With our borough once again playing host to the world-famous London Marathon on Sunday 26 April, we’ve created a handy guide with all the information both residents and visitors to our borough will need for the big day.
Where to watch
Thousands of people head to Royal Greenwich every year for the start of the TCS London Marathon, with the first six miles taking participants through Blackheath, Woolwich, Charlton and Greenwich town centre.
Spectators line the streets and cheer on the runners at every point, making the early stages of the marathon a special experience.
Greenwich town centre, and particularly around the Cutty Sark, are considered the most popular places to watch. However, this also means they’ll likely be the most crowded.
If you want to avoid the bigger crowds and still show your support, you could consider watching in any of the below locations:
- Shooters Hill Road (mile 1)
- Charlton Village (red route, between miles 1 and 2)
- Charlton Park Road (red route, between miles 1 and 2)
- Charlton Park Lane (blue route, between miles 1 and 2)
- John Wilson Street (mile 3)
- Woolwich Road (between miles 4 and 5)
- Trafalgar Road (around mile 6)
You can also use the Greenwich foot tunnel for easy cross-river access to the Isle of Dogs, another popular spectator area.
View the London Marathon’s red and blue route maps.
Our amazing staff will be on hand to clean up after the marathon finishes but please remember to dispose of your litter correctly on the day to keep our borough clean and tidy.
Make the most of the borough
Regardless of where you decide to spectate, Greenwich One Card holders can continue to enjoy discounts at local cafes, restaurants and shops throughout the day.
See a list of all current discounts.
Greenwich One Cards are available to anyone living, studying and working in Royal Greenwich.
For comprehensive information for spectators in our borough and beyond, take a look at the official London Marathon spectator guide.
Getting around on the day
As one of the focal points of the sporting calendar, there will be significant crowding throughout the route and in major hubs such as Greenwich town centre.
This may lead to crowded public transport, so we’d advise you to use the TfL Journey Planner to check your route for the latest service updates on the day.
With the route also passing through the borough for the first seven miles, there will also be a number of road closures throughout the day which will impact road transport.
Residents on impacted roads will be made aware of closures directly from the London Marathon organisers, while you can see a comprehensive list of all closures via the official London Marathon website.
Feeling inspired?
Nobody is born ready for a marathon, and every participant completing the 26.2 mile course started their journey somewhere.
If the London Marathon has you feeling inspired to get active, you can start running in a casual and accessible way right here in Royal Greenwich. In fact, no London borough has as many parkruns (every Saturday at 9am) as ours with a total of five across some of our most iconic locations.
You can find five marked and measured routes in parks across Royal Greenwich if you’d like to walk, jog, run or cycle, while the borough is also home to a number of leisure centres including the recently-opened Woolwich Waves.
Find your nearest Royal Greenwich leisure centre.
If you’re not sure where to start, completing programmes like the NHS’s Couch to 5K can make it more manageable and less daunting to get active.