London Marathon - Wikipedia London Marathon London Marathon Date April Location London, United Kingdom Event type Road Distance Marathon Established 29 March 1981 ; 36 years ago ( 1981 - 03 - 29 ) ( as Virgin Money London Marathon ) Course records Men 's : 2 : 03 : 05 ( 2016 ) Eliud Kipchoge Women 's : 2 : 15 : 25 ( 2003 ) Paula Radcliffe Official site www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com The London Marathon ( presently known through sponsorship as the Virgin Money London Marathon ) is a long - distance running event held in London, United Kingdom, part of the World Marathon Majors. The event was first run on 29 March 1981 and has been held in the spring of every year since. Since 2010, the race has been sponsored by Virgin Money. The most recent event was the 2017 London Marathon on 23 April 2017. The date of the next London Marathon is Sunday 22 April 2018. Contents 1 Overview 2 History 3 Organisation 4 Course 5 Results 6 Amateur runners 7 Mini Marathon 8 BBC live coverage 9 Sponsorship and marketing 10 See also 11 References 12 External links Overview Course map. The race was founded by the former Olympic champion and journalist Chris Brasher and athlete John Disley. It is organised by Hugh Brasher ( son of Chris ) as Race Director and Nick Bitel as Chief Executive. Set over a largely flat course around the River Thames, the race begins at three separate points around Blackheath and finishes in The Mall alongside St James 's Park. Since the first marathon, the course has undergone very few route changes. In 1982, the finishing post was moved from Constitution Hill to Westminster Bridge due to construction works. It remained there for twelve years before moving to its present location at The Mall. In addition to being one of the top six international marathons run over the distance of 26 miles and 385 yards, the IAAF standard for the marathon established in 1921 and originally used for the 1908 London Olympics, the London Marathon is also a large, celebratory sporting festival, third only to the Great North Run in Newcastle upon Tyne and Great Manchester Run in Manchester in terms of the number of participants. The event has raised over £ 450 million for charity since 1981, and holds the Guinness world record as the largest annual fund raising event in the world, with the 2009 participants raising over £ 47.2 million for charity. In 2007, 78 % of all runners raised money. In 2011 the official charity of the London Marathon was Oxfam. In 2014, the official charity was Anthony Nolan, and in 2015, it was Cancer Research UK. History 2006 winner Felix Limo ( left ) and 2005, 2007 & 2008 winner Martin Lel ( right ). The London Marathon was not the first long - distance running event held in the city, which has a long history of marathon events. The Polytechnic Marathon ( also known as the Poly ) was first held in 1909. The current London Marathon was founded in 1981 by former Olympic champion and journalist Chris Brasher and athlete John Disley. Shortly after completing the New York City Marathon in November 1979 Brasher wrote an article for The Observer newspaper which began : To believe this story you must believe that the human race be one joyous family, working together, laughing together, achieving the impossible. Last Sunday, in one of the most trouble - stricken cities in the world, 11,532 men and women from 40 countries in the world, assisted by over a million black, white and yellow people, laughed, cheered and suffered during the greatest folk festival the world has seen. Inspired by the people of New York coming together for this occasion, he asked `` whether London could stage such a festival ? '' The following year Brasher and Disley made trips to America to study the organisation and finance of big city marathons ( such as those in New York and Boston ). Brasher signed a contract with Gillette for £ 50,000, established charitable status and outlined six main aims in the hope to mirror the scenes he witnessed in New York and establish the United Kingdom on the map as a country capable of arranging major events. The London Marathon was born. The first London Marathon was held on 29 March 1981, more than 20,000 applied to run. 6,747 were accepted and 6,255 crossed the finish line on Constitution Hill. The Marathon 's popularity has steadily grown since then. As at 2009, 746,635 people have completed the race since its inception. In 2010, 36,549 people crossed the line, the biggest field since the race began. The first wheelchair marathon race was held in 1983 and the event was credited with reducing the stigma surrounding disabled athletes. In 2013 the IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup was held within the London Marathon featuring athletes of both genders in the T42 -- T46 and T11 -- T13 categories. In August 2013 it was announced that the event would be staged in London