TCS London Marathon 2027: Race Weekend 24 to 25 April

London runs its marathon twice in 2027. For one year only, the TCS London Marathon becomes a two day event on Saturday 24 and Sunday 25 April 2027, with 100,000 participants taking on the same route from Greenwich to Westminster across the weekend, London Marathon Events confirms.

Whether you hold a place or a place on the barriers, race weekend fills the city and closes its center to traffic. This post covers the Double format, the timings the organiser has published, and how the arrival hour works for runners and watchers.

The Double is a one off. The organiser is clear that the two day format is for 2027 only: the same iconic route on both days, from Greenwich to Westminster, with participants choosing, or being drawn for, one day rather than both. In person runners take part on one day only, and the MyWay virtual event, 26.2 miles wherever you are, runs on both days for those who enter it separately.

The elite races split across the weekend for the first time: the men elite race headlines Saturday 24 April and the women elite race headlines Sunday 25 April, and the event also hosts the UK Athletics Marathon Championships. The mass fields mix across both days, which means two full mornings of barriers, bands and charity vests instead of one.

Timings published so far are likely starts, not final promises: the Saturday event is likely to start at 09:00 with its Finish Line closing at 17:30, because Saturday is time constrained by road reopenings, giving Saturday runners at most 7 hours 45 minutes. Sunday is likely to start at 09:30, with its secondary Finish Line in Green Park closing at 23:59:59. The organiser will confirm all details to participants in due course.

Entry is settled early for this race. The 2027 ballot was open from 24 April to 1 May 2026 and will not reopen, so a late place means the other routes the organiser lists, charity, Good For Age, championship, club and international entries, or a spot on the pavement, which in London is a fine place to be. The Running Show, where runners collect their bibs, is being explored across Tuesday 20 to Saturday 24 April, overlapping race day one itself.

Fly in by Friday if you can: bib collection, closed roads and a 09:00 start punish a same day arrival. Heathrow gives you three clean rides into town, and on race weekend the trains are the plan, because the course takes the roads. See our Heathrow to central London transfer guide for every option, priced and compared.

For a Splurge, The Savoy, on the Strand, is the grande dame of the Thames since 1889, with Art Deco and Edwardian rooms and a riverside terrace, a short walk from the Embankment stretch of the course. For Sweet spot, Hoxton Holborn, at 199-206 High Holborn, is a design forward favorite that puts the West End and the City within walking distance. For Budget, Premier Inn Bank (Tower), at 20 Prescot Street, is clean, quiet and reliably comfortable, a short walk from the Tower of London and the Tower Bridge viewing miles.

Sleep on a Tube line, not across the river from your start or finish plans, and the weekend stays simple. For getting back, ride the trains out to Heathrow: the course roads reopen on their own schedule, and the Piccadilly line does not care how tired your legs are.

Get connected before you fly: the guide names an Airalo eSIM for the UK, with Saily as a good alternative, and free Wi-Fi is standard in cafes and most hotels. You will live on live Tube information and the event app this weekend, so land with data working.

Cards and contactless payments work almost everywhere, including Tube and bus gates. Keep £10 to £20 in cash for the odd small cafe or street market stall. The UK has no tourist tax, and hotel prices include VAT.

For a first meal, the guide sends you to a proper chippy for fish and chips, golden cod or haddock with thick chips, salt and vinegar, eaten straight from the paper, sound runner food the night before a long spectating day. Book Tower of London and London Eye tickets before you fly if they are on the Monday plan, as the guide directs.

Two marathon days in one weekend will not happen again soon, and London does race weekend better than anywhere. Browse the events calendar for what else is on while you are in town, and use plan your trip to line up the days around it.