London Marathon 2024 FAQs

For 2024, the fundraising deadlines to hit along the way are as follows:

1. £500 by 1st August 2023
2. £1,000 by 1st October 2023
3. £1,500 by 1st December 2023
4. £1,750 by 1st February 2024
5. £1,950 by 1st April 2024

All remaining sponsorship must be paid to Leukaemia Care no later than 4 weeks after the 2024 TCS London Marathon. If you have not raised the required minimum sponsorship amount by this time you are liable to cover the remaining sponsorship yourself.

You can read the Terms and Conditions here.

The short answer is yes, you do have to meet the fundraising milestones.

You have fundraising milestones to meet from when you sign up until London Marathon day. These are outlined above in the ‘What are the fundraising deadlines?’, and in the terms and conditions. We do this so people start their fundraising early and have enough time to reach the target before race day. In the past we’ve seen people leave their fundraising late and and then have struggled to raise the fundraising target in a shorter amount of time. We are here to help you plan events, give you lots of ideas and provide general fundraising support. You will not be alone in your fundraising – please pick our brains, it’s our job to fundraise!

The milestones are strict because we have a waiting list of people wanting to run the London Marathon, it’s important that you stick to the fundraising milestones in order to keep your place. There is a degree of flexibility on meeting each fundraising milestone, for example if you have a fundraising event planned after a milestone date. However, we ask that you let us know in advance if you’re not going to meet a fundraising milestone so we can provide some support.

Unfortunately, in the past people have secured a London Marathon place with us and have not met their fundraising target which in turn means they have not covered the cost of their place, this leaves the charity in a difficult situation. To protect ourselves as a charity we ask that you stick to the fundraising milestones to keep your place.

It is a common misconception that charities receive free places in the London Marathon. However, charities have to pay for each of its marathon places which is why we work so hard to support our fundraisers to ensure the sponsorship target is met. We have a friendly fundraising team with bags of ideas as to how you can reach your goals – fundraising doesn’t need to be daunting!

You will be added to the London Marathon Console when you hit £1500 in fundraising, whatever date this may be. Once you are added to the console you will receive an email from London Marathon Events asking you to complete a registration form. Once you have completed that form, you are officially registered into the event. The console closes in March 2024, which will be your last chance to complete your registration. If you miss the deadline and don’t complete your registration form, you will not be able to run. You will be sent multiple reminders before the deadline date.

You can read the Terms and Conditions here.

We will send out running vests when you hit £1500 in fundraising and you are added to the London Marathon Console. This is the point when your place is confirmed with London Marathon, so we know you are definitely running. When you hit this fundraising target, we will send you a link to order a running vest (for free) so you can choose your current size and enter your current address.

You can order additional running vests on our online shop here.

No, gift aid is not included in your fundraising total. Gift aid is not guaranteed for charities, even when people claim gift aid on their donations, therefore we are unable to calculate this before all your fundraising is completed and add it to your total.

Yes, please email events@leukaemiacare.org.uk to request fundraising materials. Please specify what fundraising materials you would like. We can provide collection tins, posters, banners and t-shirts. We can also provide proof that your fundraising is legitimate if necessary and have template letters to send out to local businesses.

In the past, Leukaemia Care have held a party following the London Marathon for runners and their families. Despite initial enthusiasm, these events were poorly attended and very expensive to run. We want to ensure that your sponsorship money is spent on supporting those affected by leukaemia, MDS or an MPN diagnosis and therefore, we have a gazebo in St. Jame’s’ Park instead where marathon runners can relax after the event with some nibbles and water. It’s a great point to meet with friends and families after. This space is free for the charity.