All the records that could be broken at the TCS London Marathon 2025

It's official! This year, the TCS London Marathon promises to leave us breathless.

On 27 April, elite runners, sports enthusiasts, and goal-setters of all kinds will reunite at the starting line in Greenwich, marking the 45th Anniversary of one of the biggest marathons in the world and the 18th consecutive year of partnership between the London Marathon and Guinness World Records.

Among them, over 100 runners will try to turn their race into a record-breaking achievement.

Notoriously one of the most high-energy World Major Marathons, a jaw-dropping total of 103 runners will test their endurance skills to set or snatch one of the 87 record titles that will be attempted in the British capital.  

An impressive level of engagement that doesn't only reflect the ever-growing popularity of the event, but also the record title achieved by the London Marathon earlier this year: ammassing an impressive 840,318 entries, it officially became the marathon event with most ballot entries in history.

To further prove that London is gearing up for an Anniversary celebration to remember, there might be a second Guinness World Records title in sight.

As reported on the marathon's website, this edition might be on track to go down in history for its unequalled participation rate, breaking the record for most runners to run a marathon EVER.

Similarly, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the London Marathon saw the most users to complete a remote marathon in 24 hours.

Let's meet some of the TCS London Marathon 2025 runners and find out which records they'll be attempting to break.

Adele Roberts

What record title she'll attempt: Fastest marathon with a stoma (female)

The week of the TCS London Marathon will be emotional for Adele: broadcaster, BBC Radio 1 DJ, runner and world record holder.

The event will be Adele’s ninth overall marathon: she has completed the London Marathon three times already and is the current record holder for the fastest marathon with a stoma (female). 

In 2023, her record-breaking feat made headlines worldwide as Adele tackled the 42-km course of the TCS London Marathon for the first time after her diagnosis.

Ready to hit the track only 18 months after surgery and 12 months after chemotherapy, Adele wanted to show what's possible post-cancer and raise awareness of patients living with a stoma. 

"After setting a new record title and having all the incredible feedback of how it helped others, I hoped to do this again on a bigger scale," she said.

"I also wanted to show the world the wonderful UK spirit."

This year, Adele will dedicate her fundraising efforts to Cancer Research UK and to the Attitude Magazine Foundation, which supports members of the LGBTQ community.

"So many people have inspired me," Adele says. "We all spur each other on."

Andy Halliday 

What record title he will attempt: Fastest marathon juggling a hockey ball (male)

Andrew “Andy” Halliday, 63, is a true sports aficionado – both in his work and private life!

Former team manager of Great Britain’s Men’s Olympic Hockey Team, Andy is now an executive coach, facilitator, and hockey commentator at Framlingham College.

He’s also a record breaker, having broken the record title for the highest altitude game of street hockey in 2019, together with Tom Eves, Hurricane Sports Foundation, Lincoln Minster School, and Hockey for Heroes.

The game was played in Thorong La Pass, Nepal, at a whopping 5,019 m (16,466.54 ft) of altitude: there, pupils from Lincoln Minster School entered the pitch for a match to remember!

Andy will tackle this London Marathon to shine a light on the work done by Alzheimer’s Research UK to support Alzheimer's patients and their families: a feat he dedicated to his mother’s memory. 

He also wants to support his friend and fellow hockey champion Imran Sherwani, who was recently diagnosed with Alzheimer's. The Olympic gold medallist and field hockey player stepped on the podium of the Summer Games 1988, and Andy has decided to dedicate to the fellow member of the "hockey family" what might be his last hockey-related stunt.

“I will be 63 at the time of the Marathon,” Andy says, “and I intend to hang up my stick!”

What better way to finish off a 13-year-long extreme hockey dribbling career than adding a new hockey-related record to his accolades?

Chris Green 

What record title he'll attempt: Fastest marathon dressed as a three-dimensional animal (male)

A well-known face at Guinness World Records, Chris “Rhino Boy” Green knows how far passion and dedication can take you.

"Passion pushes you to do things you would have never thought possible," he says, looking back to his past marathons as the TCS London Marathon 2025 approaches.

"I never thought I would be able to complete one marathon when I first ran dressed as a rhino. That was the London Marathon in 2009."

The Dorset resident is a passionate ambassador for the charity Save the Rhinos International and is certainly not new to record-breaking endeavours.

Looking at the future, however, Chris has his mind set on continuing to use his eye-catching costume and running skills to shine a light on the meaningful conservation work done by Save the Rhinos: this year, running to achieve two record titles.

"You keep doing it because of the fun, the elation, but you also see the positive effects it has," he says.

Chris completed 112 marathons dressed in his unique rhino costume to advocate for a more mindful approach to wildlife and the dangers of extinction faced by rhinos and many other species.

He’s already the record holder for the fastest marathon dressed as a three-dimensional animal (male) – a record he set in the British capital in 2021.

