The English capital hosts the event this coming Sunday, April 21st, and there has been talk of a possible record-breaking run, boasting "the fastest elite women’s field ever assembled in marathon history".
That's according to the organisers, who have earmarked Brigid Kosgei, Ruth Chepngetich, Peres Jepchirchir, Yalemzerf Yehualaw and Tigst Assefa as ones to watch.
“We are in a golden age of women’s marathon running," Hugh Brasher, director of the event, told TCSLondonMarathon.com.
"When Paula Radcliffe ran her incredible world record of 2:15:25 at the 2003 London Marathon, we had to wait 16 years for Brigid Kosgei to beat it.
"But since then, a further four women have run faster than Paula’s time including Tigst Assefa, who lowered the world record even further with her stunning run in Berlin last year."
"Despite this," Brasher continued. "The women’s-only world record of 2:17:01, set by the great Mary Keitany here at the London Marathon in 2017, has amazingly stayed intact.
“However, I suspect that with Assefa, Kosgei and the likes of Ruth Chepngetich, Peres Jepchirchir and Yalemzerf Yehualaw in the field and where a total of ten women have run under 2:17:30 seconds, Keitany’s world record is going to be under serious threat at the 2024 TCS London Marathon.”
Sub-2:00 marathon possible
On the men's side there are another whole host of experienced runners, including Kenenisa Bekele, Tamirat Tola, Geoffrey Kamworor and Leul Gebresilase, who will be in action.
Ethiopia's Bekele, the third-fastest marathoner in history, told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview that he believes a sub-2:00 marathon may now be possible.
“I didn’t think someone will be running 2:00, or 2:0-something this soon, it surprised everyone," he said.
“No one expected Kelvin Kiptum, a newcomer, to run 2:00 in his third marathon."
“Marathon really training is very difficult," he continued. "Every day you train long runs in the hard training, so when you are 24 and when you are 40, it's not the same.
"Recovery wise, the body will not recover easily. When I was 24 years old, I didn’t feel any tiredness and my body after one or two hours felt fresh. Now I need more recovery time.”
Marathon to honour Kiptum
Marathon organisers will honour the late Kiptum with 30 seconds of applause in tribute to the Kenyan ahead of Sunday's elite men's race.
Kiptum's death at the age of just 24 in a late-night car accident in February near his home in Eldoret, the high-altitude training hub in the Rift Valley, western Kenya, stunned the world of athletics.
He won last year's London Marathon and a few months later became the first man to run the marathon under two hours and one minute in Chicago.
Kiptum will be remembered at this weekend's Marathon in the English capital, a race he won on three occasions and with a record time of 2:01:25 in 2023.
Schedule
09:15 CET - Elite wheelchair men’s and women’s races
10:00 CET - Elite women’s race
10:40 CET - Elite men’s race and mass start
The first people across the finish line will be the elite wheelchair winners, who are due to pass Buckingham Palace at around 11:30 CET.
The winners in the elite women's category are due to complete the course after 13:40 CET, with the fastest men expected to finish shortly after 13:00 CET.
Elite women
Tigst ASSEFA (ETH, 2:11:53 WR)
Brigid KOSGEI (KEN, 2:14:04)
Ruth CHEPNGETICH (KEN, 2:14:18)
Tigist KETEMA (ETH, 2:16:07)
Almaz AYANA (ETH, 2:16:22)
Megertu ALEMU (ETH, 2:17:09)
Peres JEPCHIRCHIR (KEN, 2:17:16)
Joyciline JEPKOSGEI (KEN, 2:17:23)
Yalemzerf YEHUALAW (ETH, 2:17:23)
Sheila CHEPKIRUI (KEN, 2:17:29)
Tsige HAILESLASE (ETH, 2:22:10)
Susanna SULLIVAN (USA, 2:24:27)
Manon TRAPP (FRA, 2:25:48)
Becky BRIGGS (GBR, 2:29:04)
Alice WRIGHT (GBR, 2:29:08)
Anya CULLING (GBR, 2:34:45)
Rachel HODGKINSON (GBR, 2:34:46)
Helen GAUNT (GBR, 2:35:38)
Mhairi MACLENNAN (GBR, Debut)
Lucy REID (GBR, Debut)
Elite men
Kenenisa BEKELE (ETH, 2:01:41)
Mosinet GEREMEW (ETH, 2:02:55)
Alexander Mutiso MUNYAO (KEN, 2:03:11)
Tamirat TOLA (ETH, 2:03:39)
Dawit WOLDE (ETH, 2:03:48)
Kinde ATANAW (ETH, 2:03:51)
Leul GEBRESILASE (ETH, 2:04:02)
Geoffrey KAMWOROR (KEN, 2:04:23)
Seifu TURA (ETH, 2:04:29)
Daniel DO NASCIMENTO (BRA, 2:04:51)
Addisu GOBENA (ETH, 2:05:01)
Milkesa MENGESHA (ETH, 2:05:29)
Henok TESFAY (ERI, 2:07:12)
Emile CAIRESS (GBR, 2:08:07)
Callum HAWKINS (GBR, 2:08:14)
Hassan CHAHDI (FRA, 2:08:19)
Mahamed MAHAMED (GBR, 2:08:40)
Brian SHRADER (USA, 2:09:46)
Weynay GHEBRESILASIE (GBR, 2:09:50)
Andrew HEYES (GBR, 2:13:52)
Alexander LEPRETRE (GBR, 2:15:01)
Hiko Tonosa HASO (IRL, 2:15:01)
Norman SHREEVE (GBR, 2:16:17)
Alex MILNE (GBR, 2:16:30)
William MYCROFT (GBR, 2:17:02)
David BISHOP (GBR, 2:17:06)
Adam BOWDEN (GBR, 2:17:18)
Kieran WALKER (GBR, 2:17:30)
Alexander LAWRENCE (GBR, 2:17:41)
Daniel HAMILTON (GBR, 2:17:59)
Dominic JONES (GBR, 2:18:15)
Fraser STEWART (GBR, 2:18:34)
Tom FRITH (GBR, 2:18:35)
James HOAD (GBR, 2:18:38)
Ryan THOMSON (GBR, 2:18:46)
Martin HOARE (IRL, 2:18:57)
Charlie SANDISON (GBR, 2:19:22)
Paulos SURAFEL (GBR, No Time)
Daniel MATEIKO (KEN, No Time)
Jacob ALLEN (GBR, Debut)
Kieran CLEMENTS (GBR, Debut)
Marc SCOTT (GBR, Debut)
Sean TOBIN (IRL, Debut)
