Whether you can defer your London Marathon place, and how long for, depends on a number of factors. However, most entrants can defer their place for at least one year.
If you enter via the ballot or through your running club then you can defer your entry for a year using the online participant dashboard. You’ll still need to pay for your place in the following year’s race to secure a spot, and can’t defer for more than one year (with the exception of if you are pregnant or postpartum). International entrants can also defer their place for one year.
Whether you can defer a charity place is up to the charity involved, so you will have to discuss it with them. You can’t defer the place via the London Marathon system.
If you had a place in the London Marathon via Good For Age or Championship entry, which is based on running a qualifying time, you cannot defer your place, unless you are pregnant or postpartum.
The London Marathon made some welcome changes to deferrals for pregnant and postpartum people in 2022. You can now defer for up to three years in this situation, and this goes for those who have a Good For Age or Championship place as well, so you don’t have to run the qualifying time again.