Every runner who reaches the Embankment at mile 23 faces the same question: how much is left when the crowd noise says one thing and the legs say another. In the 2026 TCS London Marathon, that question will decide whether the race ends with another name in the record books or with the records staying put.
The 2026 London Marathon is scheduled for Sunday 26 April 2026, starting in Blackheath and finishing on The Mall. Elite wheelchair, women's and men's races set off in sequence before the mass field, with official results posted as each race is confirmed. This page tracks the elite races and the course records at stake.
From Greenwich to The Mall: the records the 2026 fields are chasing
London's course has produced some of the fastest marathon times ever run. The men's course record belongs to the late Kelvin Kiptum, who ran 2:01:25 in 2023. Kiptum was 23 and only in his second career marathon when he broke Eliud Kipchoge's previous London best of 2:02:37 from 2019. Later that year Kiptum lowered the world record to 2:00:35 in Chicago.
The women's record is more complicated than a single number. In 2003, Paula Radcliffe ran 2:15:25 with male pacemakers. That time stood as the outright women's world record until Brigid Kosgei ran 2:14:04 in Chicago in 2019, and it remains the fastest women's time ever recorded on the London course. Because male pacemakers can provide a drafting and pacing advantage, World Athletics now keeps separate women-only records. Mary Keitany's 2:17:01 from 2017 is the London women-only benchmark.
| Record | Athlete | Time | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Men's open course record | Kelvin Kiptum (Kenya) | 2:01:25 | 2023 |
| Women's overall course record | Paula Radcliffe (Great Britain) | 2:15:25 | 2003 |
| Women-only course record | Mary Keitany (Kenya) | 2:17:01 | 2017 |
What would it take for a 2026 runner to remove Radcliffe's name from the top of the London list 23 years after she put it there? A time under 2:15:25 would need an average pace of roughly 5:10 per mile for 26.2 miles. For the men, breaking Kiptum's mark means holding close to 4:38 per mile.
Why ratification is slower than the finish line
When we talk about a course record, we're really talking about a process that starts with the gun and ends weeks later. Race organisers first confirm the course measurement, the timing equipment and the results order. Then comes anti-doping control for the athletes involved. Only after those steps can a mark be forwarded to World Athletics for ratification. The result is that a flash of a new record on race day is always provisional, no matter how convincing the finish looks.
Records also depend on conditions that are never fully within a runner's control. London in late April can deliver cool, dry air or a stiff headwind along the Embankment. The course has climbs early at Blackheath and later around the Isle of Dogs, and neither is especially steep, but small changes in pace over 42.195 kilometres add up. A record attempt is usually a bet on all of those details holding together at once.
The difference between mixed and women-only marks
The London Marathon began as a mass participation race and has never been run as a women-only event in the open category, which is why Radcliffe's 2003 performance came with male pacemakers. World Athletics treats that as a mixed-gender race. A women-only record requires no male runners in the same race. Keitany's 2:17:01 came from a separate women's start and has stood as the London women-only standard since 2017.
This distinction matters for how the 2026 women's race will be judged. If a runner finishes in 2:16:30, she may have set a new women-only course record but still be well behind Radcliffe's overall mark. Both numbers can appear in reports, and they mean different things.
The route's pinch points and why they matter
The course starts on Blackheath, drops through Charlton and Woolwich, then turns back west through Greenwich. Runners pass the Cutty Sark early, usually with the field still settling. Tower Bridge arrives near halfway and marks the first real move in many elite races. From there the course loops through Canary Wharf and the Isle of Dogs before returning along the Highway and the Embankment. The final two miles follow Birdcage Walk and swing in front of Buckingham Palace before the finish on The Mall.
For record chasers, the second half is the test. A runner who reaches the half-marathon in around 61:00 for a sub-2:02 attempt has done the easier part. The next 13.1 miles must be run faster than the first, and the twist is that the second half of the London course sits on tired legs. This is why pacing groups are built to carry a runner to 30km, after which the race belongs to the athlete.
What to watch in the 2026 elite races
The elite fields start in stages, with wheelchair races first. Official split times at 5km, 10km, half-marathon and beyond show whether any group is on record pace. The halfway split in London is a useful signal: Kiptum's 2023 race was built on a relentlessly quick second half, and Radcliffe's 2003 run was aggressive from the opening miles.
London is part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, a series that also includes Tokyo, Boston, Berlin, Chicago and New York City. That status brings deep fields, but it also means some runners arrive with different goals. One may target a national record, another a World Marathon Majors points total, a third may be using London as a final tune-up before a summer track season, while a fourth simply needs the win for a major title. The race within the race is often where the most consequential results come from.
How to follow official results and records
Provisional elite results are posted on the TCS London Marathon results hub as each race finishes. Live timing is available through the event's digital platforms, and broadcast coverage follows the leaders through Tower Bridge, Canary Wharf and the final stretch on Birdcage Walk.
The TCS London Marathon website is the most direct source for start times, elite field lists and provisional results. World Athletics maintains the ratified record lists that any 2026 performance would eventually join. For race-day updates and splits, BBC Sport carries live text and broadcast coverage of the London Marathon.
The records above have stood through different eras of pacing, footwear and field depth. Whether they fall on 26 April depends on what happens between Blackheath and a finish line that has never moved.
That question on the Embankment is still there, waiting for the next runner to answer it.
