London Marathon 2027 training plan

The race

London starts in Greenwich and finishes on The Mall, passing the Cutty Sark, Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf on the way. It is flat and fast, and the crowds carry you for 42.2 km. Those same crowds, and narrow roads in the early kilometres, make it easy to go out too fast. Late April in London is usually cool, but race day has been warm before, so be ready for either.

The public ballot for 2027 closed on 1 May 2026. If you don't have a place, check londonmarathonevents.co.uk for charity places, Good for Age and club places, and the official international travel partners.

Training through a South African summer

If you live in South Africa, most of your London build happens in January, February and March, the hottest months of the year. That changes how you train:

• Run early. Do your long runs and quality sessions at first light, before the heat builds.
• Train by effort, not just pace. The same effort is slower in 30°C than in 12°C. If your goal-pace sessions feel hard in the heat, that is normal; you will usually be faster in a cool London April.
• Drink and replace salt. Summer long runs lose far more sweat than race day will. Practise your drinks and gels anyway, because you will still need carbohydrate in London.

A 16-week outline

Count back sixteen weeks from your race day and you start in the first week of January. If you already run regularly, that is enough for a focused marathon build. Start from your allocated day, Saturday or Sunday, so the taper lands correctly.

New to the distance? The marathon training plan guide covers how to choose a plan length and build up to your first 42.2 km.

Goal pace

The pace you need to hold, per kilometre, to finish under each time:

GPS watches often read long in London, where tall buildings and the Canary Wharf section confuse the signal. Use the kilometre markers to check your pace, and give yourself a few seconds per kilometre of margin.

Long runs and fuelling

• Build long runs to 30 to 35 km. Further usually costs more recovery than it gives back.
• Put goal-pace blocks into the second half of some long runs, so you practise holding pace on tired legs.
• Take in roughly 30 to 60 g of carbohydrate an hour, using the products you will race with. The nutrition tracking guide covers fuelling the training around it.
• Carb-load in the 36 to 48 hours before your start. In London that means planning your meals around travel and a hotel, not just your own kitchen.

Travel and race week

• Arrive early. Fly in at least two days before your race day. London is only one hour behind South Africa in April, so jet lag is mild, but an overnight flight still leaves you stiff and dehydrated.
• Save the sightseeing. Walking around the city all day before a marathon tires your legs more than you notice. See London after the race.
• Pack your race kit in your hand luggage: shoes, kit, gels and anything you can't replace if a bag goes missing.
• Follow the organiser's instructions for collecting your race number and getting to the start, and check which day and start area you have been allocated.

London in a South African season

2027 is a crowded autumn for South African marathoners, and London sits in the middle of it.

• Two Oceans (4 April) is three weeks before London. Racing both hard is a big ask. If London is the goal, run Two Oceans as a controlled long run, or run the Half.
• Cape Town Marathon (23 May) is four weeks after London. Two Majors in one autumn is tempting, but pick one to race and run the other for the experience.
• Comrades (13 June) is seven weeks after London. Run London at a controlled effort and it fits a Comrades build well as a long run. If you want it to count as your qualifier, check the rules on comrades.com first.

How SportMentor builds your London plan

Tell your mentor you are running London on 24 or 25 April, your goal time and how many days a week you can run. It builds the plan from your own training, whether that comes from Garmin, COROS, Polar, Suunto, Intervals.icu, Strava or Fitbit, or from sessions you log yourself, sets your paces from what you are actually running, and adjusts the plan each week.

• Hot week, missed long run or a work trip? The weeks ahead adjust instead of pretending it didn't happen.
• Guided home strength sessions are built in to help you stay injury-free through the build.
• Race-week fuelling follows the calendar: taper, travel, carb-load, race day and recovery.

There is no subscription. Sign up free, get a free credit to try it, and after that you pay only for what you use.

Build my London Marathon plan →

Questions runners ask

Is the 2027 London Marathon on Saturday or Sunday?

Both. The 2027 race is a one-off Double, with about 45,000 runners on Saturday 24 April and 55,000 on Sunday 25 April. Each runner is allocated one day. Your entry confirmation says which day is yours, so plan your long runs and taper back from that date.

The ballot has closed. Can I still run London 2027?

The public ballot closed on 1 May 2026 and results went out in July. The other routes are charity places, Good for Age and club places, and official international travel partners. Check londonmarathonevents.co.uk for what is still available.

How do I deal with the travel from South Africa?

London is one hour behind South Africa in April, so jet lag is mild. The bigger costs are the overnight flight and a lot of walking around the city. Fly in at least two days before your race day, keep the sightseeing for after, and drink well on the flight.

Can I run London and Comrades in the same year?

Yes, and many South Africans do. London is seven weeks before Comrades, which is enough to recover from a marathon if you run London at a controlled effort. Racing it flat out makes the last Comrades block harder.

Is London a fast course?

It is one of the flattest big-city marathons and is known for fast times. The crowds and the narrow early kilometres make it easy to start too fast. Settle into goal pace early, and expect your watch to read long because GPS struggles between tall buildings.

This guide is general training information, not medical advice. Check with your doctor before starting a marathon build, especially if you have a heart condition, an injury or another health concern.