2026 London Marathon: Elite Fields Take On Record Entries As Mo Farah Returns

The women’s elite are being introduced on the start line. Tigst Assefa beat the world women’s-only marathon record with her run here in London last year and she returns as defending champion. The Ethiopian has also not been shy in saying that she will attempt her own world record. Keep your eyes out for Eilish McColgan, who made her marathon debut last year in London and Jess Warner-Judd, who is returning to running after being diagnosed with epilepsy. And off they go!

Official starters: Great Britain's four-time Olympic gold medallist Mo Farah returns to the London Marathon for the first time since retiring from athletics in 2024. Seen as the greatest British endurance athlete in history, Farah is also the British record holder for the marathon. He will be joined on the starter’s podium by Red Roses Rugby World Cup-winning star Ellie Kildunne, fresh off the back of England’s Six Nations game against Wales taking place the day before. The pair will be the official starters for the elite wheelchair, elite women’s and elite men’s races, as well as the mass start, sending more than 59,000 participants on their way from Blackheath to the Mall.

The prodigious growth of running clubs, fuelled by young women, has seen the popularity of the London Marathon sky-rocket. More than 1.1 million people entered the ballot for this year’s race – 750,000 more than four years ago. Notably, a third of those were in the 18-29 category, with female entrants making up the biggest percentage of those under 30. The explosion in this new breed of running clubs or "crews" has been key to the boom. Unlike a traditional club, their emphasis isn’t usually on super-fast times but on being inclusive, enjoying a run and a chat, and a coffee afterwards. And it is gen Z women who are embracing them most of all. According to Jenny Mannion, who founded the female-running group Runners and Stunners in 2023, it is because they are searching for different real-life experiences after the pandemic than millennials like her.

The elite field is stacked, as always. On the men’s side, Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe is hoping to defend his title after a victory in 2025 with a time of 2:02:27. He faces tough competition against Uganda’s Jacob Kiplimo, the half marathon world record-holder and Ethiopia’s Deresa Geleta, who became the 20th fastest marathoner in history with a time of 2:03:27 at the 2024 Seville Marathon. Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa won the women’s title last year after a women-only world record time 2:15:50. Her consistency in major races across the year makes her a heavy favourite, but last years runner-up, Kenya’s Joyciline Jepkosgei, is aiming to do one better. Switzerland’s Marcel Hug is the greatest marathon wheelchair racer in history. The three-time Paralympic marathon champion has won more Abbott World Marathon Majors than anyone else in history with 42 and a win today would pull him level with David Weir as the most successful athlete in London Marathon history. The women’s wheelchair record holder, Switzerland’s Catherine Debrunner, is not just aiming for the title, which she won last year, but the world record, which she missed by just two seconds in 2025. At the 2024 Paris Paralympics she won a five gold medals in the 400m, 800m, 1,500m, 5,000m and marathon distances.

After the start of the elite races, nearly 60,000 will then head off and have at the 26.2 miles (42.195 km) across the capital.