’s biggest dates: world-class racing up front, a mass field behind it, and a city already planning around road closures, broadcast times and the long run to The Mall. (londonmarathonevents.co.uk) (visitlondon.com)