The ballot for next year’s TCS London Marathon has opened as this year’s runners make final preparations for Sunday when warm weather is forecast.

People have until 4pm on Friday May 1 to try their luck in the random draw for next year’s event, which will take place on Sunday April 25, with ballot results to be announced by early July.

A record-breaking 1,133,813 people applied for a ballot place for Sunday’s 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.

If permission is granted for the one-off two‑day 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.

A two-day event would mean more places for charity fundraisers.

JustGiving said £41 million was raised on its platform by 2025 participants and more than £32 million has already been donated to more than 14,000 fundraisers this year.

Marie Curie, the event’s charity of the year for 2026, hopes to raise £2 million to fund care for those at the end of their lives and support for their loved ones.

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.

Extra layers worn while waiting to start can be donated to the Salvation Army.

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.

The pair are running four marathons for ForgeFix’s Screw Prostate Cancer campaign which aims to encourage 100,000 men to take Prostate Cancer UK’s online risk checker and to raise £100,000 for the charity throughout the year.

They completed their first in Newport on April 19 and will head to Belfast on May 3 and Edinburgh on May 24.

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.

Marathon runners have until 5.30pm on Saturday to collect their number from Excel London.

At Excel, people can also sign up to give blood as part of the Blood, Sweat and Cheers campaign which is calling on the estimated 800,000 spectators at this year’s marathon to become donors if they are not already.

NHS Blood and Transplant (NHSBT) has teamed up with the TCS London Marathon and Abbott, which screens more than half of the world’s blood and plasma supply, and 200 Hero medals are available for those who are first to commit to giving blood.

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.

Just 800,000 active donors are keeping the entire country’s blood supply going and, every year, 200,000 new donors are needed to keep up with demand.

There are currently 61,000 appointments still to be filled during the next six weeks, including 22,000 in London donor centres.

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’s fastest growing inherited condition, which disproportionately affects people of black heritage.

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 – and Trojan Gordon, NHSBT charity bib runner and community leader.

Mr Brasher said: “The London Marathon has always been about ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

“This year, we’re calling on the 800,000 people lining the route to be heroes too.

“You don’t need to run 26.2 miles to save a life – you just need to be prepared to roll up your sleeve.

“I’ve just signed up to give blood myself, and I’d encourage anyone on the route this Sunday or watching from home to do the same.”

Darren Bowen, assistant director, blood donation operations, at NHSBT said: “It only takes one hour to donate blood. Every donation is tested and separated into three components – red cells, platelets and plasma – meaning a single donation can save up to three lives.

“If you’re eligible, please consider signing up to donate and help save the lives of multiple people who need it.”

Spectators can visit Trinity Square Gardens, in central London, on Sunday to find out their blood type and sign up to donate blood.