How to sign up for London Marathon 2019: Ballot, entry date and more

Sunday marked one of the most exciting annual sporting events on London’s calendar - the London Marathon.

Each year, this 26.2 mile race takes place in London where an estimated 39,000 people participate - just a fraction of the record 386,050 who applied to take part in this year’s Virgin Money London Marathon.

The sight of thousands of runners pounding the pavement is sure to spur on some motivation to sign up for next year’s race - find out how to below.

How do I sign up for the 2019 London Marathon?

The public ballot entry system for the 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon will open on Monday 30 April 2018 (this coming Monday) and close on Friday May 4 2018 at 5pm - so you have five days to decide whether or not to sign up for the iconic marathon.

The only requirement for entrants is you need to be 18 years old on the day of the race, after that all ballot entries are drawn randomly and people will be notified if they have received a place or not in early October - only then will you need to pay the entry fee.

Other ways to get a place in the race is to run for a charity - although there are only a certain number of places available and to secure a place you need to approach a charity to see if they have any spots going.

A third way you can gain entrance is via the ‘Good For Age’ category, which means you need to have run a marathon previously in a time frame that is good for your age bracket.

When is the 2019 London Marathon?

The 39th annual Virgin Money London Marathon date has just been released and it will take place on Sunday April 28, 2019.

For more information, check out virginmoneylondonmarathon.com/how-to-enter/