London Marathon: Hundreds of Sussex runners to head to capital for 45th edition of iconic race

Organisers have revealed they have had 724 entrants from West Sussex and 561 from East Sussex for the race, which will be run by around 56,000 people – and watched by millions.

Many will be running it for the first time; many aiming for personal bests, many raising money for good causes.

If you’re a Sussex runner taking part, see our note at the end of this story about how to send us a write-up and photo to tell the world how you get on.

Former professional footballers Jack Wilshere, John Terry and Natasha Dowie, Olympian Sir Jason Kenny, comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who is from Crawley, singer and actor Alexandra Burke and TV personality Kelly Brook are among the famous faces taking part.

The London Marathon was first held on March 29, 1981, and the millionth finisher in the history of the event crossed the line in 2016. Since the first one, the event has raised more than £1.3bn for charity.

The marathon will have three start areas (Red, Blue and Pink – formerly known as the Green Start) at Greenwich and Blackheath. The finish will be on The Mall.

Start times are as follows: 8:50: Elite wheelchair races start; 9:05: Elite women’s race start; 9:35: Elite men and masses start.

The race will be screened live in the UK by BBC, on BBC One live from 8:30 to 2pm, BBC Two live from 2pm to 3pm.

The London Marathon Charity of the Year is Pancreatic Cancer UK. Among their participants this year is Emmerdale’s Tony Audenshaw, who has played Bob Hope for 25 years in the long-running ITV soap. He will be taking part in memory of his wife, Ruth, who died of pancreatic cancer.

Since 1981, the London Marathon Foundation has awarded £110m to more than 1,700 projects that inspire activity in London, Essex and across the UK.

There will be 17 MPs, from across the political divide, taking part in the race with 10 making their debuts.

This year, 152 participants will celebrate their birthday on Marathon Day.

The youngest participant is Lucy Jones, who turns 18 on Marathon Day, while the oldest participants are 84-year-old Mohan Kudchadker and 83-year-old Mary Jo Brinkman, who are both travelling over from the US for this year’s marathon. The youngest male participant is Callum Smillie, who celebrates his 18th birthday today (April 23).

More than 1,500 people with a disability have registered to take part this year following accessibility initiatives.

Organisers have introduced a wide range of initiatives to increase accessibility to the event, including offering additional places for people with a disability through its network of charities and assisted wheelchair places for those who are not able to self-propel the 26.2 miles.

Hugh Brasher, CEO of London Marathon Events, said: “The London Marathon is one of the most iconic and inclusive sporting events in the UK and is unique in the fact that anyone can be part of it.

"You can stand on the same Start Line as the legends of the sport and be cheered on by the hundreds of thousands of people who line the streets. It is a day like no other when the whole of humanity comes together.”

Meanwhile, the 2025 TCS Mini London Marathon is welcoming back some of the star names of its past for its landmark 40th edition on Saturday – for the biggest in the inspirational event’s history.

More than 18,000 children and young people have registered to take part in the TCS Mini London Marathon and will run, jog, walk or wheel a one mile or 2.6K route around St James’s Park, finishing on the same iconic Finish Line as the TCS London Marathon the next day.

Are you a Sussex runner taking part in the London Marathon? Why not send us a little write-up and picture showing how you get on?

Tell us your finishing time, whether you’ve run London or other marathons before, whether this was your PB, and who was there in the capital to support you.

To submit your story, register or sign in at https://www.yourworld.net/submit and follow the easy steps – select Sussexworld as the website to send to and tell us which part of the county you are from.