The London Marathon is a road marathon held each year in April in London, UK. It is one of the five World Marathon Majors, a two-year series of elite marathon racing that also includes the Boston, Chicago, New York and Berlin marathons. It is also the largest annual fund raising event in the world.

The London Marathon course is flat and fast. It starts in Blackheath, heads east through Charlton and Woolwich for three miles, turns west and passes the Cutty Sark in Greenwich after six to seven miles. It crosses the River Thames at Tower Bridge and then loops around the east end of London, past Canary Wharf in Docklands, before heading west again along the Highway and the Embankment to Parliament Square, Birdcage Walk and the final corner in front of Buckingham Palace. Total distance: 42.195 km (26 miles and 385 yards).