Dig out that banner and get warming up that cheer voice. London’s most scenic half marathon, the London Landmarks, returns to the streets of Westminster and the City this weekend. It’s set to be the biggest yet with more than 18,500 runners primed to take to the closed-roads route on Sunday (new landmarks for 2024 include Westminster Bridge, The Scalpel and The Cheesegrater buildings), with thousands more turning out to cheer them on and more than £10 million expected to be raised for feel-good causes. As ever, this year’s official charity is Tommy’s, the UK’s leading pregnancy charity.
Plenty of star faces are expected to join the running ranks this year. Sibling duo AJ and Curtis Pritchard, BBC legend Sophie Raworth and TV sports presenter Gabby Logan are among celebrities taking part in Sunday’s race, and it’s due to be the most sustainable London Landmarks yet, with paper cups available and runners encouraged to bring their own refillable bottle in a bid to go plastic bottle-free. Forecasters are currently predicting highs of 15 degrees – keep your fingers crossed that those April showers hold off.
From where to watch on the new route to how to download the live-tracking app before race-day, here’s everything you need to know.
When is it?
The race takes place this Sunday, April 7 starting between 9.20am and 11.30am. With the first runners expected to arrive from 8.20am it’s an early alarm for a Sunday, but it’s worth getting there with plenty of time to spare as there’ll be large crowds.
Aim to arrive at the event 60 minutes before your allocated start time (there are eight different waves this year to spread everyone out) if you want to drop stuff off. The bag drop opens from 8.20am and arrival times open an hour before each wave’s start time. If you’re in waves 5, 6, 7 or 8, please don’t arrive before 10am.
Where is it?
New year, new route. For any London Landmarks returners, it’s back to a similar route to 2023 starting on Pall Mall (look out for the red London buses parked up nearby for storing bags) but with the addition of two new landmarks along the way: the Cheesegrater (Leadenhall Building) and The Scapel. The 13.1-mile winding route also passes many of the key landmarks of previous years including Big Ben, St Paul’s Cathedral, Nelson’s Column, the Gherkin, the Shard, the Tower of London and the London Eye.
For runners, there’s certainly no chance of getting bored. The race set out to celebrate the “the grand, the quirky and the hidden” of London so there’ll be celebrations of many of the city’s proudest features and moments along the route, from a Pride Party celebrating the capital’s LGBTQIA+ community and a suffragist pageant, to supporters dressed as their favourite Tube stations and even a Roman Reception featuring gladiator fighting and centurion drilling.
Just like previous years, you’ll end with a stately finish on Whitehall just outside Downing Street. The Prime Minister might not be there to cheer you home, but plenty of runners and supporters will be. You can view a map of the route here.
Drinks stations will be at miles 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10.5 (expect paper cups, not bottles), and there will also be cans of water in your goody bag at the finish line. This year, race partner Beauty Banks will be providing free sanitary products along with hair ties and tissues at all toilet facilities along the route too.
Who’s running?
Roughly 18,500 brave runners will take to the start line this year – the highest number yet – and many more will be cheering them on.
A number of celebrities will also be attempting the 13.1 mile course, including TV presenters Jenny Falconer, Gabby Logan and Sophie Raworth, comedian and author Stephen Mangan, Love Island stars Arabella Chi, Joe Garrett, Amber Wise, GB snowboarder Aimee Fuller and Strictly dancer AJ Pritchard and his brother Curtis.
Where to watch
It’s hard to know who’ll have more to see: the runners or the thousands of spectators coming to cheer them on. For spectators, the best way to plan your day is to check out the course map here and to download the free LLHM 2024 race-day app for live predictive tracking and an interactive course map to use during the race.
As you’ll see on the map, there’ll be dozens of charity cheer stations bringing the feel-good factor along the route, plus plenty of themed activations celebrating the grand, the hidden and the quirky.
There’ll also be historical activations: spectators should pop into mile 6.5 to cheer runners at halfway alongside everything from gladiator fighting to tunes from a rock choir. Organisers say it’s best to avoid Westminster Bridge (another new addition to this year’s route) as it’s expected to be busy. The area around the finish line and King Charles Street will also be particularly busy after the race so organisers suggest arranging an alternative meeting point away from the finish and bag drop area if you’re meeting a particular runner afterwards.
If you feel inspired, tickets for next year’s ballot are already available to pre-register for here.
How to get there
It’s going to be busy, so plan ahead. Road closures are planned and there’s no designated parking, so the Tube is your best bet.
The event hub is on Pall Mall so the nearest stations are Charing Cross, Green Park, Embankment, Leicester Square and Piccadilly Circus. If you’re confused or want advice, call TFL or check its website in advance.
Once you arrive, bag drops will be located inside a series of double decker buses. Can an event get any more London than that?
