London Marathon 2026 | Peacehaven Run Club

London Marathon Club Ballot

The London Marathon traditionally has a policy of awarding EA-affiliated Clubs a number of places, based on the Club’s size. Where Peacehaven Run Club qualify for places, we will apply for the maximum number of places available. For the upcoming 2026 London Marathon, we have 1 place available.

We believe the London Marathon is a true privilege to run, and a place on the start line representing Peacehaven Run Club should be earned. With over 1.1 million people entering the 2026 ballot, competition is tougher than ever. To be eligible for a club place, members must meet the criteria outlined below.

The ballot

In the likely event that we have more applications than places, the Club’s selected athlete will be decided by ballot.

The ballot itself can be done physically (i.e., names in a hat) or electronically (i.e., a random generator). However, it should be conducted independently and with as many witnesses as possible.

This is good for a couple of reasons:

To ensure the full transparency of the balloting process
As a social event; the London Marathon club ballot should be celebrated, with as many club members and applicants invited to build the tension!

Transparency is absolutely critical here: At the time of the ballot, reasonable efforts should be made to demonstrate that all applicants had equal opportunity.

Subject to qualification criteria (below), all applicants will have equal chance. In particular:

No preference will be awarded due to expected finish time
No preference will be awarded due to the number of marathons previously completed or booked for the future
No preference will be awarded due to having ‘won’ or consistently ‘lost’ the ballot in previous years
No preference will be awarded due to seniority in the club (e.g., part of the committee)

This is not an exhaustive list, but a good indication of our policy on equality of opportunity.

The criteria:

Be a full paid first claim member of Peacehaven Run Club at the time of the ballot.
Have not ran the London Marathon in the last 3 years - This includes charity entry & championship entry
Have first applied via the London Marathon general ballot and received a rejection notification of which proof will be required.
Run at least 6 races for the club (in club kit) in the calendar year of the draw. This can include any race but also club GrandPrix events. For the events that aren’t part of the club GP, proof will be required via photographic evidence. Any event you take part in which is for the club GP, these will be tracked via our club GrandPrix official
Be an active volunteer within the club and contribute to improving the club. E.g, helping support the committee, volunteering at club sessions, volunteering at our own races/events OR must have volunteered at Peacehaven parkrun / Peacehaven Jr parkrun at least 5 times in the calendar year the ballot is drawn.
Must not have been accepted for a charity place.
Not eligible for a GFA or Championship place* Since GFA places are not guaranteed and would not be confirmed until after the club ballot has already been drawn, members with a Marathon time less than 10 minutes under the published GFA qualifying time for their age category may enter the club ballot. However, the club request that club members in that situation apply for a GFA place still and in the event in being successful in that category, promptly notify the club so that their club place may be allocated to a reserve.
Over the age of 18.

Expectations of the selected runner:

However, there are a couple of rules. The club representative (runner) must:

Wear a club kit or club colours for the race.
You will pay the race entry fee and submit the race entry form.
Make reasonable efforts to run the race, stay fit and avoid deferring their place. (Of course, this can often not be helped, but every reasonable effort should be made to avoid it.)
The entry is not transferrable to someone else. If you can no longer take part in the race, you forego your place. If this is before the entry deadline, then we will re-ballot the entry; otherwise we will unfortunately forego the place.
Must be available on Sunday 26th April 2026 to run the Marathon.

Respect

As many of us know, the London Marathon is a bucket list event, and being unsuccessful in (repeatedly!) entering the race is tough and is an emotive subject. We would encourage other members to be kind and respectful to those who managed to get a place, as well as those who weren’t quite so fortunate this time round.