until 2017 and feature athletes in the T11 - T12, T13, T42 - T44, T43, T45 - 46, T51 - 52 and the T53 - 54 class. For many years the London and Polytechnic Marathons competed with each other until, in 1996, the latter folded in due to the popularity of the former. Following the Boston Marathon bombings, organisers of the 2013 London Marathon undertook a review of their security arrangements, despite no specific threats against the event. A 30 - second silence was held before the start of the marathon to show respect and support to those affected by the tragedy. Organisation The race is currently organised by Hugh Brasher, son of Chris, as Race Director and Nick Bitel as Chief Executive. Previously David Bedford and Bitel had overseen a period of great change for the race, including amendments to the course in 2005 which saw the cobbled section by the Tower of London replaced with a flat stretch along the Highway. Dan Tunstall Pedoe was the medical director of the London Marathon for 25 years between the first one in 1981 until 2005. In 2003, Pedoe was shadowed by Sanjay Sharma from St George 's Hospital ( University of London ) who took over the role in its entirety in 2006. Medical cover is provided by 150 doctors. Also assisting were more than 1,500 volunteers of St. John Ambulance, who organise over 50 first aid posts along the route, and three field hospitals at the finish. St John Ambulance also provide a number of healthcare professions for the event, including nurses, paramedics, ambulances with crews... The BBC covers the event, devoting rolling coverage for most of the morning. The theme music associated with this coverage, and with the event itself, is called Main Titles to The Trap, composed by Ron Goodwin for the film The Trap. Men 's Wheelchair competitors at Shooter 's Hill, 13 April 2008 There are three separate groups of starters : Elite Women, Wheelchair ( Men and Women ), and Elite Men followed by Mass Race. Course The top three men, Samuel Wanjiru, Tsegay Kebede, and Jaouad Gharib, near the end of the 2009 marathon The marathon is run over a largely flat course around the River Thames, and spans 42.195 kilometres ( 26.219 mi ). The route has markers at one mile intervals. Although the race publicity ( athlete advice, timing charts and so on ) is mile - oriented, the individual timing splits that are available to competitors after the event are kilometre - oriented. The course begins at three separate points : the ' red start ' in southern Greenwich Park on Charlton Way, the ' green start ' in St John 's Park, and the ' blue start ' on Shooter 's Hill Road. From these points around Blackheath at 35 m ( 115 ft ) above sea level, south of the River Thames, the route heads east through Charlton. The three courses converge after 4.5 km ( 2.8 miles ) in Woolwich, close to the Royal Artillery Barracks. As the runners reach the 10 km mark ( 6.2 - mile ), they pass by the Old Royal Naval College and head towards Cutty Sark drydocked in Greenwich. Heading next into Deptford and Surrey Quays / Rotherhithe in the Docklands, and out towards Bermondsey, competitors race along Jamaica Road before reaching the half - way point as they cross Tower Bridge. Running east again along The Highway through Wapping, competitors head up towards Limehouse and into Mudchute in the Isle of Dogs via Westferry Road, before heading into Canary Wharf. As the route leads away from Canary Wharf into Poplar, competitors run west down Poplar High Street back towards Limehouse and on through Commercial Road. They then move back onto The Highway, onto Lower and Upper Thames Streets. Heading into the final leg of the race, competitors pass The Tower of London on Tower Hill. In the penultimate mile along The Embankment, the London Eye comes into view, before the athletes turn right into Birdcage Walk to complete the final 352 m ( 385 yards ), catching the sights of Big Ben and Buckingham Palace, and finishing in The Mall alongside St. James 's Palace. This final section of the route formed part of the 2012 Olympic Marathon Course. Since the first marathon, the course has undergone very few route changes. In the first race, the course took a diversion around Southwark Park before re-joining Jamaica Road on the way to Tower Bridge and was routed through St Katherine Docks past the Tower Hotel, en route to the Tower of London and the cobblestoned stretch of road that in later years was carpeted, to help runners prevent injury on the uneven surface. In 1982, the finishing post was moved from Constitution Hill to Westminster Bridge due to construction works. It remained there for twelve years before moving to its present location at The Mall. In 2005, the route around the Isle of Dogs between 22 and 34 kilometres ( 14 and 21 mi ) was switched from a clockwise to an anti-clockwise direction, and at 35 km ( 22 miles ) the route was diverted to avoid St