About the London Marathon
The London Marathon was first held on 29 March 1981 and the millionth finisher in the history of the event crossed the line in 2016. Find out more about how the race has developed over the years.
Charity
The London Marathon is the world’s largest annual one-day fundraising event. In 2019 the Virgin Money London Marathon raised £66.4 million for charity, setting a new Guinness World Record for an annual one-day charity fundraising event for a 13th successive year. This brought the total raised for charity since 1981 to more than £1 billion.
More than three quarters of competitors run for a good cause and a third of all entry places are offered by charitable organisations. Each year an official Charity of the Year is appointed.