More than 40,000 people will line up to run the 26.2 mile London Marathon route this Sunday. It’s by far the largest marathon in the UK and one of the Abbott World Marathon Majors, making it one of the few opportunities for recreational runners to run alongside international elites.
In the past couple of years we have gathered exclusive information to find out what is a good marathon time from TCS, the title sponsor of the London Marathon. In case you’re wondering how you compare with your peers, you’ll find all the average times for the London Marathon 2022 and 2023 below.
Just remember that whatever time you achieve, crossing the London Marathon finish line is an amazing feat and an unforgettable experience.
Average London Marathon 2023 Times
What times did the elites run at the London Marathon 2023?
The elite races at the London Marathon are quite small, with just 13 women and 24 men finishing the race in 2024. The men’s winner was Kelvin Kiptum, who ran a course record of 2hr 1min 25sec, while the women’s race was won by Sifan Hassan in 2hrs 18min 33sec. The slowest elite men usually finished 2hr 20min and 2hr 25min, and the slowest elite women 2hr 25min to 2hr 30min.
What is the average London Marathon time?
The average mass-participation London Marathon time in 2023 including all ages and genders was 4hr 27min.
What is the average London Marathon time by gender?
In 2023 the average mass-participation finish time for women of all ages was 4hr 47min 42sec and for men it was 4hr 12min 18sec. That’s faster than the average times by gender in 2022, when it was 4hr 57min 26sec for women and 4hr 21min 9sec for men. Hopefully the times continue to get faster this year!
What is the average London Marathon time by age?
There are 10 age categories in the race, with the youngest being 18-39 and the oldest 80-plus. Unlike in 2022 when the youngest runners weren’t the fastest, the 2023 results correlated with age, with the average time getting slower as you rise through the age groups for men and women, and the overall averages. There was an exception to this for non-binary athletes where the fastest age group was 45-49, and the 50-54 group was also faster than the 18-39 and 40-44 groups.
Men aged 18-39 averaged a time of 4hr 6min 17sec in 2023, slightly faster than the 4hr 6min 41sec average for 40-44. Women aged 18-39 averaged 4hr 42min 13sec, a few minutes faster than the 4hr 45min 6sec of women aged 40-44. You can see the full results for each age group below.
Is there a cut-off time?
The TCS London Marathon has an official cut-off time but runners won’t be booted off the course if they exceed this. The cut-off is eight hours from the moment the last runner crosses the start line at 11.30am.
The tailwalkers, who start at the back of the final wave, will keep an eight-hour pace for the length of the course. Runners unable to keep this pace will be moved to the pavement and can cross the finish line at any pace. The drinks stations close once the eight-hour pace participants have passed.
Average London Marathon 2022 Times
What was the average elite London Marathon time in 2022?
In 2022 the men’s race was won by Kenyan runner Amos Kipruto in 2hr 4min 39sec and the women’s by Ethiopian star Yalemzerf Yehualaw in 2hr 17min 26sec. But these were way ahead of even the elite pack: the average men’s elite time was 2hr 14min 25sec and the women’s 2hr 23min 19sec.
Meanwhile, in the wheelchair race the 2022 men’s average time was 1hr 45min 58sec and the women’s was a swift 2hr 4min 12sec.
What was the average London Marathon time by gender in 2022?
In 2022 the average mass-participation finish time for women of all ages was 4hr 57min 26sec and for men it was 4hr 21min 09sec.
What was the average London Marathon time by age in 2022?
There are 10 age categories in the race from 18 to 80-plus, and in 2022 the fastest average times are not clocked by the youngest runners.
In the men’s race the average time for the 18-39 category was 4hr 18min 3sec while it was slightly faster at 4hr 13min 55sec in the 40-44 banding. Even the 45 to 49-year-olds were more sprightly than their younger counterparts with a men’s average time of 4hr 16min 50sec.
From age 50 onwards the average times were progressively slower for each age category with 50-54 averaging 4hr 25min 34sec, 60-64 having an average finish time of 4hr 41min 17sec, 70-74 completing in an average of 5hr 14min 20sec and the final age band of 80 and above having an average time of 6hr and 14mins.
By comparison, the women’s mass participation results did see the 18- to 39-year-olds finishing in the fastest average time, crossing the line in 4hr 53min 50sec. The next fastest category was 45-49 with an average time of 4hr 55min 11sec, followed closely by age band 40-44 with 4hr 55min 41sec. Women aged 50-54 completed the marathon in 5hr 1min 33sec on average, while the 60-64 group averaged 5hr 14min 42sec. In the older bandings those aged 70-74 raced in 5hr 40min 8sec on average and the 80+ female runners had an average time of 7hr 31min 1sec.
