Every year in the capital city, thousands of people line up to begin a gruelling 26.2 mile route which will take them past many of the UK’s most well-known cultural landmarks like Buckingham Palace and Big Ben. Many more pack the streets to cheer the runners on, and millions in 196 countries watch on television, hoping to get a glimpse of elite athletes, celebrities, and those wearing the most lavish and eye-catching fancy dress. The event is the London Marathon, and last year saw a record 53,000 participants, according to Runners World – more than any other year since the very first event in 1981.
Sport for all
When it comes to the power of community engagement in sport, the London Marathon exemplifies how one event can unite people of all demographics and abilities in a common cause.
The event welcomes everyone from the elite athletes who aim to cross the finish line in under 2.5 hours to those who will take days to complete the race. People like firefighter Lloyd Scott who made history in 2002, setting the record for the slowest marathon time of five days, eight hours, 29 minutes and 46 seconds – undoubtedly due to the 130-pound deep-sea diving suit he’d donned for the occasion.
The cheers are no less loud, and the appreciation no less great, for those who simply want to make the finish line than they are for the world’s best athletes who take well under five minutes to complete each mile. And perhaps the loudest cheers are reserved for those who are decades older than the average marathon runner: the likes of David Picksley, who at the spritely age of 91 was 2024’s oldest participant.
If there was ever an endorsement for the power of an event so heavily focused on community engagement, it’s that people continue running into their eighth and ninth decades so that they can run the London Marathon each year.
Running for good
And of course, for many, the motivation is being part of the incredible fundraising effort made each year by participants and their supporters. By encouraging community engagement across the UK and beyond, the marathon organisers have created an event that is unrivalled when it comes to its impact on charities. Last year, an incredible £73.5 million was raised, making it the globe’s largest annual one-day fundraising event (London Marathon Events).
By bringing together tens of thousands of runners, and millions of viewers, the marathon exemplifies exactly how sport can make a wider difference – not just on those taking part, but on every community in every corner of the UK and beyond.
As well as the charities chosen by the runners as the recipients of their fundraising, the organisers have launched initiatives such as the London Marathon Foundation and the GO! London partnership. The funding they’ve given out and the good work they’ve undertaken again showcases the intrinsic link between sport and improving communities, whether we’re talking about the SkyWay project which brings hundreds of young people in the deprived borough of Hackney together to enjoy sports; or the Safe Haven Basketball Club where young people with learning disabilities and special educational needs can enjoy the team sports they were previously excluded from, empowering a ‘real sense of belonging and enjoyment’.
The sheer amount of community engagement with the London Marathon also benefits and involves sectors far beyond the immediate world of sport, thanks to the wider economic implications of the event. The hotels and eateries around the route see a huge influx in visitors over marathon weekend; and logistics teams have the chance to become involved too, looking after the elite athletes who travel into the capital from across the world and ensuring their experience is first-class, boosting the marathon’s reputation, as well as the wider reputation of community-based sports in the UK.
Increasing participation
With participant numbers growing year-on-year, and even more expected to take part in 2025’s London Marathon on Sunday 27th April, it’s clear that the event has a positive impact which lasts far beyond one-day involvement. There’s no denying that many runners lace up their trainers for the first time, or continue training harder and longer, in a bid to one day be lining up at the start of this prestigious event.
When you total the sheer amount of people whose lives are in some way impacted by the London Marathon, whether by taking part, benefitting from the money raised, helping organise or marshal the event, or simply by taking the time out of their day to cheer on the runners, there can be few events in the calendar which have the same sort of positive community engagement and so beautifully showcase how sport can be a force for good.
We might not all reach the finish line of the London Marathon, but the inspiring tales of competitors with physical and mental health issues who go on to do so, the charitable effort surrounding each year’s event, and the message of inclusivity and accessibility within sports can have a positive impact on each one of us. And that’s what makes it such as iconic event, almost as iconic as the sights on the route.
Simon Hainsworth, Founder and Managing Director of CSE Plc
