Cynthia Erivo hit a major personal milestone at the 2026 London Marathon, finishing with her fastest marathon time yet while one very fitting song played in the background.
The “Wicked” star completed the April 26 race in 3:21:40, beating both her 2022 London Marathon time of 3:35:36 and her 2016 New York City Marathon time of 3:57:07, according to Billboard. As she crossed the finish line, “Defying Gravity” from “Wicked” played, making the moment even more special for fans.
Erivo partnered with Brooks Running for the marathon, wearing the brand during the race and appearing in one of its recent campaigns leading up to the event. After the race, Brooks celebrated her achievement with a social media carousel featuring photos from the finish line and the caption, “A good run is simply the run that happened. Today, it happened to be a new personal best. Congratulations on 3:21:40 in London @cynthiaerivo.”
Erivo responded in the comments, thanking the Brooks team for “being there every step of the way.”
Supporters quickly filled the post with congratulations, including Vera Wang, who wrote, “Seriously!!!! ????? ALWAYS WANTED TO RUN ONE YEARS / DECADES AGO!!!!!!!!!! BRAVO.”
Another supporter commented, “UNSTOPPABLE! Congrats Cyn 🥹😭🙌🏽✨ forever an inspiration,” while another added, “Is there anything you can’t do? 🔥🔥🔥 love to see it, you mega human 💪.”
Family Support Helped Push Her Through the Toughest Miles
Per Hello! Magazine, Erivo later reflected on how emotional the race felt, especially with her family there cheering her on.
She described the experience as feeling like a “homecoming” and said the support from the crowd was overwhelming.
“I don’t know how many times I heard my name screamed around the course, it was wild and insane,” she said.
Erivo admitted there was a rough moment during the race when she was not sure she would make it through, but encouragement from her loved ones helped her keep going.
“It just feels really good to be on that course, and my mum’s here, my sister was on that course,” she said. “She always meets me at mile 21 and yells my name and screams and has a big old card.”
She also shared that running gives her a mental reset outside of work and the spotlight.
“I just get to centre,” she explained. “Zone out for a second, meditate for a second and just be me, yeah, no makeup, no nothing, no costume, just me.”
How Cynthia Balanced Marathon Training With “Dracula”
The marathon came during one of Erivo’s busiest work stretches. Since February, she has been starring in a one-woman stage adaptation of “Dracula” in London’s West End, where she plays all 23 roles in the production.
Per Billboard, she was set to return to the stage just one day after the marathon for another performance, joking, “I should be fine… I might be a little slower than usual, though.”
Before race day, Erivo told Runner’s World that marathon prep remained her top priority, even with her packed performance schedule.
“Everything starts with the run,” she said. “The schedule doesn’t happen if the run’s not included.”
According to Women’s Health, her weekly training plan included recovery runs, long endurance runs, tempo and fartlek speed sessions, Pilates three times a week for strength training, and Sunday long runs that could stretch beyond 20 miles.
She also focused heavily on recovery through hydration, electrolytes, vitamins, protein bars, rest, and making space to mentally reset between performances.
Even with a demanding theater schedule and marathon training, Erivo made it clear that running stayed at the center of it all: “Everything starts with the run.”