London Marathon sets another world record

The 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon raised a record-breaking £63.7 million for charity, setting a new world record for an annual single day charity fundraising event for an incredible twelfth successive year.

The new record was an increase of more than £2 million on the previous record total of £61.5 million raised from the 2017 event. It brings the overall sum raised for charity since the event was founded in 1981 to more than £955 million.

The total raised for charity by the London Marathon since Virgin became title sponsor in 2010 is now more than £500 million. Virgin Money Giving is the not-for-profit fundraising partner of the London Marathon and donations to charity linked to the race through the online service have reached more than £170 million.

Jo Barnett, Executive Director at Virgin Money Giving, said: "Once again the generosity of the public around the Virgin Money London Marathon is truly astounding and we are delighted to be able to play our part in raising money for so many worthwhile causes. A staggering half a billion pounds has been raised for charity since Virgin Money became lead sponsor of the London Marathon and we are delighted to be involved with an event that is not only the highlight of the running calendar but also the largest single day annual fundraising event in the world. The 2018 race saw us beat our own fundraising record and we've made a number of improvements to the Virgin Money Giving fundraising platform to help charities raise even more money next year."

Hugh Brasher, Event Director, said: “Every year, the Virgin Money London Marathon inspires thousands to take on the challenge of running the famous 26.2 miles and raise these incredible sums for charity. We salute every runner who has contributed to this amazing world record total of £63.7 million, a truly incredible sum from a one day event.

“Since 1981, the London Marathon has been an extraordinary force for good that has inspired profound social change. We are constantly working to grow the event and its positive impacts as society, health services and charities face ever-increasing pressure on their services and funding. The London Marathon Charitable Trust has enabled hundreds of thousands more people to get active through its funding of a huge range of recreational projects.”

Several charities, including Children with Cancer, Teenage Cancer Trust, Macmillan Cancer Support, Mind, Whizz-Kidz, NSPCC and Cancer Research UK, raised more than £1 million from the 2018 race.

Emily Roff, Senior Sports Events Manager for Children with Cancer, the top fundraising charity in 2018, said: "The 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon was a record breaking year for Children with Cancer UK. We raised more than £3 million, making this our single biggest fundraising event which generates around 20 per cent of our annual income. 

"We are delighted to have raised such an incredible amount to fund vital specialist research to help save the life of every child with cancer and keep their family together. We’d like to say a huge thank you to London Marathon Events as well as all of our dedicated runners. We’re looking forward to making 2019 another record breaking year."

Her Majesty The Queen started the 2018 Virgin Money London Marathon from Windsor Castle and, in the hottest ever London Marathon, there were a record 40,273 finishers. Eliud Kipchoge, who broke the world record in Berlin last weekend, took his third London title and fellow Kenyan Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's race. Sir Mo Farah showed the world his marathon ability as he finished third in a British record. David Weir won a record eighth wheelchair title and Madison de Rozario scored her first Abbott World Marathon Majors win as she took the honours in the women's wheelchair race. 

The 2019 Virgin Money London Marathon takes place on Sunday 28 April. It has already set a world record after 414,168 people applied for a place via the public ballot – again the biggest number of applications for any marathon in the world.