Katherine Docks and the cobblestoned area near the Tower of London. In 2008, a suspected gas leak at a pub in Wapping diverted the course, but in 2009 the race followed the same path as in 2007. Results Main article : List of winners of the London Marathon Paula Radcliffe, women 's winner of the 2005 race London is one of the top six world marathons that form the World Marathon Majors competition with a million prize purse. The inaugural marathon had 7,741 entrants, 6,255 of whom completed the race. The first Men 's Elite Race in 1981 was tied between American Dick Beardsley and Norwegian Inge Simonsen, who crossed the finish line holding hands in 2 hours, 11 minutes, 48 seconds. The first Women 's Elite Race, also in 1981, was won by Briton Joyce Smith in 2 : 29 : 57. In 1983, the first wheelchair races took place. Organized by the British Sports Association for the Disabled ( BASD ), 19 people competed and 17 finished. Gordon Perry of the United Kingdom won the Men 's Wheelchair Race, coming in at 3 : 20 : 07, and Denise Smith, also of the UK, won the Women 's Wheelchair Race in 4 : 29 : 03. World records for marathon running have been set four times. Khalid Khannouchi, representing the United States, set the men 's world record in 2 : 05 : 38 in 2002. The following year, British runner Paula Radcliffe set the women 's world record in 2 : 15 : 25 ( later briefly downgraded to `` world best '' by the IAAF as it was achieved in a mixed race, but restored to the title of `` world Record '' shortly thereafter ). Radcliffe 's time also stands as the current course record in the Women 's Elite Race : this followed women 's records set in 1983 and 1985 by Grete Waitz and Ingrid Kristiansen respectively, both of Norway. The current men 's course record, and the 2nd fastest marathon time in history, is 2 : 03 : 05 set by Kenyan Eliud Kipchoge in 2016. Kurt Fearnley of Australia set the Men 's Wheelchair Race course record at 1 : 28 : 57 in 2009, and the Women 's equivalent was set by American athlete Tatyana McFadden in 2013, with 1 : 46 : 02. Amateur runners Amateur runners in the race running along Victoria Embankment The race attracts amateur runners who make up the bulk of the thirty thousand or more participants ; commonly running in fancy dress for charity causes. In 2002, Lloyd Scott completed the marathon wearing a deep sea diving suit that weighed a total of 110 lb ( 50 kg ), with each shoe weighing 24 lb ( 11 kg ) ; he also set a record for the slowest London Marathon time. On 19 April 2003, former boxer Michael Watson, who had been told he would never be able to walk again after a fight with Chris Eubank, made headlines by finishing the marathon in six days. In 2006, Sir Steve Redgrave ( winner of five consecutive Olympic gold medals ) set a new Guinness World Record for money raised through a marathon by collecting £ 1.8 million in sponsorship. This broke the record set the previous year by the founder of the Oasis Trust, Steve Chalke MBE, who had collected over £ 1.25 million. Steve Chalke recovered the record in 2007, raising £ 1.86 million. In 2011 Chalke broke the record for a third time, raising £ 2.32 million. The £ 500 that Claire Squires collected before the race increased to £ 920,000 after she died having collapsed during the 2012 race. A small number of runners, known as the `` Ever Presents '', have completed each of the London Marathons since 1981. After 2014 their number has shrunk to 14. At the running of the 2014 event the oldest runner was Kenneth Jones, 80 years old, whilst the youngest runner was 55 - year - old Chris Finill. They are all male. Mini Marathon The Virgin Money Giving Mini London Marathon is the sister of The London Marathon. The course is the last three miles of the London Marathon and is aimed at ages 11 -- 17 from all 33 London Boroughs along with 13 teams from ten English regions and three Home Countries : Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. There is also a Mini Wheelchair race on the day. BBC live coverage Since 1981, the BBC has broadcast live coverage of the London Marathon. The main presenters on BBC One have been Sue Barker, Jonathan Edwards and Gabby Logan. The highlight presenters on BBC Two have been Jonathan Edwards ( 2007 -- 12 ), Sonali Shah ( 2013 ), and Helen Skelton ( 2014 -- 15 ). The commentators between for the Marathon on the BBC were David Coleman, Ron Pickering, Brendan Foster, Paul Dickinson, Steve Cram, Stuart Storey, Paula Radcliffe, Dame Tanni Grey - Thompson, Liz McColgan and Rob Walker. Sponsorship and marketing On 22 April 2013 the London Marathon renewed its sponsorship deal with Virgin Money for a further five years and the race will change its name to the Virgin Money London Marathon. On 16 May 2008, London Marathon Limited signed a five - year £ 17m sponsorship deal with Virgin and Virgin Money. The original sponsors were Gillette, who sponsored the event from 1981 to 1983. The other sponsors have been Mars ( 1984 -- 1988 ), ADT ( 1989 -- 1992 ), NutraSweet ( 1993 -- 1995 ), and Flora ( 1996 -- 2009 ). A number of other companies and organisations also use the event for brand identification and marketing, including Adidas, Lucozade Sport, Fuller 's Brewery and Abbott Laboratories. See also 2010 London Marathon 2011 London Marathon 2012 London Marathon 2013 London Marathon 2014 London Marathon 2015 London Marathon 2016 London Marathon 2017 London Marathon London Triathlon References Jump up ^ `` Runner 's World, Vol. 42, No. 1 ''. Rodale, Inc. Jan 2007 : 82. ISSN 0897 - 1706. