TCS London Marathon – Course Map and Elevation Profile
| Distance | 42.195 km |
|---|---|
| Route elevation | 118 m up · 152 m down |
| Highest point | 54 m · 2.7 km |
| Lowest point | 3 m · 26.9 km |
| Steepest climb | +4.6 % · 29.3 km |
| Steepest descent | −4.9 % · 30.3 km |
| Net elevation change | −35 m |
| Course type | Point to point |
| Course record men | 1:59:30 · Sabastian Sawe · 26 April 2026 |
| Course record women | no verified figure |
118 metres up and 152 down across 2 climbs worth the name. No single one decides the race; the sum of them does.
Course
London in numbers
- Distance
- 42.195km
- Ascent
- 118m
- Descent
- 152m
- Low / high
- 3 / 54m
- Flat-equivalent
- +0.34 %
- Steepest 50 m
- +4.6 %
Pace Planner
bergauf flach bergabWaagerecht: Distanz. Streifen unter dem Profil: mittlere Steigung je 500 m. Gestrichelte Linien sind Orientierungspunkte.
- Position
- 0.00 km
- Elevation
- 42 m
- Gradient
- +0.3 %
- Pace here
- 5:03 /km
- Elapsed
- 0:00
- Remaining
- 3:30:00
- Landmark
- —
Pacing table
| km | Point | Elevation | Gradient | up / down | Target pace | total | adjusted |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 42 m → 46 m | +0.41 % | +4 m / −0 m | 5:03 | 5:03 | 4:56 | |
| 2 | 46 m → 50 m | +0.35 % | +4 m / −1 m | 5:03 | 10:05 | 4:56 | |
| 3 | 50 m → 52 m | +0.26 % | +4 m / −1 m | 5:02 | 15:07 | 4:56 | |
| 4 | 52 m → 44 m | −0.82 % | +0 m / −8 m | 4:51 | 19:59 | 4:56 | |
| 5 | 44 m → 19 m | −2.57 % | +0 m / −26 m | 4:41 | 24:40 | 4:56 | |
| 6 | 19 m → 9 m | −0.99 % | +3 m / −13 m | 4:53 | 29:33 | 4:56 | |
| 7 | 9 m → 7 m | −0.17 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:55 | 34:28 | 4:56 | |
| 8 | 7 m → 4 m | −0.30 % | +0 m / −3 m | 4:54 | 39:23 | 4:56 | |
| 9 | 4 m → 5 m | +0.07 % | +2 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 44:21 | 4:56 | |
| 10 | 5 m → 10 m | +0.52 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:05 | 49:26 | 4:56 | |
| 11 | 10 m → 6 m | −0.38 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:54 | 54:20 | 4:56 | |
| 12 | 6 m → 6 m | +0.04 % | +2 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 59:18 | 4:56 | |
| 13 | 6 m → 4 m | −0.22 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:55 | 1:04:13 | 4:56 | |
| 14 | 4 m → 6 m | +0.19 % | +2 m / −0 m | 4:59 | 1:09:12 | 4:56 | |
| 15 | 6 m → 7 m | +0.09 % | +2 m / −1 m | 4:58 | 1:14:11 | 4:56 | |
| 16 | 7 m → 8 m | +0.07 % | +1 m / −0 m | 4:58 | 1:19:08 | 4:56 | |
| 17 | 8 m → 7 m | −0.06 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:56 | 1:24:05 | 4:56 | |
| 18 | 7 m → 7 m | −0.05 % | +2 m / −2 m | 4:58 | 1:29:02 | 4:56 | |
| 19 | 7 m → 6 m | −0.03 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 1:33:59 | 4:56 | |
| 20 | 6 m → 5 m | −0.12 % | +3 m / −4 m | 4:58 | 1:38:57 | 4:56 | |
| 21 | 5 m → 15 m | +0.96 % | +11 m / −2 m | 5:14 | 1:44:11 | 4:56 | |
| 22 | Halbmarathon | 15 m → 11 m | −0.33 % | +0 m / −4 m | 4:55 | 1:49:06 | 4:56 |
| 23 | 11 m → 8 m | −0.30 % | +0 m / −3 m | 4:54 | 1:54:00 | 4:56 | |
| 24 | 8 m → 9 m | +0.07 % | +3 m / −2 m | 4:59 | 1:58:59 | 4:56 | |
| 25 | 9 m → 6 m | −0.35 % | +3 m / −6 m | 4:57 | 2:03:56 | 4:56 | |
| 26 | 6 m → 4 m | −0.16 % | +0 m / −2 m | 4:56 | 2:08:52 | 4:56 | |
| 27 | 4 m → 3 m | −0.07 % | +2 m / −2 m | 4:57 | 2:13:49 | 4:56 | |
| 28 | 3 m → 8 m | +0.44 % | +4 m / −0 m | 5:03 | 2:18:52 | 4:56 | |
| 29 | 8 m → 7 m | −0.08 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:56 | 2:23:49 | 4:56 | |
