Rock, Paper, Scissors Settles Elite Race Schedule for Landmark Two-Day London Marathon

London Marathon organisers have turned to a playground classic to resolve one of the more unusual scheduling dilemmas in the event's history, with a game of rock, paper, scissors determining which day the elite men's and women's races will occupy at next year's expanded two-day edition.

The contest took place between two reigning London Marathon champions, each holding a world record in their respective disciplines. Women's wheelchair world record holder Catherine Debrunner came out on top against men's world record holder Sabastian Sawe, earning the women's fields the coveted traditional Sunday slot.

Under the arrangement that followed, the elite men's race and the men's wheelchair race will now be staged on Saturday, 24 April, while the women's elite and women's wheelchair races will go ahead the following day.

The light-hearted tie-breaker was confirmed by London Marathon Events, the organiser behind the race, which framed the exercise as both a practical solution and an engaging way to build anticipation ahead of the event. Hugh Brasher, chief executive of London Marathon Events, described the head-to-head as an entertaining method of deciding which day would host each elite race.

Brasher added that separating the elite races would allow the event to place an even brighter spotlight on the athletes involved, suggesting the split schedule is intended to give each field greater visibility rather than dilute the competition.

The decision to run the marathon across two days was announced earlier this year and has been characterised by organisers as a momentous one-off edition of the race. The driving force behind the expansion was demand: a record 1.33 million people entered the ballot for the 2027 event, a figure that far outstrips the capacity of a single-day race.

That extraordinary level of interest prompted organisers to rethink the traditional format, opening the door to a weekend-long festival of marathon running. In 2027, a record 100,000 participants are expected to take part, a scale that would have been unimaginable for the event in its earlier decades.

The expanded field is also expected to deliver a substantial charitable windfall. Organisers estimate that more than £150 million will be raised for good causes, reinforcing the London Marathon's reputation as one of the world's largest single fundraising events.

Beyond the headline elite races, the weekend will feature significant changes to the championship categories. For the first time in the history of the London race, the women's championship categories will line up behind the women's elite field, a move organisers present as a step forward in the presentation of women's distance running.

The women's elite wheelchair field will lead the action on the Sunday, starting just before the championship and elite women's races. Brasher said the sequencing would create what he described as a true celebration of women's marathon racing, placing female athletes at the centre of the day's programme.

The two-day format will not restrict the main mass events to single-gender fields. Organisers confirmed that the principal races on both the Saturday and the Sunday will remain mixed, welcoming male, female and non-binary participants, preserving the inclusive character that has long defined the London Marathon's mass field.

The split of elite competition across two days marks a notable departure for a race that has traditionally condensed its showcase events into a single morning. Splitting the men's and women's races gives each its own window, potentially boosting broadcast exposure and allowing spectators to follow each contest more closely.

The use of rock, paper, scissors to allocate those windows also reflects the growing willingness of major race organisers to experiment with staging and presentation. While such a method might seem informal for a decision of this magnitude, the outcome carries real consequences for athletes, broadcasters and spectators alike.

For Debrunner, the victory in the contest adds a curious footnote to a career already defined by record-breaking performances in the wheelchair division. For Sawe, the result means the men's fields will open the weekend's elite programme, with the women's races providing the traditional Sunday crescendo.

The expanded 2027 edition builds on a period of remarkable achievement in marathon running, including Sawe's historic breaking of the two-hour barrier at the London Marathon, a feat that reshaped expectations around what is possible over 26.2 miles.

With 100,000 places on offer and a fundraising target measured in the hundreds of millions, the two-day London Marathon is shaping up as a logistical undertaking unlike anything the event has attempted before. The scheduling decision, however playful its origins, is one small but symbolically significant piece of that larger puzzle.