The ballot for next year's TCS London Marathon has officially opened, as this year's participants make their final preparations for Sunday's race, which is expected to see warm weather. Prospective runners have until 4pm on Friday, May 1, to enter the random draw for the 2027 event, scheduled for Sunday, April 25. Ballot results will be announced by early July.
Record Applications and Potential Two-Day Event
A record-breaking 1,133,813 people applied for a ballot place in Sunday's marathon. However, the odds of securing a spot could improve for 2027, as organisers explore holding an additional London Marathon on Saturday, April 24. If approved, this one-off two-day format would automatically enter all applicants into the ballot for both days, though each runner would only be able to participate in one event. The two-day event would also create more places for charity fundraisers.
Charity Fundraising and Warm Weather Advice
JustGiving reported that £41 million was raised on its platform by 2025 participants, and over £32 million has already been donated to more than 14,000 fundraisers this year. Marie Curie, the event's charity of the year for 2026, aims to raise £2 million to support end-of-life care. With sunny skies and temperatures up to 19°C forecast in central London on Sunday, participants are advised to stay hydrated in the days leading up to the race and to wear lightweight clothing. Extra layers worn while waiting to start can be donated to the Salvation Army.
Among those running in fancy dress are George Strong and Nick Marshall, employees of Sheffield-based fixings company ForgeFix. They are dressed as giant screws and running four marathons as part of the Screw Prostate Cancer campaign, which aims to encourage 100,000 men to take Prostate Cancer UK's online risk checker and raise £100,000 for the charity. They completed their first marathon in Newport on April 19 and will continue to Belfast on May 3 and Edinburgh on May 24.
New Weekend Events and Blood Donation Drive
For the first time, the London Marathon weekend will begin on Friday evening with a 5k run in Battersea Park, in partnership with Friday Night Lights, which organises social runs with lights and music. Marathon runners have until 5:30pm on Saturday to collect their race numbers from Excel London. At Excel, attendees can also sign up to give blood as part of the Blood, Sweat and Cheers campaign, which calls on the estimated 800,000 spectators at this year's marathon to become donors. NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has partnered with the TCS London Marathon and Abbott, which screens more than half of the world's blood and plasma supply. Two hundred Hero medals are available for those who are first to commit to giving blood.
Every minute in England, the NHS uses three life-saving blood donations to treat accident victims, cancer patients, mothers in childbirth, and people with chronic conditions like thalassemia and sickle cell disease. Currently, just 800,000 active donors maintain the entire country's blood supply, and 200,000 new donors are needed each year to meet demand. The NHS is particularly calling for donors with B negative, O negative, and Ro blood types, as well as donors of Black heritage, to help those living with sickle cell disease, the UK's fastest growing inherited condition, which disproportionately affects people of Black heritage.
To launch the initiative, London Marathon Events chief executive Hugh Brasher met sickle cell campaigner Adesayo Talabi, previous marathon runner Chloe Adlerstein—who lives with beta thalassemia and depends on a blood transfusion every two weeks—and Trojan Gordon, NHSBT charity bib runner and community leader. Mr Brasher said: "The London Marathon has always been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. This year, we're calling on the 800,000 people lining the route to be heroes too. You don't need to run 26.2 miles to save a life—you just need to be prepared to roll up your sleeve. I've just signed up to give blood myself, and I'd encourage anyone on the route this Sunday or watching from home to do the same."
Darren Bowen, assistant director of blood donation operations at NHSBT, added: "It only takes one hour to donate blood. Every donation is tested and separated into three components—red cells, platelets and plasma—meaning a single donation can save up to three lives. If you're eligible, please consider signing up to donate and help save the lives of multiple people who need it." Spectators can visit Trinity Square Gardens in central London on Sunday to find out their blood type and sign up to donate blood.
