Two of the ways to gain entry into the London Marathon are to get a championship place or a Good For Age entry. Both of these methods require you to qualify for the event.
Men and women who achieve a qualifying performance for a marathon or half marathon that was run at an event with a course certified by UKA, the Association for International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), or a national governing body for distance running for the country in which the event was held can get a place in the London Marathon.
The Good For Age (GFA) entry method for the London Marathon is for UK residents only. This method involves you running a certain qualifying time according to your age… the times do get faster each year but the qualifying times get slower as your age goes up.
Let’s have a look at how to do just that as well as other methods of entering the London Marathon…
How To Enter The London Marathon 2025
The reality is there are 55,000 spaces available at the start line… each year there are about 457,000 entries…and only 17,000 ballot spaces are open… Getting a spot at the London Marathon is not easy.
Ways To Enter The London Marathon 2025:
- Ballot Entry
- Good For Age
- Charity
- Running Club Places
- Abbot Lottery
- International Tour Operators
- Championship Place
We dive deeper into the following methods in this article: London Marathon Entries: Ballot, Good For Age & Charity
The method we are focusing on in this article is the championship place and Good For Age entry and more specifically how to qualify for each of these places in the London Marathon 2025…
How To Qualify For a Championship Place In The London Marathon 2025
To qualify for a championship entry into the London Marathon 2025 your qualifying performance for a marathon or half marathon must have been run at an event with a course certified by UKA, athletes also need to be registered with their national governing body (England Athletics, Scotland Athletics, Welsh Athletics, or Athletics Northern Ireland).
If you meet the Championship qualifying criteria you are guaranteed a place, as long as you can confirm all the information listed below in the designated time frame.
• Proof of performance – this will be a link to the results webpage or a file (jpg, PDF) that displays the name, date, and qualifying time of the event.
• Proof of UKA membership – this will be your UKA membership number which will be verified on the membership portal.
Championship Qualifying Times
Applications for Championship entries are usually open towards the end of November. Keep an eye out for more information here.
| Full Marathon | Men: sub 2:40:00 Women: sub 3:14:00 |
| Half Marathon | Men: sub 1:12:30 Women: sub 1:28:00 |
You can enter even if you are NOT from the UK. (Providing you are a member of a UKA.)
Pro tip: You may apply for a Championship place if you run a qualifying time in the virtual TCS London Marathon, but you’ll also need to submit evidence of an ‘in-person’ half marathon time that meets the qualifying time displayed in the table above.
Now let’s have a look at how to qualify for a Good For Age entry…
The Good For Age (GFA) entry method for the London Marathon is for UK residents only. This method involves you running a certain qualifying time according to your age… the times do get faster each year but the qualifying times get slower as your age goes up.
Places are allocated on a basis of the fastest runners getting chosen first. So it’s not a guaranteed entry.
Pro Tip: It’s a good idea to enter the GFA entry and Ballot entry in case others in your age group submit faster times than you and you miss your spot. If you are successful in obtaining a GFA entry, your ballot application will be withdrawn, so it’s worth doing both.
Good For Age Qualifying Times For London Marathon 2025
Applications will open by the end of July 2024 and to apply for a Good For Age place, you need to achieve the relevant qualifying time displayed below during the qualifying period.
The qualifying period for the 2025 TCS London Marathon began on 1 October 2023 and ends on 30 September 2024.
Qualifying times must have been run at an in-person event that has a certified marathon course, or at the virtual 2024 TCS London Marathon.
In-person race courses must have been certified by UKA, the Association for International Marathons and Distance Races (AIMS), or a national governing body for distance running for the country in which the race is held.
| Age | Men | Women |
| 18-39 | sub 2:55:00 | sub 3:40:00 |
| 40-44 | sub 3:00:00 | sub 3:45:00 |
| 45-49 | sub 3:05:00 | sub 3:48:00 |
| 50-54 | sub 3:10:00 | sub 3:55:00 |
| 55-59 | sub 3:15:00 | sub 4:00:00 |
| 60-64 | sub 3:37:00 | sub 4:25:00 |
| 65-69 | sub 3:55:00 | sub 4:55:00 |
| 70-74 | sub 4:55:00 | sub 5:55:00 |
| 75-79 | sub 5:10:00 | sub 6:15:00 |
| 80-84 | sub 5:30:00 | sub 6:40:00 |
| 85-89 | sub 6:10:00 | sub 7:10:00 |
| 90+ | sub 7:20:00 | sub 7:45:00 |
Meeting the qualifying time for your age category does not guarantee entry into the event, but simply the opportunity to submit an application. The maximum number of GFA places is 6,000 (3,000 men and 3,000 women). Places will be allocated on a ‘fastest first’ basis comparative to your age and the qualifying time.
If you have a GFA qualifying time that is less than 10 minutes under the qualifying time for your age group, we recommend that you still enter the TCS London Marathon Ballot to increase your chances of gaining a place.
If you’ve missed the GFA qualification window or were unable to qualify, don’t panic, you can always try to get a charity entry…
Read about how to get a Charity entry to the London Marathon 2025 here.
What you do in the 12 weeks leading up to the London Marathon will either set you up for success or failure…
Ensure your success with 12 weeks of access to the Coach Parry London Marathon Training Roadmap.
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