London, United Kingdom
TCS London Marathon 2027 Pacing Plan
Three separate start points near Blackheath and Greenwich Park converge by 3 miles, then the route follows the Thames past Cutty Sark, through Docklands and the Isle of Dogs, over Tower Bridge around the halfway point, and along the Embankment to finish on The Mall. The course is gently rolling rather than pancake-flat: small rises through Greenwich and Charlton in the first miles, then largely flat riverside running from halfway on.
Distance
26.3 mi
Gain / loss
+157ft / -272ft
Race date
Typical race-day weather
9°C, 8 mph
Weather is a 10-year seasonal average for this course's location and month, not a forecast for a specific date. See FAQ.
Elevation profile
Sample strategy: 3:45:00 goal
A real, AI-generated excerpt of what Splitshape produces for this exact course, not a hand-written example. Upload your own goal and recent results to get the full plan.
KM 1-3: The field is packed and adrenaline is high, but hold 5:19-5:24/km here, a touch slower than you'll average later. There's a mild net downhill and a tailwind pushing you along, so it'll feel deceptively easy; resist the urge to let that turn into a surge. You cross 3K around 16:03 having banked nothing, which is exactly the plan.
KM 4-8: This stretch drops through the race's steepest downhill grade, bottoming out at -2.6% at km 5 where pace naturally quickens to 4:35/km. Don't chase that number: it's gravity, not fitness, and a headwind picks up from km 6 onward to keep effort honest. Let the terrain do the work and settle back to 5:05-5:16/km as the grade flattens into km 8.
KM 9-19: Rolling and essentially flat, this is the long middle stretch where the race is quietly won or lost. Hold 5:14-5:24/km through here, riding out a persistent headwind, and use the 15K split (around 1:18:33) as your checkpoint: you should still feel controlled, not laboring. This is banking discipline, not banking time: nothing here should feel hard yet.
Frequently asked questions
Is the London Marathon course actually flat, or are there hills to worry about?
The course is gently rolling rather than pancake-flat, with small rises through Greenwich and Charlton in the first few miles as the three start points converge. From roughly halfway, after crossing Tower Bridge, the route settles into largely flat riverside running along the Embankment to The Mall. With only 48 m of total gain and 83 m of loss, elevation is not a major factor, but the early miles aren't dead flat.
Does the net elevation loss on the London Marathon make it a fast course?
With 83 m of loss against only 48 m of gain, the course has a modest net downhill profile, which combined with the flat second half favors even or negative-split pacing once runners clear the early rolling section through Greenwich and Charlton. The riverside stretch from halfway to the finish on The Mall offers few grade changes to disrupt rhythm.
Where does the course get flatter, and does that suit a negative split strategy?
The course transitions from gently rolling terrain in the first few miles to largely flat riverside running from around halfway, after the Tower Bridge crossing. This flat back half makes a negative-split approach viable, since runners who pace conservatively through the early rises near Greenwich have a long, even stretch along the Embankment to pick up effort.
What weather should I expect on London Marathon race day?
Typical race-day conditions are around 9.3°C with wind near 12.4 km/h, which is mild and suitable for steady marathon pacing without major heat concerns. Runners should still account for wind exposure along the riverside sections through Docklands and the Isle of Dogs, where the route runs close to the Thames.
How does the three-start-point layout affect early pacing?
The London Marathon begins from three separate start points near Blackheath and Greenwich Park, which converge by around 3 miles into a single course. This means early pacing should account for merging crowds and the small rises through Greenwich and Charlton before the field settles into the flatter riverside running that dominates the rest of the course.
Build your TCS London Marathon plan
Upload your own GPX or use TCS London Marathon's course, set your goal and recent results, and get the full km-by-km strategy.
Your plan also includes a gel schedule timed to your splits on this course, and a carb loading guide. How the fueling plan works →
Build my TCS London Marathon plan →Splitshape is an independent pacing-plan tool and is not an official partner, sponsor, or affiliate of the TCS London Marathon or its organizers. Course data source: digitized from the official course.