The London Marathon 2026 is underway, featuring elite races and world record attempts.
Hug Leads Wheelchair Race
Marcel Hug and Leo Xingchuan broke away early in the elite men’s wheelchair race, leading the pack around the 10km mark. David Weir is not far behind the pair. Hug is a long way clear of the rest. He is 15 minutes away from winning his eighth London Marathon. A win today would pull him level with Weir for most marathon wins in London.
In the elite women’s wheelchair race, Debrunner and McFadden are rotating the lead. Anytime either of them gets ahead though, they just try to make it slightly more difficult for the other. Debrunner is currently in the lead.
Elite Runners Set the Pace
The elite men are being introduced. Last year’s winner, Sabastian Sawe of Kenya, spoke to BBC Sport before making his way to the start line. He said there is not much pressure on him because he runs his own race, and it is only the best moment to be here, to be here again and to be a defending champion.
Sawe added that being unbeaten in races is something special even in his life because it is just him and he is unique. He sees himself setting a new world record and believes it is only a matter of time. The men are off.
The elite women’s race is approaching the 30min mark. The main contenders are still all keeping pace with the pacers and they should be pulling away soon. The speed they are going at is faster than expected, having just passed the 10km mark in 31min. It looks like Assefa and Jopkosgei may be trying to tire out newcomer Obiri.
Hellen Obiri is hoping to challenge Tigst Assefa. Obiri is making her London debut after consistently racing in New York and Boston.
World Record Attempts
76 people will be attempting 73 different Guinness World Records titles today.
- Arnie Delstanche holds the record for fastest marathon in a full-body inflatable costume by a male and returns today in his full-body inflatable T-rex costume to improve his time of 4:07:46.
- Mark Goulder will attempt the fastest marathon blindfolded and tethered by a male, with a target time of 3:20:00. His guide is his close friend Alex. Goulder’s attempt is inspired by his younger brother Bobby, who was diagnosed with Stargardt’s disease, a rare condition that causes progressive vision loss.
- Simon Fannon will be one of the few who will want to run as slow as possible today as he hopes to knit the longest scarf while running the marathon. The minimum mark to beat is 3.7m and he has six hours to do it. He runs for the Huntington’s Disease Association after his mother’s diagnosis.
The UK’s leading end of life charity, Marie Curie, is the official charity of the 2026 London Marathon. Marie Curie aims to raise awareness and funds for terminal illness and are hoping to raise £2m.