The 2025 London Marathon set a new world record for the number of finishers, with 56,640 runners completing the gruelling 26.2-mile course despite hot conditions, Guinness World Records confirmed on Sunday.
The figure surpassed the previous record of 55,646 set by the New York Marathon in November.
Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, said he hoped the achievement would inspire even greater participation in the future.
“The London Marathon was already the most popular in terms of ballot entries, with 840,318 people applying for the 2025 race,” Brasher said.
“It is also the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event, with more than £1.3 billion raised for charity since 1981.”
This year’s ballot application numbers had already broken the previous world record, with 578,304 people having applied for the 2024 race.
Of the UK-based applicants, 49% were women, and organisers noted a 105% increase in applications from people aged 20 to 29.
On the competitive front, Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa clinched victory in the elite women’s race, setting a world record for a women-only field.
Kenya’s Sebastian Sawe secured the men’s title.
It was also a repeat Swiss triumph in the wheelchair races, with Catherine Debrunner breaking her own course record in the women’s event and Marcel Hug claiming his seventh London Marathon win in the men’s category.
Adding to the weekend’s celebrations, more than 15,000 young athletes participated in the Mini London Marathon on Saturday, marking the largest edition of the youth event since it began in 1986.
