London Marathon 2026 route: A map for runners and viewers

• London Marathon 2026 LIVE!

The London Marathon returns on Sunday for its 46th edition. This year almost 60,000 runners will tackle the famous (and very flat) course, which has changed little since the inaugural race in 1981. The race starts in Greenwich and Blackheath, and finishes 26.2 miles later on the Mall. 

The whole event is broadcast on television by the BBC. The women’s elite race starts at 9.05am, followed by the men’s elite athletes and the mass participation event, in waves of runners released between 9.30am and 11.30am. The finish line closes at 7.30pm.

Marathon - Runners Section

For the runners

0 miles - The Rolling start

The days of queuing up in your pen, while people try to beat the system by leapfrogging the railings to get closer to the start line, are gone. Runners are now allocated a two-hour start window and, with their time chip automatically registering when they set off, can get going whenever suits them after an allocated time. No drama, then, over any loo stops. It’s still busy but the bustle, barge and overcrowding is largely gone and in theory, you run alongside people of a similar speed. The three starts are still split between Blackheath and Greenwich Park.

Many runners attach their timing chip to their running shoes - Andrew Baker/Shuttershock

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2.4 miles - The big downhill

There is only one significant and sustained change of gradient and mercifully it is downhill. It also comes after just two miles, with about a mile of steady decline once runners hit Woolwich. Resist the temptation to go too fast but enjoy the chance to conserve some energy while gaining a few seconds on your planned pace.

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3 miles - Meeting of rivers

The downhill coincides with what feels like a meeting of rivers in Woolwich as the three waves of runners merge into one. A moment of unexpected energy and euphoria. But keep your wits about you as there is suddenly rather less space on the road and a greater chance of clipping heels until it all settles down again.

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6.5 miles - First wall of noise

The left turn at the Thames is followed by a relatively uneventful three miles or so – unless a glimpse through the streets at Charlton’s Valley Stadium takes your fancy – before the runners snake around the Cutty Sark. This is the first major landmark and the pubs, noise, music and energy really are tangible. It’s no use racing or getting frustrated by the crowds and inevitable bunching here; just take a moment to savour the atmosphere.

The section through central Greenwich is usually particularly busy - Jamie Lorriman

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10.5 miles - Rhythm section

There is no real let up of crowds but there is a section of almost six miles between the Cutty Sark and Tower Bridge that offers a chance to settle into the rhythm and take advantage of the long weeks of training. Plenty of notable pubs are close by in this section through Rotherhithe and Bermondsey, including The Mayflower – London’s oldest riverside pub – and the Salt Quay where drinkers can cheer you on from the pub patio.

The Mayflower, one of the staple London Marathon pubs - Simon Turner/Alamy

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12.1 miles - Take it to the bridge

The former roving BBC presenter Bob Wilson used to run the best part of a marathon just going forwards and back all day along Tower Bridge. The TV crews pick this part of course because nowhere else quite reaches this pitch of atmosphere. An unmistakable landmark and, even allowing for the incline, this is one part on which runners frequently feel like they are being carried by the crowds.

Tower Bridge is the most famous 290m of the route - Leon Neal/Getty Images

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13.1 miles - Elite inspiration

The right turn off Tower Bridge comes just before the halfway point; a moment of sudden elation or utter dread depending on how much you have trained and paced the opening 13.1 miles. The section is also novel because runners within five miles of the finish line are often visible on the opposite side of the road. Try not to be distracted or disheartened by some of the world’s fastest endurance runners moving at superhuman speed.

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15.2 miles - Canary Wharf

This was a relatively quiet section in the early years of the London Marathon but the regeneration of the area into towering office blocks and sparkling restaurants and pubs means that Canary Wharf is now among the most atmospheric and crowded areas. It is also where wellwishers can literally hang off the lampposts and railings and catch sight of runners as many as three times in just a few miles.

Canary Wharf can feel claustrophobic compared with the more open sections of the course - Ben Hoskins/Getty Images

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17 miles - Snapshot of normality

Although the route does again return to Canary Wharf, an increasingly rewarding part of the course is the section around the Isle of Dogs. It was once one of the quietest parts of the course but the residents, many of them young families, now turn out in force to provide touching support through a section that still offers respite from all the music, noise and general blare elsewhere.

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18.5 miles - Prepare to lose touch

A big frustration for many runners is how the sheer size of buildings and mass of people around Jubilee Place in Canary Wharf – between miles 18 and 19 – does strange things to GPS watches. The technical glitch can affect information about your pacing and usually does not settle until you are out of the Blackwell Tunnel and have turned left to begin the final 10km (6.2-mile) run for home.

