London Marathon sells out virtual race with 45,000 entries

The mass participation event for the London Marathon was officially cancelled on August 6, but like many races worldwide, a virtual alternative was announced in place of the in-person run. Virtual races have grown in popularity in the past few months, but the London Marathon’s event has hit new levels of success after selling out its virtual run with 45,000 people signed up to race. Participants will run the virtual race — which is called The 40th Race – Your Way — on October 4, the same day that the elite-only event will take place in London. 

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Race your way

After the in-person event was cancelled, all runners who were already registered to race in London were given the chance to sign up for the virtual run before registration opened to the public. According to the event website, on August 26, the priority registration closed and anyone could sign up for the remaining 20,000 spots. After just a few days, those spots were all spoken for by runners from 81 countries worldwide. 

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 “The response has been amazing and the spirit of the London Marathon will shine brightly across the globe on Sunday, October 4,” said Hugh Brasher, race director of the London Marathon. Participants will have all day on October 4 to run, jog or walk 42.2K and cross their virtual finish lines around the world. Organizers have said a special London Marathon app is being developed that runners will use to track their marathons on race day. Everyone who completes their 42.2K runs and makes it official on the app will receive a finisher medal and t-shirt. 

Already secured your place in #The40thRace? ?

Save this image and use it to tell the ? that you're running the 2020 Virgin Money London Marathon on Sunday 4 October. #LondonMarathon pic.twitter.com/uVsmYTmz1c

— TCS London Marathon (@LondonMarathon) August 26, 2020

London Marathon charities 

In addition to being one of the most popular races on the running calendar, the London Marathon is a tremendous fundraising event. In 2019, the event raised more than C$115 million for thousands of U.K. charities. This year, those organizations need more help than ever before as many are struggling due to COVID-19 and a lack of support over the last six months. For anyone who wants to race but missed the general registration period, there is still an opportunity to do so. On the event’s fundraising page, dozens of charities are listed, all of which have race entries for the virtual event that can be purchased through donations.  

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