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` Home - Virgin Money London Marathon ''. Jump up ^ `` Virgin London Marathon ''. www.virginlondonmarathon.com. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` Give it everything you 've got ''. The Economist. 19 April 2007. Jump up ^ `` BBC -- Your London Marathon guide ''. news.bbc.co.uk. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ ( 1 ) Archived 24 March 2011 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : Kingston Harriers, The Polytechnic Marathon, a short history Archived 9 October 2007 at the Wayback Machine. ^ Jump up to : `` Virgin London Marathon -- Background ''. Retrieved 29 April 2009. Jump up ^ `` The London Marathon story ''. BBC Online. 7 April 2004. Retrieved 14 May 2012. Jump up ^ `` Flora London Marathon -- Background ''. Archived from the original on 11 June 2008. Retrieved 6 November 2008. Jump up ^ `` Record Numbers Finish Virgin London Marathon ''. Retrieved 30 April 2010. Jump up ^ London Marathon. Museum of London. Retrieved on 29 April 2009. Jump up ^ `` IPC Athletics partners with London Marathon ''. Paralympic.org. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` British Athletics Official Website New event added to 2014 IPC Athletics Marathon World Cup ''. Britishathletics.org.uk. 19 November 2013. Retrieved 2 June 2017. Jump up ^ `` London to review marathon security ''. 3 News NZ. 16 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` London Marathon : 30 seconds of silence for Boston ''. BBC News. BBC. Retrieved 21 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Flora London Marathon website : Marathon History : Course History ''. Retrieved 1 February 2007. Jump up ^ Amby Burfoot ( Dec 2008 ). `` Runner 's World, Vol. 43, No. 12 ''. Rodale, Inc. : 116. ISSN 0897 - 1706. Retrieved 1 October 2010. Jump up ^ `` london marathon ''. www.pponline.co.uk. Retrieved 1 October 2010. Jump up ^ ( 2 ) Archived 7 April 2012 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ Steve Cram ( presenter ) ( 26 April 2009 ). `` The 2009 London Marathon Highlights ''. British Broadcasting Corporation. BBC Two. Missing or empty series = ( help ) Jump up ^ `` 2011 Race information -- Mile markers ''. Virgin London Marathon. Retrieved 28 January 2011. Jump up ^ `` Race results and reports ''. Virgin London Marathon. Retrieved 28 January 2011. ^ Jump up to : `` Interactive Marathon Map ''. BBC News. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 13 May 2009. ^ Jump up to : Storey, Peter ; Onanuga, Tola ; Murphy, Sam ; Ashdown, John ( 23 April 2009 ). `` London Marathon 2009 : Mile - by - mile route map ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2009. Jump up ^ Gliddon, Abigail ; Onanuga, Tola ( 24 April 2009 ). `` London Marathon : A brief history ''. The Guardian. Retrieved 13 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` History of the London Marathon -- Course History ''. London Marathon. Retrieved 13 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` World Marathon Majors ''. worldmarathonmajors.com. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` History of the London Marathon -- In the Beginning ''. London Marathon. Archived from the original on 6 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2009. ^ Jump up to : `` 1981 Race Report ''. London Marathon. Retrieved 12 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` 1983 Race Report ''. London Marathon. Retrieved 12 May 2009. Jump up ^ `` Radcliffe to lose records. Marathon queen unhappy at losing world record mark ''. Sky Sports. 25 October 2011. Retrieved 7 September 2013. Jump up ^ `` London Marathon 2013 : American Tatyana McFadden claims victory as Shelly Woods finishes fifth ''. East London Advertiser. 21 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` BBC News UK Marathon man erodes lead boots ''. BBC News. London : BBC. 17 April 2002. Retrieved 23 April 2012. Jump up ^ `` Oasis Trust ''. Oasisuk.org. Retrieved 22 April 2012. Jump up ^ Faulkner, Katherine ; Brown, Larisa ; Smith, Graham ; Evans, Rebecca ( 25 April 2012 ). `` ' Do n't stop giving, it 's what she would have wanted ' : Family of ' inspirational ' woman who died running London Marathon urge wave of generosity to continue as charity donations rocket past £ 780,000 ''. Daily Mail ( online ). Retrieved 25 April 2012. Jump up ^ Mike Peel robin-web.co.uk. `` Ever Present Home Page ''. Everpresent.org.uk. Retrieved 14 April 2014. Jump up ^ `` Virgin Mini London Marathon -- Home ''. www.minimarathon.