However, once again proving his resilience and never-ending passion for the rhino cause, Chris is going to attempt the record again this year. He also aims to add a new title to his collection, this time for the most marathons run in the same three-dimensional costume, with the upcoming London Marathon.

Maria Luisa Garatti 

What record title she'll attempt: Fastest marathon with Multiple Sclerosis

Maria Luisa Garatti is a 55-year-old lawyer, writer and runner hailing from Brescia, Italy. 

She got into sports in 2014 after she was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis – a discovery that felt, at the time, “like a punch in the guts that knocked her down and left her strengthless”. 

“I started running then,” she recalls, “And I haven’t stopped since!”

A year after her first marathon in 2016, she founded the association “Se vuoi puoi” (roughly translated into: “If you want, you can do it”), encouraging other MS patients to embrace running and helping those who can’t run anymore because of the illness.

"I work with other MS patients, who are now my family and my life companions,” Maria Luisa explains.

"We take part in marathon events together, and also lend our legs for those who can’t run due to their physical condition, pushing the wheelchair for other patients so they can taste first-hand the many joys of crossing the finish line."

But why a Guinness World Records title, you might ask?

She got inspired by fellow runner and Guinness World Records holder Simone Carniglia, who smashed the record for the fastest marathon by a type 1 diabetic (male) during the London Marathon 2024.

Simone also holds the record for the fastest aggregate time to complete all six World Marathon Majors by a type 1 diabetic: an unequalled aggregate time of 16 hours, 14 minutes, and 59 seconds!

"I fell in love with Marathons because running through a 42-km-and-195-m long track feels just like running through my life," Maria Luisa reveals.

Martin Pritchard-Howarth 

What record title he'll attempt: Fastest marathon as a three-dimensional flower (male)

Martin, 56, is an enthusiastic marathon and ultra-marathon runner and certainly not new to record titles, having beaten the record for the fastest marathon dressed as a mountain climber (male) in October 2021.

Now, the IRONMAN athlete has his eyes set on smashing the record for the fastest marathon as a three-dimensional flower (male).

This year, the NHS Consultant Geriatrician from North Wales will tackle the TCS London Marathon to shine a light on SCOPE: the charity that aids people with disabilities. 

As an NHS worker and a passionate advocate for equal rights, Martin works every day with the frail, elderly and disabled and is well aware of the difficulties they go through. 

“I am sadly only too aware of the significant hurdles they face,” he says.

Sunflowers symbolize disability at his hospital, and Martin will honour the patients he works with through this heartwarming tribute – which also contributed significantly to his fundraising efforts, as he reports. 

“I find that record breaking is a fantastic way to capture people’s imagination, as well as gaining more awareness and sponsorships for charitable organizations,” he adds.

Ollie Shortt 

What record title he'll attempt: Fastest marathon dressed as a body part (male)

51-year-old Ollie Shortt is a London resident with a taste for record-setting. 

The Dublin-born athlete will be tackling his 37th marathon this year, and for the occasion, he'll try to add another record title to his name: at the moment, he already holds the record titles for the fastest half marathon dressed as a body part (male), which he seized in 2024, and the fastest marathon as a body part (male).

Remarkably, he broke the record after being kept away from training for four weeks due to an injury.

His costume and charity of choice have a very emotional meaning for Ollie, following his wife’s liposarcoma diagnosis in 2022. 

“I had no idea what sarcoma was before this,” he says. "It is a rare cancer that is often diagnosed very late on."

Even though his wife is now cancer-free, Ollie will continue to raise awareness and money in support of Sarcoma UK, the charity specializing in funding research and sustaining patients dealing with this incredibly hard-to-diagnose form of cancer. 

Rebecca Reid 

What record title she'll attempt: Fastest marathon with a Subcontaneous Defibrillator (S-ICD) Female 

The TCS London Marathon 2025 will be a new challenge for Rebecca, a 32-year-old marketing manager.

This will be her ninth marathon but her first ever with the defibrillator.

Rebecca underwent heart surgery in 2023 following an idiopathic ventricular tachycardia (VT) episode that suddenly changed her life while she was in the middle of running in a championship. 

She went through VT ablation surgery, a procedure that creates scars in the heart tissue via heat or cold energy to block abnormal electrical signals and prevent an irregular heart pattern.

With no explanation for the episode, Rebecca was implanted with an S-ICD device (a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator that delivers an electric shock in case of abnormal heartbeat pattern) to ward off any future incidents.  

“When I was able to run again and got a ballot place for the 2025 marathon (which I truly believe was fate), I knew I had to make all of this account for something and mean something."

She is running to uplift Cardiac Risk in the Young (C-RY) and their country-wide efforts to provide accessible heart screenings, especially for young people who would not otherwise have access to heart-monitoring services.

"Their work is very specific to try and prevent anyone else going through what I did, or even worse," Rebecca explains.

“I was unable to run for months and months which, as a serious competitor, had such a detrimental impact on my mental health,” she recalls.  

“I want to prove that 'it's only over when you say it is over,' to quote one of my favourite elite runners."