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21.5 miles - Radcliffe corner

The route now heads through Limehouse towards Shadwell and the (almost) perfectly named “Ratcliffe” pocket of Tower Hamlets. It was here, just off Commercial Road, that Paula Radcliffe, queen of British marathon running, famously paused to answer the call of nature in 2005. “I didn’t spot any Portaloos nearby but then it would have taken me ages to get back through the crowd,” she later remarked. Radcliffe lost about 20 seconds that day but still won the race.

Radcliffe won the 2005 Marathon, despite her unscheduled stop

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23 miles - Magical history tour

Here the route doubles back on itself. No matter how slow you are, there is invariably a chance to see someone nine miles behind before passing a series of historic landmarks. The Tower of London – built in the 10th century and the scene of numerous executions – as well as Pudding Lane where the Great Fire of London started in 1666. As for the burning in your own thighs, try to ignore it.

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24 miles - Bridge after bridge

There are no real uphill stretches on the London Marathon, but the slight incline toward Blackfriars, coming at almost 24 miles, is wholly unwelcome. Prepare to pass five bridges in 1.5 miles. The final section around the Embankment is spectacular, taking you past Cleopatra’s Needle and the London Eye before Big Ben comes into sight. The crowds here are three or four deep and acutely aware that the finish is coming into sight. But, beware, too: the 1.5 miles from Blackfriars Road to Westminster Bridge can still seem interminable.

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25.6 miles - Parliament Square

Another section where the atmosphere is extraordinary and it is important not to be fooled into thinking you have made it. But, if there is still energy in the body, this final 750 metres is the time to up the pace and savour the majesty of Birdcage Walk and St James Park on your right before Buckingham Palace comes into view.

The right hand corner off the Embankment and towards Parliament Square signals the race’s closing stage - DANIEL GARCIA/Getty Images

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26.2 miles - The Mall

The London Marathon has had a few different finishing spots, including Westminster Bridge and Constitution Hill for the first edition, when the American Dick Beardsley and Norway’s Inge Simonsen joined hands to become the only pair of joint winners. The Mall, though, has been the finishing point for 32 years. It is only 200m but still needs to be respected after 26 miles, as Swansea Harrier Matthew Rees and Chorlton’s David Wyeth demonstrated so memorably in 2017.

Marathon - Spectators Section

For the spectators

For multiple viewings

Limehouse is a great place to see runners twice without using public transport in between. Catch the DLR to Limehouse, then head down to Narrow Street to watch runners around mile 14, before going back up to Commercial Road to see them pass again at mile 21. To kill time in between, there is nice green space and market stalls at St James’ Garden or Limehouse Link.

When runners arrive at Canary Wharf around mile 15, they encounter skyscrapers, which provides a totally different feel and view to what has come before. As they head down the Isle of Dogs, then weave their way back up again, it’s a great place to see athletes pass more than once. At the southern end of the Isle of Dogs, Mudchute is a great spot to watch, as there is a big park nearby. The Greenwich Foot Tunnel also means you can cross the river from Greenwich (where the marathon starts) to near here – another opportunity to see runners on multiple occasions.

Given Canary Wharf is also on the Jubilee Line, it’s also easy to head back to Westminster tube station and see them at the finish line or on the Embankment. Like Limehouse, the opportunity for watching is abundant, but it will be busy.

Earlier in the course, Canada Water also offers viewers two bites of the cherry – and in quick succession, at around mile nine and mile 11. Canada Water tube will get very busy, so Rotherhithe and Surrey Quays are good alternatives.

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For iconic landmarks

Every runner remembers crossing Tower Bridge, because of the deafening noise when flanked by fans on either side. The atmosphere is incredible and the setting steeped in history, but that does mean it gets busy. To get a view of the runners, arrive early, because the banks of fans will be deep.

The Cutty Sark, at one end of the Greenwich foot tunnel, is a popular viewing spot with many pubs nearby - Dreamer Company

The same is true of Cutty Sark – extremely busy but an amazing atmosphere. Runners swing round the bend with hundreds of viewers packed into a small space.

For a more sedate setting, try the Embankment. There are a few advantages to this: it is picturesque; it is easy to get to; it is long, which means there is space for plenty of people; and it is near the end, which means runners desperately need your support and you do not have to get up early to be in position at the right time. An option could be to watch an earlier part of the race at, say, Deptford, then head into Cannon Street or Blackfriars via train to watch more.

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