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` London Marathon to stay on BBC ''. Sport on the Box. Sport on the Box. Retrieved 26 April 2015. Jump up ^ `` London Marathon and Virgin Money announce new sponsorship deal '' ( PDF ). Virgin London Marathon. 22 April 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2013. Jump up ^ `` Sir Richard Branson signs £ 17million sponsorship deal for London Marathon ''. Daily Mail. 16 May 2008. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ `` Virgin London Marathon ''. www.virginlondonmarathon.com. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ Advertising -- Google Books. books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2010. Jump up ^ Strategic Sports Event Management... - Google Books. books.google.co.uk. Retrieved 30 September 2010. External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to London Marathon. Official website Official map - splits given in miles Results of previous races - splits given in kilometres Interactive Route map from the Guardian ( 2009 route ) Historical weather information for marathon days in London The Official Register of London Marathon Runners 2001 - 2010, published by Aubrey Books London Marathon Years 1981 1982 1984 1985 1986 2017 Related List of winners Ever Presents Trophy World Marathon Majors Marathons Tokyo winners Boston winners London winners Berlin winners Chicago winners New York City winners Results Final standings IAAF World Championships Marathon World Marathon Cup Olympic Games Marathon IAAF Gold Label Road Races Amsterdam Marathon Beijing Marathon Berlin Marathon Bogotá Half Marathon Boston Marathon Cape Town Marathon České Budějovice Half Marathon Chicago Marathon Copenhagen Half Marathon Delhi Half Marathon Dubai Marathon Frankfurt Marathon Fukuoka Marathon Gifu Seiryu Half Marathon Gold Coast Marathon Hong Kong Marathon Istanbul Half Marathon Istanbul Marathon Karlovy Vary Half Marathon Lake Biwa Marathon Lisbon Marathon EDP Lisbon Half Marathon Rock ' n ' Roll Lisbon Half Marathon London Marathon Madrid Marathon Nagoya Women 's Marathon New York City Marathon Olomouc Half Marathon Ottawa 10K Ottawa Marathon Paris Marathon Prague Grand Prix Prague Half Marathon Prague Marathon Roma - Ostia Half Marathon Rotterdam Marathon San Juan World 's Best 10K Seoul International Marathon Shanghai Marathon Singapore Marathon Sydney Marathon Tokyo Marathon Toronto Waterfront Marathon Ústí nad Labem Half Marathon Valencia Half Marathon Valencia Marathon Vienna City Marathon Xiamen International Marathon Yangzhou Jianzhen International Half Marathon Yellow River Estuary International Marathon Athletics in the United Kingdom UK Athletics British records in athletics Major meetings London Grand Prix British Grand Prix Birmingham Indoor Grand Prix Glasgow International Match AAA Championships Major road races London Marathon Great Run series : Great North Run Great Manchester Run Great South Run Major cross country Antrim International Cross Country Great Edinburgh International Cross Country UK Cross Challenge Championships 1983 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 1994 IAAF World Cup 1995 IAAF World Cross Country Championships 2003 IAAF World Indoor Championships 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships 2013 European Team Championships 2017 World Championships in Athletics See also Category : Athletics in the United Kingdom Category : British athletes Retrieved from `` https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=London_Marathon&oldid=807365326 '' Categories : London Marathon Recurring sporting events established in 1981 1981 establishments in England April sporting events Marathons in the United Kingdom Athletics in London Sports competitions in London Annual events in London World Marathon Majors Sports festivals in the United Kingdom Hidden categories : Webarchive template wayback links Pages with citations lacking titles Use British English from June 2015 Use dmy dates from June 2017 Articles using Template : Infobox athletics race with invalid colour combination Official website different in Wikidata and Wikipedia Talk Contents About Wikipedia Afrikaans Български Cymraeg Dansk Deutsch Español Esperanto فارسی Français 한국어 Bahasa Indonesia Italiano עברית Latviešu Magyar Nederlands 日本 語 Norsk Polski Português Русский Scots Српски / srpski Suomi Svenska ไทย Türkçe Українська Tiếng Việt 中文 Edit links This page was last edited on 27 October 2017, at 14 : 05. 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Question: over which bridge is the london marathon run
Answer: Tower Bridge