A RECORD 253,930 people from the UK have applied to take part in the 2017 London Marathon.
Bettering the 247,069 total from 2016, the ballot once more demonstrated the event’s popularity as it closed on May 6.
The figures suggest that almost 56% of those applications came from people who had never before run a marathon.
In 1981 less than 300 of the finishers were women, but female applications for the 37th edition topped 110,000.
Hugh Brasher said: “These numbers reflect the huge success of the 36th London Marathon.”