{"id":28489,"date":"2026-04-24T11:30:24","date_gmt":"2026-04-24T11:30:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=28489"},"modified":"2026-04-24T11:30:28","modified_gmt":"2026-04-24T11:30:28","slug":"ballot-for-2027-opens-as-tcs-london-marathon-runners-prepare-for-warm-weather","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=28489","title":{"rendered":"Ballot for 2027 opens as TCS London Marathon runners prepare for warm weather"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div id=\"main\">\n<div>\n<div class=\"hydrate-root sc-1ihz57b-0\" data-component=\"SupportNSCNative\" data-loading=\"lazy\" data-theme-name=\"independent\">\n<div data-theme-wrapper=\"independent\" style=\"display:contents\">\n<aside class=\"sc-hez36s-0 dFpFuY\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-1 iBibVd\">\n<h3 data-testid=\"support-nsc-title\" class=\"sc-hez36s-2 flaoin\">Your support helps us to tell the story<\/h3>\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-8 juUDRT\">\n<div class=\"sc-hez36s-13 cqPbFA\">\n<div class=\"sc-aja53j-0 rAFIl sc-hez36s-16 jZSKtc\">\n<div class=\"sc-aja53j-6 PdmgT\">\n<div data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-collapsed-content-container\" class=\"sc-aja53j-5 eZqxmv\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-collapsed-content\" class=\"sc-aja53j-4 iHbbrQ\">\n<div>\n<div data-testid=\"support-nsc-collapsed-content-tablet\" class=\"sc-hez36s-7 hQSpek\">\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 fFxaM\">From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 fFxaM\">At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.<\/p>\n<p class=\"sc-1uza6dc-0 fFxaM\">The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.<\/p>\n<p><strong class=\"sc-1uza6dc-1 eRQajs\">Your support makes all the difference.<\/strong><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><button class=\"sc-aja53j-1 keLMOw sc-aja53j-7 eMEmGu\"><span data-testid=\"dropdown-with-gradient-dropdown-tablet\" class=\"sc-aja53j-3 dHXFkr\"><span data-action-type=\"Read more\" class=\"sc-aja53j-2 iKklLt\">Read more<\/span><\/span><\/button><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The ballot for next year\u2019s TCS <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/london\">London<\/a> Marathon has opened as this year\u2019s runners make final preparations for Sunday when warm weather is forecast.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/people\">People<\/a> have until 4pm on Friday May 1 to try their luck in the random draw for next year\u2019s event, which will take place on Sunday April 25, with ballot results to be announced by early July.<\/p>\n<p>A record-breaking 1,133,813 people applied for a ballot place for Sunday\u2019s marathon but the odds of getting lucky may improve for 2027 with plans being explored to hold an extra London Marathon on Saturday April 24.<\/p>\n<p>If permission is granted for the one-off two\u2011day format, all entrants would automatically be entered into the ballot for both the Saturday and Sunday events, although they would only be able to run in one event.<\/p>\n<p>A two-day event would mean more places for charity fundraisers.<\/p>\n<p>JustGiving said \u00a341 million was raised on its platform by 2025 participants and more than \u00a332 million has already been donated to more than 14,000 fundraisers this year.<\/p>\n<p>Marie Curie, the event\u2019s charity of the year for 2026, hopes to raise \u00a32 million to fund care for those at the end of their lives and support for their loved ones.<\/p>\n<p>With a sunny day and temperatures up to 19C forecast in central London on Sunday, participants have been advised to stay hydrated in the days before the marathon and to wear lightweight clothing on the day.<\/p>\n<p>Extra layers worn while waiting to start can be donated to the Salvation Army.<\/p>\n<p>It could be a warm day for runners wearing fancy dress, like George Strong and Nick Marshall, who work for Sheffield-based fixings company ForgeFix and are running dressed as giant screws.<\/p>\n<p>The pair are running four marathons for ForgeFix\u2019s Screw Prostate Cancer campaign which aims to encourage 100,000 men to take Prostate Cancer UK\u2019s online risk checker and to raise \u00a3100,000 for the charity throughout the year.<\/p>\n<p>They completed their first in Newport on April 19 and will head to Belfast on May 3 and Edinburgh on May 24.<\/p>\n<p>For the first time, the London Marathon weekend gets underway on Friday evening with a 5k run in Battersea Park in partnership with Friday Night Lights which organises social runs with lights and music.<\/p>\n<p>Marathon runners have until 5.30pm on Saturday to collect their number from Excel London.<\/p>\n<p>At Excel, people can also sign up to give blood as part of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/blood\">Blood<\/a>, Sweat and Cheers campaign which is calling on the estimated 800,000 spectators at this year\u2019s marathon to become donors if they are not already.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/topic\/nhs-blood-and-transplant\">NHS Blood and Transplant<\/a> (NHSBT) has teamed up with the TCS London Marathon and Abbott, which screens more than half of the world\u2019s blood and plasma supply, and 200 Hero medals are available for those who are first to commit to giving blood.<\/p>\n<p>Every minute in England, the NHS uses three life-saving blood donations to treat accident victims, cancer patients, mothers in childbirth and people living with chronic conditions like thalassemia and sickle cell disease.<\/p>\n<p>Just 800,000 active donors are keeping the entire country\u2019s blood supply going and, every year, 200,000 new donors are needed to keep up with demand.<\/p>\n<p>There are currently 61,000 appointments still to be filled during the next six weeks, including 22,000 in London donor centres.<\/p>\n<p>The NHS is calling for more donors with B negative, O negative and Ro blood types and donors of Black heritage to help those living with sickle cell disease, the UK\u2019s fastest growing inherited condition, which disproportionately affects people of black heritage.<\/p>\n<p>To kick off the initiative, London Marathon Events chief executive Hugh Brasher met sickle cell campaigner Adesayo Talabi, previous marathon runner Chloe Adlerstein, who lives with beta thalassemia and depends on a blood transfusion every two weeks to stay alive \u2013 and Trojan Gordon, NHSBT charity bib runner and community leader.<\/p>\n<p>Mr Brasher said: \u201cThe London Marathon has always been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis year, we\u2019re calling on the 800,000 people lining the route to be heroes too.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou don\u2019t need to run 26.2 miles to save a life \u2013 you just need to be prepared to roll up your sleeve.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019ve just signed up to give blood myself, and I\u2019d encourage anyone on the route this Sunday or watching from home to do the same.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Darren Bowen, assistant director, blood donation operations, at NHSBT said: \u201cIt only takes one hour to donate blood. Every donation is tested and separated into three components \u2013 red cells, platelets and plasma \u2013 meaning a single donation can save up to three lives.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you\u2019re eligible, please consider signing up to donate and help save the lives of multiple people who need it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Spectators can visit Trinity Square Gardens, in central London, on Sunday to find out their blood type and sign up to donate blood.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.independent.co.uk\/news\/uk\/home-news\/people-london-nhs-blood-and-transplant-blood-b2964243.html\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your support helps us to tell the story From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it&#8217;s investigating the financials of Elon Musk&#8217;s pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, &#8216;The A Word&#8217;, which shines a light on the American women fighting &#8230; <a title=\"Ballot for 2027 opens as TCS London Marathon runners prepare for warm weather\" class=\"read-more\" href=\"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/?p=28489\" aria-label=\"Read more about Ballot for 2027 opens as TCS London Marathon runners prepare for warm weather\">Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28490,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28489","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/Ballot-for-2027-opens-as-TCS-London-Marathon-runners-prepare.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28489","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=28489"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28489\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28491,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28489\/revisions\/28491"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/28490"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=28489"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=28489"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jubi24.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=28489"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}