Access All AreasOrganisers of the TCS London Marathon have said the 27 April event is set to see a record 56,000 finishers.
The aim is to seize the Guinness World Records title for the most participants in a marathon by beating the existing figure of 55,646 finishers set by the TCS New York City Marathon in November 2024.
According to its organisers, the 2025 TCS London Marathon is already the most popular marathon on the planet, with 840,318 people having applied via the public ballot to run this year’s marathon. It is also understood to be the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event with more than £1.3 billion raised for charity since 1981.
London Marathon Events CEO Hugh Brasher said, “The 45th edition is a landmark year for us, and it would be wonderful to mark that by becoming the biggest marathon ever staged anywhere in the world. Marathon Day is an extraordinary day when communities come together to celebrate the very best of humanity as tens of thousands of participants take on the legendary 26.2-mile challenge from Greenwich to The Mall and raise tens of millions for charity on the way.”
The first edition of the event in 1981, organised by Hugh Brasher’s father, Chris, and John Disley, saw 6,255 finishers of which fewer than 300 were women. Some 49% of the UK ballot applicants for this year’s event were female.