| 30 | 7 m → 19 m | +1.22 % | +15 m / −3 m | 5:21 | 2:29:10 | 4:56 | |
| 31 | 19 m → 11 m | −0.80 % | +7 m / −15 m | 5:00 | 2:34:09 | 4:56 | |
| 32 | 11 m → 7 m | −0.38 % | +2 m / −6 m | 4:56 | 2:39:05 | 4:56 | |
| 33 | 7 m → 7 m | +0.01 % | +2 m / −2 m | 4:58 | 2:44:04 | 4:56 | |
| 34 | 7 m → 12 m | +0.44 % | +5 m / −0 m | 5:03 | 2:49:07 | 4:56 | |
| 35 | 12 m → 12 m | −0.02 % | +1 m / −1 m | 4:57 | 2:54:04 | 4:56 | |
| 36 | 12 m → 15 m | +0.31 % | +3 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 2:59:06 | 4:56 | |
| 37 | 15 m → 16 m | +0.10 % | +5 m / −4 m | 5:02 | 3:04:08 | 4:56 | |
| 38 | 16 m → 18 m | +0.21 % | +9 m / −7 m | 5:07 | 3:09:15 | 4:56 | |
| 39 | 18 m → 5 m | −1.27 % | +0 m / −13 m | 4:49 | 3:14:04 | 4:56 | |
| 40 | 5 m → 8 m | +0.27 % | +3 m / −0 m | 5:00 | 3:19:04 | 4:56 | |
| 41 | 8 m → 11 m | +0.32 % | +3 m / −0 m | 5:01 | 3:24:06 | 4:56 | |
| 42 | 11 m → 8 m | −0.30 % | +2 m / −5 m | 4:57 | 3:29:03 | 4:56 | |
| 42.20 | 8 m → 8 m | −0.26 % | +0 m / −1 m | 4:55 | 3:30:00 | 4:56 |
The course, kilometre by kilometre
Start and finish are 10.9 km apart as the crow flies, so this is a point-to-point course.
The finish sits 35 metres below the start — spread over 42 km you will not feel it, but it shows up in the arithmetic.
The race is held in London, United Kingdom, in April, on tarmac throughout.
Elevation gain and climbs
118 metres up and 152 down across 2 climbs worth the name. No single one decides the race; the sum of them does.
The hardest stretch runs from km 29.1 to 29.6: 15 metres at 3.0 % on average. It arrives late, on legs that have already paid for the first thirty kilometres.
Against a 3:30 target the terrain costs about 1 minute compared with a flat loop. Adjust for gradient and what remains is what the legs actually paid.
The route on the map
The course covers 10.9 km of ground between start and finish and never returns to where it began.
The GPX data of this course
The smoothed profile is stored every 50 metres: 845 points with latitude, longitude, elevation and gradient. The elevations come from the course file itself, median-filtered and smoothed with Savitzky-Golay.
We do not hand this course out as a file: the line comes from a third-party source and is not ours to pass on. Once a course is built from runners’ own recordings, the file appears here.
Common questions
- How hilly is the London Marathon?
- 118 metres of ascent and 152 of descent over 42.195 km. 82 % of the course sits between −1 and +1 per cent, and 2 % steeper than three. That makes it a rolling course.
- Where is the hardest section?
- Between km 29.1 and 29.6, gaining 15 metres at 3.0 % on average. The steepest single ramp is at km 29.3 at 4.6 %, the steepest descent at km 30.3 at −4.9 %.
- Is this a good course for a personal best?
- Minetti's cost model puts this course at 0.34 % against a flat one. That is effectively nothing: the terrain costs no time.
- Is the course a loop?
- No. Start and finish are 10.9 km apart in a straight line.
- Why does the second half go wrong here so often?
- Because the hardest climb finishes at km 29.6, past the point where most runners are already fading. Run the first half on feel and you meet it with nothing left.
- Where does this elevation data come from?
- GPX-Streckendatei von goandrace.com (Garmin-Connect-Export), 990 Punkte, auf 42195 m normiert (Rohlinie 42,25 km). Elevation: Höhenwerte der GPX-Spur, Medianfilter 310 m, Savitzky-Golay 510 m.
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