London Marathon

The London Marathon (branded Virgin London Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a long-distance running event, the world's largest marathon as of 2012 with 36,748 finishing the race, held in London, United Kingdom. The event was first run on 29 March 1981 and has been held in the spring of every year since. Since 2010, the race has been sponsored by Virgin Money, as the Virgin London Marathon.

Set over a largely flat course around the River Thames, the race begins at three separate points around Blackheath and finishes in The Mall alongside St. James's Park. Since the first marathon, the course has undergone very few route changes. In 1982, the finishing post was moved from Constitution Hill to Westminster Bridge due to construction works. It remained there for twelve years before moving to its present location at The Mall.

The event has raised over £600 million for charity since 1981, and holds the Guinness world record as the largest annual fund raising event in the world.