TRI Design Festival 2026
The TCS London Marathon takes place on Sunday, 26 April 2026 – and if you are travelling to London for it, the race itself is only part of the story. Marathon Weekend has grown into something the whole city feels, whether you have a bib number or not. Around 750,000 people line the route, bars fill up early, and central London moves at a different pace for four days. Getting that weekend right starts with knowing what is happening and planning how you move around a city that, on race day, does not behave like itself.
The Race: What You Need to Know
The 46th edition of the London Marathon starts in Blackheath and Greenwich — three colour-coded start areas that merge into a single stream by mile three. From there the route heads through Woolwich, past the Cutty Sark at around mile seven, across Tower Bridge at the halfway point, around the Canary Wharf loop between miles 18 and 20, and along the Embankment before finishing on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
Start times on 26 April are as follows:
- Elite Wheelchair at 8:50am,
- Elite Women at 9:05am,
- Mass start at 9:35am.
The cut-off is eight hours from the mass start. BBC One broadcasts live from 8:30am, with a finish-line stream on iPlayer from 12:30pm.
Road closures take effect from Saturday 25 April and remain in place into Monday. The first sections of the course begin to reopen from around 1pm on Sunday as the field clears, but the latter parts of the route — through central London and towards the finish — stay closed well into the evening. The official closure map is published at londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-marathon/road-closures and is worth checking before you make any plans involving a car.
Marathon Weekend: More Than Just the Race
Not everyone coming to London that weekend is running 26.2 miles, and the city knows it. Marathon Weekend has its own programme of events that run alongside the race itself.
The TCS London Marathon Running Show takes place at ExCeL London in Royal Victoria Dock from Wednesday 22 to Saturday 25 April. Every runner must collect their race pack here in person – there is no race-morning collection – but the show is also open to anyone who wants to browse running kit, official merchandise, and sports brands under one roof. It draws a crowd of its own.
On Friday evening, the TCSLM × Friday Night Lights 5K runs through Battersea Park. This is the first time the event has run in London — a collaboration between the marathon organisers and the Friday Night Lights running community, with music, lighting and the kind of atmosphere that has nothing to do with finishing times. It is aimed at marathon participants wanting a warm-up and a social occasion, but it is the sort of thing the city puts on that is worth knowing about if you are already in town.
From 23 April through 1 May, RUN THE YARDS takes over Covent Garden — a week-long celebration of running culture with a curated 5K route through the West End, post-run food and drink from local restaurants, and events across fashion and wellness. Again, no race entry required.
On Sunday itself, rooftop bars along the route tend to fill up fast. Pubs near the finish on the Mall and around St James's open early and stay busy long after the last runner crosses the line. Post-race celebrations — some organised by charities, some simply organic — continue into the evening across the city.
Getting Around London on Marathon Day
This is where it gets complicated – and it is worth being honest about.
Road closures change the shape of the city from Saturday night. If you have a car parked along the route, it needs to move by Saturday evening or risk being towed. On Sunday, bus services across the affected area are diverted or suspended entirely. The Tube runs, but stations at Greenwich and Blackheath are under severe pressure between 6am and 8:30am, and temporary access restrictions at peak times are not unusual. Later in the day, as hundreds of thousands of spectators move between viewing points, central London stations become equally difficult.
Uber and black cabs cannot enter the closed zones. For anyone trying to get from, say, Tower Bridge to the Embankment to catch a runner at two different points of the course, public transport on marathon day means crowd-management, not convenience.
A private chauffeur who has worked marathon weekend before knows which routes stay open as the rolling closures shift eastward, when the windows appear, and how to get you across the city without guesswork. On a day when the city's geography changes by the hour, that knowledge is what you are really booking.
How We Help: Three Types of Marathon Weekend Guest
Runners arriving from abroad
Most international runners land on Wednesday or Thursday with a full kit bag and one immediate priority: getting to ExCeL to collect their race pack. With luggage, navigating the Elizabeth line or DLR is perfectly possible – but it means dragging cases through busy stations and finding somewhere to store them while you're inside the show. A private transfer means your bags stay in the car while you collect your bib. Afterwards, you go straight to your hotel. No lockers, no detours, no starting the weekend already tired.
On Sunday morning, we get runners to their start area in Blackheath or Greenwich well before 9am, by routes that avoid the worst of the road restrictions. We track the flight if you are coming from elsewhere in the UK the night before, and we are there when you land.
Supporters and family groups
Watching the marathon as a spectator is genuinely one of the better days London can offer — but it requires moving between three or four points along a 26-mile route, each of them filling up quickly. Getting from the Cutty Sark to Tower Bridge to Canary Wharf and then to the finish on the Mall by Tube on marathon day takes significantly longer than the map suggests. A private car, with a driver who knows the timing of the closures, makes it possible to actually see your runner at multiple points rather than committing to one spot and hoping for the best.
After the finish, when tens of thousands of people are trying to leave the same part of central London at once, having a car waiting makes a considerable difference.
Guests coming for the weekend, not the race
London in late April around a major event attracts people who are there for the occasion rather than the athletics. If you are flying in for the Running Show, a Friday evening in Battersea Park, dinner, and a Sunday spent watching the race from a good position — you probably have no particular interest in working out which bus has been diverted and which Tube station has temporary restrictions. We do that part. You get the weekend.
Airport Transfers for Marathon Weekend
We collect from all London airports: Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Luton, and London City. For anyone arriving specifically for the Running Show at ExCeL, London City Airport is worth knowing about — it is the closest airport to the venue, roughly 15 minutes by road, served by the DLR and Elizabeth line but considerably easier with luggage in a private car.
Central London hotels fill up fast during marathon weekend and prices reflect it. If you are booking accommodation near the finish – around Westminster, St James's, or Trafalgar Square — we can get you there directly from the terminal, at a fixed price agreed in advance. Our drivers track your flight, meet you in the arrivals hall, and handle the bags.
Book your transfer: call or WhatsApp us on +44 7592 188 368, or use the booking form above.
