The marathon world record picture was sharpened on Friday in London as pace groups were confirmed for the 2026 TCS London Marathon, with the men’s lead pack set up for an aggressive start. The first elite men’s group, which includes Sabastian Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, will be taken to halfway in 60: 30, a schedule that sits inside the course record and within range of the marathon world record. The same targets have also framed the women’s race, where Tigst Assefa, Joyciline Jepkosgei and Hellen Obiri are due to be pushed through halfway in 67: 30.
Men’s front group set for a fast split
The sharpest signal came in the men’s first group, where pacemakers Oscar Chelimo, Andrea Kiptoo and Nibret Melak are set to escort the lead athletes to halfway in 60: 30. That group will include last year’s first and second-placed finishers, Sabastian Sawe and Jacob Kiplimo, and the timing points directly at Kelvin Kiptum’s course mark of 2: 01: 25 and his marathon world record of 2: 00: 35.
Sawe has said he believes he is in similar shape to his build-up before his world-record attempt in Berlin last September, which fell short in warmer conditions. He is also set to race with Adidas’s new Pro Evo 3 supershoe, described by his camp as lighter than its predecessor. Sawe was asked on Friday whether the shoe could help him break Kiptum’s London course record or the marathon world record, and he answered simply: “Yes. ”
His agent, Eric Lilot, said the pace plan gives him a chance of making history, while also pointing to tailwinds forecast for the final miles. Sawe’s coach, Claudio Berardelli, said the athlete has fully recovered from a stress fracture in his foot after Berlin and a back injury in December, and described him as an outlier based on more than two decades of coaching in Kenya.
Marathon World Record pressure rises in a stacked field
The challenge is not just the clock. Kiplimo is back after running 2: 03: 37 on his marathon debut in London last year, and he arrives with added confidence after breaking the half-marathon world record last month in 57: 20. The field also includes Olympic champion Tamirat Tola and Yomif Kejelcha, who is making his marathon debut after winning world 10, 000m silver in September.
Kiplimo and Sawe staged a brief face-off before Friday’s press conference, a moment that underlined how tightly balanced the front of the race may be. Kiplimo said he has increased his mileage and is better prepared than last year, adding that the battle will be decided on Sunday. That kind of rivalry may raise the pace even further and make the marathon world record harder to attack cleanly.
Women’s race also set for pressure from the front
The women’s race carries its own pace story. Defending champion and women-only world record holder Tigst Assefa, along with Joyciline Jepkosgei and Hellen Obiri, will aim to go through halfway in 67: 30, inside Assefa’s women-only world record of 2: 15: 50 set in London last year. Pacemakers Tsigie Gebreselama, Miriam Chebet and Anchinalu Dessie will shape that early tempo.
A second women’s group is set for 69: 00 at halfway, while a third group featuring Eilish McColgan is targeted at 70: 00 with Alex Bell among the pacemakers. Jess Warner-Judd and Rose Harvey will be in the fourth group, looking to run between 71: 30 and 72: 00 at halfway.
What comes next on the road
There is also a wider structure behind the lead contests. The men’s second group includes Amanal Petros, Joshua Cheptegei and Geoffrey Kamworor, while leading British runners Patrick Dever, Phil Sesemann and Mahamed Mahamed are placed in the third group. Beyond that are three more groups with halfway targets of 64: 15, 65: 00 and 67: 00.
For now, the confirmed pace plan has done more than just organize the race. It has put the marathon world record into the conversation before a single step is taken on race day, and it has made London’s elite contests feel like they are being set up for a fast and unforgiving test.
