The 2026 London Marathon delivered big today. Kenya’s Sabastian Sawe won in 1:59:30, the first sub-2 in a record-eligible marathon and a new world record, and Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa took the women’s race in 2:15:41, a women’s-only world record.
Organizers and local coverage pegged this year’s field at about 59,000 runners, a massive turnout that makes the race a full-city event, with crowds packed along the route from start to finish. The course is the classic London sightseeing sprint in reverse, starting in Greenwich, flowing past iconic landmarks like Tower Bridge and Canary Wharf, and finishing on The Mall in front of Buckingham Palace.
But through all the record-breaking excitement, one of the more special moments of the day came later in the afternoon: Cynthia Erivo finishing in 3:21:40 with the song “Defying Gravity” playing as she crossed the line.
Check out the video here.
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As the Elphaba in the Wicked film adaptation, this is basically the theater kid version of winning the lottery. And if you’ve ever heard her hit that high note (you know the one I’m talking about), you already know why the internet lost its mind at the idea of her closing out a marathon to the Broadway track most associated with never going down without a fight. The only thing that would’ve made it more on-the-nose is if she’d run the whole thing in full Elphaba green, which … funny in theory, but likely a nightmare in practice.
Today was a PR day for Erivo, too, who didn’t just finish—she flew, no broomstick required. She ran 3:35:36 at London in 2022, and when speaking to Runner’s World last month, she was open about chasing another PR, with 3:15 as the dream number. She came in a little north of that, but shaving that much time off while living the schedule she’s living is ridiculous in the best way.
According to Erivo, she always keeps coming back to running even when her work life gets a little hectic because she considers it to be her “meditation,” adding that it helps her “return back to myself” after performing. And considering she’s currently starring in Dracula in London—playing the title character and all 23 roles—that reset clearly isn’t optional.
And somehow, on top of everything, today was still a calm, locked-in, and pretty fast outing for everyone’s favorite Wicked Witch of the West.
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Sean Abrams was the Senior Editor, Growth and Engagement at Men’s Health. He’s a former hip hop dancer who likes long walks on the beach and large glasses of tequila. You can find his previous work at Maxim, Elite Daily, and AskMen.