London Marathon: How to apply for the 2020 race

Public ballot for 2020 London Marathon is now open

On the day of the 2019 London Marathon, applications for the 2020 race opened.

There are several ways of trying to acquire a coveted space in next year's event.

Some may qualify to take part by achieving a Good For Age time at another 26.2-mile race.

Others may acquire a place by raising money for charity, or by submitting a successful application through the public ballot.

Here's how to apply to enter the 2020 London Marathon:

Ballot entry

In 2018, more than 400,000 people entered the ballot to run in this year's London Marathon, around 10 times the number of people who took part in last year's race.

It is estimated that approximately 17,500 runners are given places in the race every year through the ballot.

Last year, the public ballot entry system was opened on Monday 30 April, just over a week after the marathon took place. It was closed on Friday 4 May.

The public ballot for the 2020 London Marathon opened on the day of this year's race, on Sunday 28 April.

The ballot will close at 5pm on Friday 3 May.

Ballot places for the 2019 race cost £39 per person, or £35 for club-affiliated runners.

Applicants from the UK can enter the 2020 London Marathon by entering the ballot at ballot.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com.

Applicants from outside the UK can enter the international ballot at www.virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/enter-now-international.

Charity entry

Several large charities have a set number of places to give to runners for the London Marathon on an annual basis.

In order to obtain a place in the race through a charity, you need to contact the charity directly to see if they have places available.

Your chosen charity will then ask for you to raise a certain amount of money prior to the race through the Virgin Money Giving website.

You can contact a charity to request a marathon place at any time.

Virgin Money London Marathon states that there typically "more runners interested in running for each charity than there are charity places available".

Therefore, charities may select runners to represent them based on whether they have a connection to the organisation, or how much money they are able to raise.

Good For Age entry

If runners are able to achieve a certain marathon time on a certified marathon course, then they may be eligible for a Good For Age place at next year's race.

For the 2020 London Marathon, 6,000 Good For Age places will be split evenly between female and male participants.

Men between the ages of 18 and 39 will be eligible to apply for a Good For Age place if they run a marathon in under three hours.

Women in the same age group will be eligible if they run a marathon in under three hours and 45 minutes.

The Virgin Money London Marathon clarifies that achieving a Good For Age time does not guarantee a marathon place, but only an opportunity to submit an application.

Applications for Good For Age entries for the 2020 London Marathon will open on Wednesday 7 August and close on Friday 16 August.

For a full list of the Good For Age time requirements for next year's event, click here.

For all the latest news on the London Marathon, click here.