The emails have started landing — and for some runners, they contain the news they have been waiting weeks for.
Results for the London Marathon 2027 disability ballot are beginning to arrive, with successful applicants sharing their good news online. The ballot, which closed on August 24, reserved a limited pool of entries for runners with a permanent disability or long-term health condition, and applicants were told they would hear back in September.
An entry without the fundraising target
The disability ballot exists because the standard routes into the London Marathon — the public ballot or a charity place — do not work for everyone. Get in through this route and there is no fundraising target to hit, though runners are free to raise money if they choose.
Eligibility follows the Equality Act 2010 definition of disability: a permanent disability or long-term health condition. London Marathon Events can ask for proof, and the list of what counts is deliberately broad — Personal Independence Payment or Disability Living Allowance paperwork, a medical diagnosis, a letter from a GP or consultant, a certificate of visual impairment, or a Blue Badge, Access Card or Disability Card.
Support on the course
Extra help is built in. Runners who are visually impaired, or whose condition means they need someone alongside them, can claim a free entry for a support or guide runner. There is also a separate entry process for assisted wheelchair participants who cannot self-propel around the 26.2 miles.
A marathon across two days
Whoever gets in will be part of history: 2027 is the first year the race spans a full weekend, with around 45,000 runners on Saturday, April 24 and 55,000 on Sunday, April 25. Disability ballot runners will be randomly assigned to one of the two days.
The days will feel different. Saturday’s finish line shuts at 5.30pm, giving runners a maximum of seven hours and 45 minutes; on Sunday a secondary finish stays open until 11.59pm. Allocations are fixed, but the organisers say they will consider swaps for religious or accessibility reasons. The whole double-header is a one-off — branded the “Double TCS London Marathon” — before the traditional single day returns.
Still waiting? The advice is to watch the inbox attached to the application closely — including the junk and spam folders — as the remaining results filter through. London’s appetite for mass running shows no sign of fading: 12,000 runners turned out for the first-ever Saucony Run Shoreditch Half, while Katie Piper joined thousands taking on a trio of London Ultras for charity.
