For the first time, blood samples will be taken from every elite athlete in one of the strongest fields the event has seen.
And race director David Bedford believes that mandatory screening for all top runners will help the marathon avoid the drugs scandals that have tainted other events.
"If track and field had taken this a bit more seriously it would not have been so affected," he told BBC Sport Online.
The marathon's status as athletics' ultimate endurance test could tempt competitors into using the banned hormone.
EPO improves stamina and delays the onset of fatigue.
And the World Anti-Doping Agency announced in December that the current urine test for the drug would soon be obsolete.
Bedford said: "The fight against the possibility of athletes using drugs will go on and on, and we are moving with the times.
"We are driving the fight," he added.
"We now have about 20 of the world's top marathons in agreement on the principle that there should be blood testing to ensure we maintain the marathon's integrity within our sport.
"We were at the forefront of that, so it is no surprise that we are the first people doing it - and doing it across the board, not on a random basis."
Bedford's calls for a clampdown coincide with the marathon debut of Paula Radcliffe, who led athletes' protests against Yegerova at the world championships.
The London race director said of the blood tests: "A large majority of the athletes have been very supportive - Haile Gebrselassie, Paul Tergat and Paula Radcliffe to name just three."
And he added: "We believe that the fact that athletes have signed contracts knowing there is testing here shows the marathon is far less afflicted than other sports.
"We intend to keep it that way."