Star alumni return to the Start Line as the TCS Mini London Marathon celebrates its 40th edition
To celebrate the 40th edition of the event, former participants have been invited back to take part in a special 40th wave.
Those taking part include Hannah Cockroft, a nine-time Paralympic champion and 16-time World champion; three-time Paralympic champion rower Lauren Rowles; former Great Britain hurdle and relay star Perri Shakes-Drayton; and defending Europe Triathlon Championships gold medallist Non Stanford, who is also a three-time winner of the Mini London Marathon.
Other former Mini Marathon stars attending include Georgia Hunter Bell, the 1,500m bronze medallist at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games, and Northern Ireland’s Ciara Mageean, who won gold in the 1,500m at the 2024 European Championships.
We are excited to announce that BBC Sport, the broadcasters of the TCS London Marathon, will also show the stream on the BBC Sport site and BBC iPlayer.
The coverage starts at 08:25 and will include all the championship races, which run between 08:30 and 09:15 and showcase the best young athletes in the country. You will also be able to catch it on our YouTube channel and Facebook page.
From 08:25 to 10:30, presenters Rick Edwards and Swarzy Macaly plus commentators Ellen Ellard and three-time Olympian (plus two-time Mini London Marathon champion) Steph Twell will talk viewers through the action.
There will also be interviews and reaction from celebrity supporters and familiar faces from the history of the Mini London Marathon.
Ben Cooper, Event Lead at the TCS Mini London Marathon, said:
“The 2025 TCS Mini London Marathon will be a celebration of the past, present and future of this inspirational event. We are excited to welcome back some of the amazing athletes and people who have taken part in the event since the first edition in 1986 as part of our 40th edition celebrations while a record number of schoolchildren from across the country will help to make a little bit of history in what will be the biggest-ever edition of the event. Looking forward, we hope all those taking part this year will be inspired to return in the future and continue enjoying physical activity throughout their lives.”
The 40th edition wave will round off the 2025 TCS Mini London Marathon, following on from the championships races and the mass event. There are two distances available for children, with a one-mile route for children in Reception to Year 7 and a 2.6K route for those in Years 4 to 12, and every finisher will also be making a difference to their school.
Every participant aged 17 or under who finishes the 2025 TCS Mini London Marathon will earn £10 from the event’s title partner, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), for their school to spend on PE or IT equipment. TCS, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary in the UK, has seen the funding used by schools in a variety of ways, including introducing pupils to coding and supporting children with special educational needs and disabilities to develop fundamental movement skills.
While thousands will be taking part in central London on Saturday, the journey will have already begun for hundreds of thousands earlier in the week. The free-to-enter TCS Mini London Marathon in schools invites children and young people at schools around the country to run, jog, walk or wheel two miles in their school setting. The virtual challenge, which already has more than 435,000 children signed up to take part, begins on Tuesday 22 April and runs until Friday 2 May. Schools can still sign up to register here.
Schools taking part can download TCS Mini London Marathon running bibs and certificates for children taking part, as well as Finish Line tape to complete the experience.
This year, WWF-UK (the World Wide Fund for Nature) returns as the official charity partner of both the TCS Mini London Marathon and TCS Mini London Marathon in schools. The partnership includes A Prescription For Nature to encourage children to get their daily dose of nature in 2025, inspiring positive action and responsibility among young people. The WWF-UK team will be based at Horse Guards Parade and in the Green Park ‘Fan Zone’. Here, they will have lots of fun activities for children to get involved, including nature scavenger hunts, quizzes and games, Wear it Wild selfie stations and temporary panda tattoos.
The hugely popular WWF-UK celebrity supporter Joe Wicks (aka The Body Coach) is back in 2025 and will be leading warm-ups at Horse Guards Parade on Saturday. The man who inspired millions of children during the pandemic will also start several of the event waves and hand out medals to finishers when they cross the Finish Line on The Mall.
Jon Turner, Head of Education at WWF-UK, said:
“As we mark the 40th Mini London Marathon, we celebrate an ongoing legacy that champions getting outside and connecting with others and nature. Whether it’s the first stride across the Finish Line as a child or returning years later to relive this moment, getting a daily dose of nature through outdoor activity is important at every life stage.
“No matter what is causing us stress in our lives, whether at school, work or home, research shows connecting with nature is a powerful tool to ease stress, boost our mood and improve our focus. WWF is proud to be part of this 40th edition event, recognising the event’s legacy and the future generations it continues to motivate.”