All the records broken at the TCS London Marathon 2026

For the 19th consecutive year, Guinness World Records celebrated resilience, sports and community during the 46th edition of the TCS London Marathon 2026. 

Following the huge success of last year’s instalment, which saw the UK leg of the Abbott World Marathon Majors smash the record for most finishers in a marathon, the 2026 edition also saw a huge crowd gathering in the British capital. 

Elite runners and Olympic champions, record holders and sports aficionados all gathered in London in the early morning, eager to tackle the over-42-km course that spans from Greenwich to the iconic finish line in the heart of the city, at The Mall.

Among them, 76 determined runners hoped to crown their training with a medal and a Guinness World Record title, with a total of 75 record titles attempted on the day.

All the runners embraced the challenge, their hearts and minds set on a common goal: securing a coveted spot inside Guinness World Records 2027. 

At the end of the day, a total of 38 record titles were set or broken during the London Marathon 2026, totalling 39 record holders.

For almost two decades, the collaboration between the TCS London Marathon and Guinness World Records has celebrated ambitious, creative runners who decide to push their limits to get their hands on a coveted Guinness World Records certificate.  

For many runners, attempting a record during the day means adding an ulterior level of motivation to their training leading up to the event: not only can pursuing an ambitious goal encourage them to step up their training, but it often offers further resonance to the fundraising efforts of the runners who are taking part in the London Marathon to support a charity.

Every year, this is a fantastic chance to celebrate the stories and achievements of passionate runners who are truly championing a positive change – one mile at a time.

This year too, the Guinness World Records team was at the start line to welcome the athletes to celebrate a cheerful day of sports, resilience and record-breaking.

Official Guinness World Records Adjudicator Will Munford was also waiting at the finish line, ready to congratulate the record-breaking runners and present them with a coveted, hard-earned certificate. 

Some of the record titles attempted this year included the fastest marathon dressed as a body part, the fastest marathon dressed as a mythical creature (male), several marathons dressed as vehicles, helicopters or trains, and the fastest marathon by a multi-organ transplant recipient (male).

As the day came to a close, Will congratulated the record-breaking runners:

As in the past year, the day of the marathon was packed with positive energy and brand-new record titles.

Many runners successfully reached their goal, securing the coveted Guinness World Records certificate and earning their well-deserved spot in the next edition of the book while sporting eye-grabbing costumes or traditional attire.

Sabastian Sawe broke the first record of the day, crossing the iconic finish line with a jaw-dropping finishing time of 1:59:30, an amazing sub two hours thus breaking the world record for the fastest marathon (male).

With this, he also beat Eliud Kipchoge’s fastest marathon distance previous record time of 1:59:40.

He was soon followed by Tigst Assefa who extended her record for the fastest marathon (female, women-only race).

Tigst completed her running feat in a whopping 2:15:51.

The third runner to bag a world record was Archie Hunt, who completed an amazing run and took home the marathon's medal and the world record title for the fastest marathon dressed as a book character.

Archie finished with a remarkable time of 2:27:41.

Curious about all the records broken during the London Marathon 2026?

Check out the full list of the records set or broken today, during today's event:

Congratulations to everyone who took part in the TCS London Marathon 2026. 

We can’t wait to see what amazing records will be broken at the Sydney Marathon this summer.