The London Marathon will be held over two days in 2027

The administration of Marathon London (TCS London Marathon) hasofficially announced that the 2027 edition will take place over two full days, Saturday and Sunday, April 24 and 25. This marks the first time in the race’s 47-year history that the event has expanded from one day to two.

According to Hugh Brasher, CEO of the London Marathon, the decision is not a permanent arrangement, but rather a one-time, exceptional event. The goal: to double the number of participants from 50,000 runners to a record-breaking 100,000 runners, distributed roughly equally over the two days.

The organizing body confirmed that the next edition, in April 2028, will return to the traditional one-day format, making the 2027 edition a historic, one-time event in the race’s history.

How will the race be divided?

Under the new system, the women’s elite races will be held on Saturday and the men’s elite races on Sunday, while the mass marathon runners (general participants) will be spread out over both days. Those selected in the lottery will be assigned only one day—either Saturday or Sunday.

London Mayor Sadiq Khan described the decision as a “once-in-a-lifetime historic development” in 2027, emphasizing that London is “the sports capital of the world.” Bratcher, for his part, called it “the boldest development we’ve ever undertaken—an unprecedented reimagining of what a citywide celebration of sports can be.”

Numbers Worth Noting

Demand for the “London Marathon” has become unmanageable in its current form. More than 1.33 million people applied for the lottery for the 2027 race, an 18% increase over the previous record. This means that the chance of winning a spot in the general lottery was less than 2% before this expansion.

From a financial and economic perspective, Bracher estimates that the expanded edition could raise more than 150 million pounds for charity, in addition to generating an economic impact of up to 400 million pounds on the UK economy. The 2026 edition alone—which saw Sebastian Sawye break the world record with a time of 1:59:30—raised a previous record of 90 million pounds for charity and featured 59,830 runners who finished the race.

A historical context worth recalling

It is interesting to note that this announcement comes just one year after the historic 2026 edition, which saw the two-hour barrier officially broken with a time of 1:59:30 by Kenyan runner Sebastian Sawi, while Ethiopian runner Yomif Kegelcha achieved a feat of nearly equal significance in the same race by also breaking the two-hour barrier with a time of 1:59:41—marking the first time in history that two runners broke the two-hour barrier in the same race. Run covered this historic event “Read here", and now there is another development that confirms that London is writing new chapters in the history of global running year after year.

Conclusion

The 2027 London Marathon will be unlike any previous edition. Two days, 100,000 runners, and a new lottery system that opens the door to greater opportunities for Arab runners who dream of running through London’s historic streets, from Blackheath to The Mall. The final lottery results are expected in July. Follow us on Arkad to get all the details and updates.

تصوير: p_a_h، رخصة CC BY 2.0، عبر ويكيميديا كومنز.