London Marathon 2026 Ballot Opens for 2027 Event Amid Record Demand and Elite Competition

Apr 24, 2026, 16:36

Introduction

The 2026 London Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, April 26, with over 59,000 participants expected. Concurrently, the ballot for the 2027 edition opened on Friday, April 24, following a record 1,133,813 applications for the current year. The elite fields feature defending champions Sabastian Sawe and Tigst Assefa, both aiming for record performances.

Main Body

The ballot for the 2027 TCS London Marathon opened at 9:00 BST on April 24 and will close at 16:00 BST on May 1. Results are to be announced in early July 2026. The entry fee for successful UK applicants is £79.99, reduced to £49.99 if the fee is donated to the London Marathon Foundation. International applicants pay £225, inclusive of a carbon offset fee. Organisers are exploring a one-off two-day format for 2027, potentially on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25; if approved, all ballot entrants would be automatically entered for both days, increasing participation capacity. Unsuccessful applicants in the initial draw are automatically entered into a second ballot, doubling their chance of selection. Those unsuccessful in both draws receive a hydration vest valued at over £100. The 2026 ballot saw a success rate of approximately 5%, with 869,803 UK and 264,011 non-UK applicants. In the men's elite race, defending champion Sabastian Sawe (Kenya) stated at a press conference that he believes the course record of 2:01:25, set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, could be beaten. Sawe, who won the 2025 London Marathon in 2:02:27, noted that his Adidas Pro Evo 3 shoes, weighing 96 grams, are of record-breaking quality. His agent, Eric Lilot, indicated that pacemakers will target a halfway split of 60 minutes and 30 seconds, aided by forecast tailwinds. Sawe's coach, Claudio Berardelli, confirmed full recovery from a stress fracture and a back injury that caused a ten-day training hiatus in December. Key rivals include Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda), who finished second in 2025 with a time of 2:03:37 and recently set a half-marathon world record of 57:20; Olympic champion Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia); and Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia), making his marathon debut after a 10,000m silver medal. British contender Emile Cairess withdrew due to a calf injury, with Mahamed Mahamed, Phil Sesemann, and Patrick Dever representing the home cohort. Olympic triathlon gold medalist Alex Yee will serve as a pacemaker. In the women's race, defending champion Tigst Assefa (Ethiopia) aims to improve upon her women-only world record of 2:15:50, set at the 2025 London Marathon. Assefa reported that her training has been superior to last year's preparation, making a record attempt feasible. Her competitors include Hellen Obiri (Kenya), Olympic bronze medalist and winner of the Boston and New York marathons; Joyciline Jepkosgei (Kenya), winner of the Valencia Marathon; and British runners Rose Harvey, Eilish McColgan, and Jessica Warner-Judd. Ruth Chepng'etich (Kenya) is absent due to a three-year ban for a positive test for hydrochlorothiazide. Weather conditions for the 2026 race are expected to be sunny, with temperatures rising from 11°C at 09:00 to a peak of 19°C by 15:00. Former Olympian Steve Cram advised participants to hydrate adequately, noting that conditions are less warm than the previous day but still require caution for slower runners. The London Marathon, part of the World Marathon Majors, has seen sustained growth in popularity, with over 1.3 million finishers since 1981 and £1.4 billion raised for charity.

Conclusion

The 2026 London Marathon is set to proceed with a large field and competitive elite lineups, while the opening of the 2027 ballot reflects continued high demand. The potential two-day format for 2027 may further expand access, and the elite races feature multiple athletes with stated ambitions for record-breaking performances.

Vocabulary Learning

concurrently (adv.)
at the same time; simultaneously同時地；並行地
Example:Concurrently, the ballot for the 2027 edition opened on Friday, April 24.
feasible (adj.)
possible and likely to be achieved; achievable可行的；可實現的
Example:Assefa reported that her training has been superior to last year's preparation, making a record attempt feasible.
hiatus (n.)
a pause or gap in a sequence or activity間斷；停頓
Example:Sawe's coach confirmed full recovery from a stress fracture and a back injury that caused a ten-day training hiatus in December.
sustained (adj.)
continuing for an extended period without interruption持續的；長期的
Example:The London Marathon has seen sustained growth in popularity, with over 1.3 million finishers since 1981.
tailwinds (n.)
winds blowing in the direction of travel, providing assistance順風；尾風
Example:Pacemakers will target a halfway split of 60 minutes and 30 seconds, aided by forecast tailwinds.

