‘London Marathon 2027’ announces expansion to a two-day event, increasing the runner quota beyond 100,000 people.
On 24 June 2026, the organizers of the TCS London Marathon 2027 announced a new competition format under the special project called "TCS London Marathon Double."
For the first time since the race began, the London Marathon will be extended to a full two days, from 24-25 April 2027. Organizers emphasized this is a special format that will occur "only this year" and is not a permanent change to the event.
The main reason for this change is overwhelming global runner demand. The latest ballot system received 1.33 million applications, the highest in history. The original one-day event model could not accommodate this volume, so expanding to two days will raise the total runner quota to 100,000, nearly doubling the previous capacity.
Separate Elite line-ups by gender / use of iconic traditional route
To ease congestion and traffic flow on the course for a comfortable and safe run, organizers will separate elite runners and time-qualified groups by gender on different days.
On the women's side: female elite runners, female wheelchair athletes, and women's time-qualified groups (Championship / Good for Age) will lead the race on one day, alongside some mass participation runners.
On the men's side: male elite runners, male wheelchair athletes, and men's time-qualified groups will lead the race on the other day, along with the remaining mass participation runners.
Both days will retain the classic atmosphere by using the iconic traditional route, starting from Greenwich, passing major landmarks, and finishing at Westminster, covering 26.2 miles (42.195 kilometers) on both days.
Who runs on which day? And the ‘MyWay’ rules
Runners who have applied through the ballot will be automatically and randomly assigned to run on either Saturday or Sunday. A key rule is that each runner is allowed to compete in person on only one day and cannot run on both days.
However, for those wishing to participate in this historic running festival on both days, organizers have opened a special channel. Runners worldwide can register to run anywhere and submit their times online into the tournament system. This format is called "TCS London Marathon MyWay," allowing them to experience the world’s greatest running festival together!