Course Map
About this Race
The London Marathon is a fast, largely flat point-to-point romp through the capital, starting in Greenwich and Blackheath before threading down through Charlton and Woolwich, past the iconic Cutty Sark in Greenwich, over Tower Bridge at the halfway mark, out east into the Isle of Dogs and Canary Wharf, then back along the Embankment with the finish on The Mall beside Buckingham Palace. The route is defined by its phenomenal, wall-to-wall crowd support and its reputation as a personal-best machine, with only the cobbles around the Tower and a few tight turns in Docklands breaking the rhythm. It draws one of the largest and most international fields in the sport, mixing world-record-chasing elites with tens of thousands of charity runners in costume. It suits debutants and PB-hunters alike, rewarding those who hold back through the roaring early miles and let the flat, supportive second half carry them home.
Course Insight
The Greenwich start is a deceptively quick downhill in the first few kilometres, so the classic early mistake is letting the flat course and roaring crowds pull you into banking time you'll pay for later — settle into goal pace and resist the temptation. The three start zones (Red, Blue, Green) merge around the 5km mark near Woolwich and can bottleneck, so don't waste energy weaving. The Cutty Sark at roughly 10km is a famous narrowing pinch-point where the crowd noise funnels and pace can stall. Tower Bridge near halfway delivers a huge emotional lift, but the real pacing trap comes just after, around 13-14 miles, where the course turns east into the Docklands — the crowds thin, the Highway and the loops around the Isle of Dogs feel disorientating and lonely, and many runners hit the wall here around 30-35km. The cobbles by the Tower of London are short but jarring on tired legs. Crowds are thickest at Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and the finish on The Mall, and thinnest through the Docklands. Run the tangents and save something for the Embankment.
Difficulty Breakdown
Mostly due to very flat.
Course Details
- Course type
- Point-To-Point
- Elevation gain
- 85m
- Elevation loss
- 115m
- Highest point
- 54m
- Lowest point
- 2m
- Net elevation
- -30m
- Start
- Blackheath, Greenwich
- Cutoff time
- 8h 0m
Race History
The London Marathon began in 1981, founded by former Olympic steeplechaser Chris Brasher and athlete John Disley after Brasher ran the New York City Marathon and returned home determined to create a mass-participation race in his own capital. Some 6,000 runners completed that first edition, and the event grew rapidly into one of the largest and most prestigious marathons in the world, a founding member of the Abbott World Marathon Majors. From the start it fused elite competition with a uniquely British spirit of charity and fancy dress, going on to become the single largest annual fundraising event on the planet and the stage for multiple world records and countless defining performances. Run today by London Marathon Events under the long-running TCS title sponsorship, it draws tens of thousands of finishers from well over a hundred countries to the streets of the capital each spring.
Plan Your Trip
Everything you need to know to get there, get settled, and get to the start line.
- Nearest airport(s)
- London City (LCY) and Heathrow (LHR), Gatwick (LGW), Stansted (STN) & Luton (LTN)
- Best area to stay
- The West End for finish-line proximity and abundant hotels, Greenwich for staying near the start in a historic riverside setting, and Canary Wharf for modern hotels close to the course with fast transport.
- Getting to the start
- Runners get free travel on race morning by showing their bib. Take a National Rail train from central hubs like London Bridge or Charing Cross to Blackheath (Blue Start), Greenwich (Red Start), or Maze Hill (Red/Green Start), followed by a 15-minute walk to the corrals.
- Race expo
- ExCeL London, Royal Victoria Dock, 1 Western Gateway, London E16 1XL (Wednesday to Saturday before Marathon)