Record-breaking 1.1 million apply to 2026 London Marathon

The ballot for the 2026 TCS London Marathon closed on Friday 2nd May. As expected, applications greatly outstripped available places. A final count shows that a record-breaking 1,133,813 applicants entered in hope of running next year's event.

Organisers, London Marathon Events, revealed that 1,133,813 people entered the ballot. This is a 36% increase on the previous world record of 840,318, set a year ago for this year's race, and almost double that (578,304) for the 2024 event.

The vast majority (76.71%) of entries were from British runners. 869,803 UK applications were received. Of those, 433,775 (49.87%) came from men, 430,983 (49.55%) from women and 5,044 (0.58%) from non-binary runners.

Overseas interest in the marathon seems as strong as ever, 264,011 entries being received from overseas.

With so many entries, the chance of success will be slim. The ballot offers 20,000 places, so only 1 in 52 entrants will be fortunate enough to run. Results will be announced by email in July.