London Marathon organisers said they have received 840,318 applications for the 2025 race, breaking the world record of 578,374 set in last year’s public ballot.
International: London Marathon receives world record 840,000 applications for 2025 race. More than 53,000 runners completed the 44th edition of the marathon last week, a record for the event, with Olympic champion Peres Jepchirchir setting a women-only world record.
There were an estimated 17,000 ballot spaces available for this year’s race.
“This is an absolutely phenomenal total,” event director Hugh Brasher said on Monday.
“Furthermore, the increase in applications from women, up from around 43% last year to 49% this year, is exceptional and takes us close to parity for applications for the first time.
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“We want to inspire people of all ages and abilities to get active and these amazing record-breaking figures show how the TCS London Marathon is doing that and how many people want to be part of it,” Brasher added.
The 2025 London Marathon is scheduled for April 27.
The London Marathon (also known as the TCS London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in London, England. It is the largest marathon in the world, with over 53,700 finishers in 2024, and 840,318 applicants for the 2025 event. Founded by athletes Chris Brasher and John Disley in 1981, it is typically held in April, although it moved to October for 2020, 2021, and 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The largely flat course is set around the River Thames, starting in Blackheath and finishing at The Mall. Hugh Brasher (son of Chris) is the current race director and Nick Bitel its chief executive.
The race has several components: it has a mass race for the public, professional races for men and women long-distance runners, elite level wheelchair races for men and women, plus a 3-mile mini marathon event for under-17 athletes. There is a significant charity running aspect to the marathon, with participants helping to raise over £1 billion since its founding, including £67 million at the 2024 London Marathon which was the highest amount for a single-day fund-raising event.