Sentence Learning

Organisers are exploring a one-off two-day format for 2027, potentially on Saturday, April 24 and Sunday, April 25; if approved, all ballot entrants would be automatically entered for both days, increasing participation capacity.
Conditional + Participial Phrase: This sentence features a conditional clause ("if approved") that is reduced (elliptical) and uses the passive voice ("would be automatically entered"). The main clause uses present continuous ("are exploring") and the sentence ends with a participial phrase ("increasing participation capacity") that functions as a resultative adjunct, indicating the consequence of the conditional action. The semicolon separates the two independent clauses, with the second clause containing the conditional.條件句 + 分詞短語: 此句包含條件從句（「if approved」），為省略式條件句，並使用被動語態（「would be automatically entered」）。主句使用現在進行時（「are exploring」），句末的分詞短語（「increasing participation capacity」）作為結果修飾語，表示條件動作的後果。分號分隔兩個獨立子句，第二子句包含條件結構。
In the men's elite race, defending champion Sabastian Sawe (Kenya) stated at a press conference that he believes the course record of 2:01:25, set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023, could be beaten.
Reduced Relative Clause + Passive Modal: This sentence uses a reduced relative clause ("set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023") modifying "course record", omitting the relative pronoun and auxiliary verb. The main verb "stated" introduces a reported speech clause with "that". Within that clause, "could be beaten" is a passive modal construction expressing possibility. The sentence also includes a parenthetical location ("at a press conference").簡化關係從句 + 被動情態: 此句使用簡化關係從句（「set by Kelvin Kiptum in 2023」）修飾「course record」，省略了關係代詞和助動詞。主要動詞「stated」引導一個帶「that」的間接引語從句。該從句中的「could be beaten」是被動情態結構，表示可能性。句子還包含插入語地點（「at a press conference」）。
Sawe, who won the 2025 London Marathon in 2:02:27, noted that his Adidas Pro Evo 3 shoes, weighing 96 grams, are of record-breaking quality.
Non-restrictive Relative Clause + Participial Phrase: This sentence contains a non-restrictive relative clause ("who won...") providing additional information about Sawe, set off by commas. It also includes a participial phrase ("weighing 96 grams") modifying "shoes", which is a reduced relative clause (equivalent to "which weigh 96 grams"). The main verb "noted" introduces a that-clause. The predicate "are of record-breaking quality" uses a prepositional phrase as complement.非限制性關係從句 + 分詞短語: 此句包含非限制性關係從句（「who won...」），以逗號分隔，提供關於Sawe的額外信息。同時包含分詞短語（「weighing 96 grams」）修飾「shoes」，是簡化關係從句（相當於「which weigh 96 grams」）。主要動詞「noted」引導一個that從句。謂語「are of record-breaking quality」使用介詞短語作為補語。
Key rivals include Jacob Kiplimo (Uganda), who finished second in 2025 with a time of 2:03:37 and recently set a half-marathon world record of 57:20; Olympic champion Tamirat Tola (Ethiopia); and Yomif Kejelcha (Ethiopia), making his marathon debut after a 10,000m silver medal.
Complex Coordination with Relative Clauses and Participial Phrase: This sentence features a list of three items, with the first item expanded by a non-restrictive relative clause ("who finished... and recently set...") containing coordinated verbs. The third item is modified by a participial phrase ("making his marathon debut..."). The use of semicolons to separate list items with internal commas is a sophisticated punctuation technique. The sentence has high lexical density with multiple proper nouns and times.複雜並列結構含關係從句與分詞短語: 此句包含三個項目的列表，第一個項目由非限制性關係從句（「who finished... and recently set...」）擴展，該從句包含並列動詞。第三個項目由分詞短語（「making his marathon debut...」）修飾。使用分號分隔含有內部逗號的列表項目，是複雜的標點技巧。句子具有高詞彙密度，包含多個專有名詞和時間。
Former Olympian Steve Cram advised participants to hydrate adequately, noting that conditions are less warm than the previous day but still require caution for slower runners.
Participial Phrase with Embedded Clause: This sentence uses a participial phrase ("noting that...") that functions as an adverbial of manner, providing the manner in which the advice was given. The participial phrase itself contains a that-clause with a contrastive structure ("less warm... but still require caution"). The main clause uses the verb "advised" with an infinitive complement ("to hydrate adequately"). The sentence demonstrates complex embedding and contrast.分詞短語含嵌入從句: 此句使用分詞短語（「noting that...」）作為方式狀語，說明建議提出的方式。分詞短語本身包含一個that從句，具有對比結構（「less warm... but still require caution」）。主句使用動詞「advised」搭配不定式補語（「to hydrate adequately」）。句子展示了複雜的嵌入和對比結構。