For the first time in history, more than half a million people have applied for a marathon as 578,374 hopefuls from the UK and across the globe enter the ballot for the 2024 TCS London Marathon, setting a new world record.

The previous world record total of 457,861 applications was set pre-pandemic in 2019 by applicants for the 2020 London Marathon.

The total number of UK applications for 2024 was 457,105, of which 242,119 were applications from men (52.9% of the total), 212,179 from women (46.4% of the total) and 2,807 (0.6% of the total) from non-binary applications.

There were a further 121,269 applications in the international ballot for non-UK residents.

Hugh Brasher, Event Director for the TCS London Marathon, said: “This incredible new world record reflects the extraordinary inspirational effect of the TCS London Marathon on 23 April. We saw a record number of more than 48,600 finishers on Marathon Day and more than 8,200 children took part in the mass TCS Mini London Marathon the day before.

“We work to inspire activity in people of all ages and abilities and these record-breaking numbers show how the TCS London Marathon weekend does that. The unique camaraderie and togetherness that participants feel when they take part in the London Marathon continues to have an extraordinary impact on the desire for people to take part. It is an event that inspires people to take up running and to raise millions for charity.”

The ballot for the 2024 TCS London Marathon was operated for the first time by Let’s Do This as part of a new five-year partnership. Founded in 2017 and headquartered in London, LDT is the leading consumer marketplace for mass participation endurance events and is the registration partner to many of the leading running events around the world.