London Marathon Good For Age 2027 applications open: 6,000 places confirmed

Applications have opened for one of the 6,000 Good For Age places at the historic two-day 2027 TCS London Marathon.

Eligible runners have from Thursday 1 October until 16:00 GMT on Thursday 29 October to submit an application. Once the window closes, London Marathon Events will review the entries before successful applicants are invited to complete their registration.

The opening follows confirmation yesterday that the men's Good For Age and Championship races will take place on Saturday 24 April, while the equivalent women's races will be held on Sunday 25 April. The mass fields on both days will remain mixed.

6,000 Good For Age places remain available

Despite the London Marathon expanding to an unprecedented two-day event with 100,000 participants expected across the weekend, the number of Good For Age places has not increased. There will again be 6,000 GFA entries, split equally between 3,000 men and 3,000 women.

That maintains the same allocation used for the 2026 race. It also means that achieving the published qualifying standard remains no guarantee of actually getting into London.

If there are more eligible applicants than available places, entries will again be allocated on a "fastest first" basis, taking account of a runner's age category and how far inside the relevant qualifying time they have run. In practice, runners should continue to think of the published standard as the time needed to apply rather than necessarily the time needed to secure a place.

What are the 2027 London Marathon Good For Age times?

The qualifying standards are unchanged from those used for the 2026 London Marathon. For men aged 18-39 the standard remains sub-2:52, rising to sub-2:57 for 40-44 and sub-3:02 for 45-49, while women need sub-3:38, sub-3:43 and sub-3:46 respectively in those age categories.

The full standards extend through to the 90+ categories. You can see every qualifying time, along with a fuller explanation of how the system works, in our guide to how to qualify for the London Marathon through Good For Age.

Crucially, your age category is determined by how old you were when you ran the qualifying time, rather than your age on London Marathon day. That detail can make a substantial difference for runners who moved into a new age group during the qualifying period.

What if you qualify for a Championship place?

Runners quick enough for Championship entry should use the Championship application route rather than submitting a separate Good For Age application. The 2027 Championship standards are sub-2:38 for men and sub-3:10 for women over the marathon, with half-marathon standards of sub-1:11:30 and sub-1:26 respectively. There are 1,200 Championship places available, split equally between men and women, and these will also be allocated fastest-first if applications exceed the available places.

Unlike Good For Age, Championship entry is not restricted to UK residents. Runners living overseas can apply, although they must be registered with a UK athletics body. There is also an important safety net for UK-based runners: if you apply for a Championship place using a qualifying marathon time but miss the Championship cut, you may instead be offered a Good For Age place. Overseas applicants cannot be moved into GFA because that category is restricted to UK residents.

For that reason, a UK-based runner who meets the Championship standard with a marathon time does not need to hedge their bets by submitting a separate Good For Age application. Note that Championship applications close at 16:00 BST on 20 October, nine days before the GFA deadline.

Which marathon results can be used?

For the 2027 race, your qualifying performance must have been achieved between 1 October 2025 and 30 September 2026. Only UK residents can apply through Good For Age.

The marathon must have been run at an in-person event on a certified course, with certification from UK Athletics, AIMS or the relevant national governing body in the country where the race took place. Applicants need to provide a link to the official results page showing their performance, along with proof of age and UK residence.

London also continues to allow qualification through the TCS London Marathon MyWay. However, anyone relying solely on a MyWay marathon performance must additionally provide an eligible in-person half-marathon result achieved during the same qualifying period.

How do you apply?

London has opened separate application routes for the two GFA competitions, with men applying for Saturday 24 April and women for Sunday 25 April. Applications can be made through the official London Marathon Good For Age application page.

There is no advantage in rushing an application in the first few hours, as places are not allocated on a first-come, first-served basis. The important thing is to submit a complete application, with the correct evidence, before 16:00 GMT on 29 October.

For runners who have spent the past year chasing a Good For Age time, the qualifying is now done. The next wait is to find out just how competitive the 6,000 available places prove to be.