Things don’t always go to plan in marathon training, so even if you entered the 2024 London Marathon ballot with the best of intentions, you may find that you have secured a spot but you can no longer run in the race. In which case you may want to defer your entry.
Whether it’s because you’ve succumbed to one of the most common running injuries, or you haven’t had the time to train, it’s far better to run another year rather than limp your way around the London Marathon route without getting satisfaction from it.
While final details on how to defer your place in the 2024 London Marathon are yet to be confirmed, the event has a generous deferral policy, which is great news given how hard it is to get a place through the London Marathon ballot.
Below you’ll find the deferral policies that are in place for the London Marathon 2024. Whether you can defer, and how long you can defer the spot for, depends on the type of entry you had. If you are eligible to defer your entry, more details on how to go about it will be available by the end of March.
Can You Defer Your London Marathon Entry?
If you got a place in the London Marathon 2024 via the ballot then you will be able to defer it to the 2025 race. You will need to pay the entry fee for 2025 to secure your deferred place.
Further details on how to defer will be available to participants by the end of March, but you will be able to defer your entry right up until the deadline of 11.59pm on Saturday 21st April.
If you got your place through other means, the process is more complicated. If you deferred from the 2023 race to 2024, you cannot defer again. You also can’t defer a charity place in the race through the London Marathon website, but it’s worth contacting the charity to see if they’ll allow you to run next year instead.
The policy is also different for Good For Age and Championship entrants whose place in the race is based on running a qualifying time during a set period. If you qualify for the London Marathon with a Good For Age or Championship time you can’t defer that place, with the exception of runners who are pregnant or postpartum. If you are pregnant or postpartum then you will be able to defer a Good For Age or Championship place to 2025, 2026 or 2027 without having to run the qualifying time again.
Do You Get A Refund If You Withdraw From The London Marathon?
You do not get a refund if you withdraw from the London Marathon, so it is best to defer your place if possible.
What Is The Deadline For Deferring Your London Marathon 2024 Place?
You can leave it very late to defer your London Marathon entry, with the deadline being 11:59pm on Saturday 20th April, the day before the race. It’s probably best to make the decision to defer and get it all sorted before that point though, rather than having to visit the London Marathon Expo and organize your race week only to then pull out the evening before the race.
Can You Give Your London Marathon Place To Someone Else?
Some races allow the transfer of your place to another person if you can’t run, but this isn’t possible with the London Marathon. If you run under someone else’s name and are caught you will be banned from future events organized by London Marathon Events.
