Everything you need to know about this weekend's action in the British capital.

All four winners from 2026 return to London on Sunday to defend their titles. Sabastian Sawe and Tigst Assefa plus wheelchair racers Marcel Hug and Catherine Debrunner are part of a 59,000-strong field that will be sent on its way by Mo Farah.

A calf injury has put paid to Emile Cairess’s attack on Farah’s British record of 2:05:11, but it will be interesting to see if athletes like Patrick Dever, Mahamed Mahamed or Phil Sesemann can get close to it.

There will be much interest, too, in Eilish McColgan as she tackles her second marathon.

Sawe of Kenya will renew his rivalry with Jacob Kiplimo of Uganda in the elite men’s race with Sawe believing it will take a course record to win this year.

That mark is 2:01:25 set by the late Kelvin Kiptum in 2023.

The pair placed one-two last year in 2:02:27 (with a 60:57 second half) and 2:03:37 respectively, but they are unlikely to have it all their own way.

Joshua Cheptegei of Uganda holds the world 5000m and 10,000m records on the track but has struggled to come to terms with the marathon distance so far.

Ethiopians also have a strong presence with Olympic champion Tamirat Tola, Hagos Gebrhiwet and Yomif Kejelcha, the latter two being among the most prolific track runners and road racers at shorter distances in recent years.

Added to this are Deresa Geleta of Ethiopia with a PB of 2:02:38, plus Amos Kipruto and Geoffrey Kamworor of Kenya.

Germany’s Amanal Petros, who won a silver medal in the 2025 World Championships marathon, will be aiming to finish first European home.

Dever leads the British charge

The British challenge is led by Dever, who impressed on his marathon debut in New York last year placing fourth, before moving up to third following the disqualification of third-placed Albert Korir due to him breaking anti-doping rules.

Further GB hopes include Mahamed, who will be chasing his PB of 2:07:05, together with Sesemann, who is just a few seconds slower on paper with 2:07:10.

No doubt they will be inspired by watching British-born Charles Hicks run 2:04:35 in Boston this week.

Olympic triathlon champion Alex Yee is also running in London, but as part of the pacemaking team.

READ MORE: Patrick Dever interview

Look out as well for Marc Scott, Jack Rowe, Weynay Ghebresilasie, Tewelde Menges, Jake Smith, Andrew Fyfe, Alex Milne and Dan Nash while Alfie Manthorpe makes his marathon debut.

Still, Sawe is the man to beat. The 31-year-old has not been beaten in his three marathons in Valencia 2023, London 2025 and Berlin 2025.

Assefa is the woman to beat

Ethiopia’s Assefa leads the women’s field after breaking the women-only record on her way to winning last year.

Her job is made slightly easier as well by the withdrawals in recent weeks of Olympic champion Sifan Hassan and 2024 London winner Peres Jepchirchir, the only two athletes who have ever beaten her over 26.2 miles.

Since turning to the marathon less than four years ago, Assefa has enjoyed two wins in Berlin, including setting a world record of 2:11:53 in 2023, clocking a women-only world record time of 2:15:50 in London, and she has not finished outside the top two in any of the six marathons.

Assefa will face tough opposition in the shape of Hellen Obiri, though. The Kenyan is making her London Marathon debut and has New York City Marathon titles and two Boston Marathon victories under her belt since moving up to the marathon distance.

Obiri’s most recent New York win, last November, saw her take nearly three minutes off the course record, finishing in 2:19:51.

From England to Uruguay and back

Julia Paternain falls under the category of international entrants as she represents Uruguay. But the 26-year-old, who won a surprise bronze medal at last year’s World Championships in Tokyo, grew up in Britain and ran for Cambridge & Coleridge AC.

READ MORE: Julia Paternain's Tokyo breakthrough

The US-based athlete competed in both the Mini London Marathon and the Vitality Westminster Mile on the same roads as the closing stages of the TCS London Marathon, finishing second in the under-17 women’s race at the 2017 Mini Marathon and then winning the Vitality Westminster Mile in the same age category later the same year.

McColgan is part of strong British women’s line up

British contenders include Eilish McColgan, Jess Warner-Judd, Rose Harvey and Abbie Donnelly.

McColgan clocked a Scottish record of 2:24:25 last year – beating her mum Liz’s PB – and will be looking to get closer to that 2:20 barrier this time.

Warner-Judd will also be looking for an improvement on her fine marathon debut in New York last November, where she ran 2:24:45 on a course that is not regarded as fast.

Harvey’s best of 2:23:21 dates back to 2023 and she will be aiming to rediscover that form in London this weekend, while Donnelly ran 2:24:11 in Frankfurt last October, which ensures it will be a great battle to be crowned top British female in London this year.

Added to this are Lucy Reid, Louise Small and Verity Hopkins, while Alex Bell, Sam Harrison, Clara Evans and Lily Partridge are among the pacers.

Boston winners Hug and Rainbow-Cooper descend on London

Wheelchair racer Marcel Hug will draw level with British Paralympian David Weir as the most successful athlete in the history of the London Marathon if he wins the men’s race on Sunday. Hug is in fine form judging by his course record at the Boston Marathon on Monday.

Catherine Debrunner returns as favourite in the women’s wheelchair race, after missing the world record on the London course by just two seconds last year.

Look out for Eden Rainbow-Cooper, too, the British athlete who won the Boston Marathon women’s race for the second time earlier this week.

The wheelchair race starts at 8:50am, followed by the women’s elite race at 9:05am and the men’s elite and mass event at 9:35am.

Sunday’s action is covered live for UK viewers on BBC and TNT Sports.

Mini London Marathon

The livestream on BBC iPlayer and the London Marathon Events YouTube channel begins at 8:15am, ahead of the first championship race at 8:30am and will run until around 4pm.

Keep an eye on AW's social media channels and website for all the latest news and interviews.