London Running Events: The Complete Guide to Races Beyond the London Marathon (2026/27)
- Jul 20
- 13 min read
Updated: 4 days ago
Training for the London Marathon got me thinking: the capital's running calendar is so much bigger than one Sunday in April. Here's your month-by-month guide to London running events from free 5Ks to a 100K ultra. When they happen, where they go, and exactly how to enter.
Key Takeaways
There is a major London running event in almost every month of the year. The Cancer Research UK London Winter Run kicks things off in February, and the calendar rolls right through to the Royal Parks Half in October, with weekly parkruns and RunThrough races filling every gap in between.
You don't need to win a ballot to race in London. Only the London Marathon, the London Landmarks Half and the Royal Parks Half use ballots. Everything else, from the ASICS London 10K to the London2Brighton 100K, is first come, first served or entered via a charity place.
There's a distance for everyone. Free 5K parkruns, iconic 10Ks finishing at Buckingham Palace, five big half marathons, the marathon itself, and a 100K capital-to-coast ultra. London is a running city 365 days a year.
Table of Contents
More than marathon weekend
Next April I'll finally be on the start line of the London Marathon. After years of ballot rejections, I'm running London 2027 with a charity place for The Robin Cancer Trust, and yes, if you've been following along, I'll be doing it dressed as a giant pair of testicles. Awareness comes in many shapes.
But somewhere between securing that place and building the training plan, it hit me: I've been thinking about London running all wrong. The marathon is the crown jewel, no question. It's also one weekend. Treat it as the only reason to run in the capital and you're missing eleven other months of start lines: the London Landmarks Half winding past Big Ben, the Big Half thundering over Tower Bridge, the London2Brighton ultra heading for the coast, and dozens more from free Saturday 5Ks upwards.
I know this first-hand, because this October I'll be back in London for the third edition of my Krispy Kreme London 50, a 50K route of my own design, crossing the capital and visiting 20 Krispy Kreme stores in a single day. It's not an organised event with a start gun and chip timing, but with Krispy Kreme's support behind it, it has become one of the best days of my running year, and across the three runs it has helped me raise around £20,000 for charity. More on that later.
First, the full calendar. For every event below you'll find when it happens, how far it is, where it goes, who organises it and how to enter.
London running events at a glance
Month | Event | Distance | Entry type | Organiser website |
Every Saturday | parkrun | 5K | Free registration | |
Year-round | RunThrough races | 5K / 10K / Half | Book direct | |
February | Cancer Research UK London Winter Run | 10K | First come, first served | |
April | London Landmarks Half Marathon | 13.1 miles | Ballot / charity | |
April | TCS London Marathon | 26.2 miles | Ballot / charity / GFA | |
May | Hackney Half | 13.1 miles | Book direct / charity | |
May (bank holiday) | London2Brighton Ultra Challenge | 25K–100K | Book direct / charity | |
July | ASICS London 10K | 10K | Book direct / charity | |
September | The Big Half | 13.1 miles | Book direct / charity | |
September | Vitality London 10,000 & Westminster Mile | 10K / 1 mile | Book direct / charity | |
October | Royal Parks Half Marathon | 13.1 miles | Ballot / charity | |
October | Krispy Kreme London 50 (self-designed) | 50K | One runner, 20 doughnut stops |
Looking for a plan for whatever distance you choose, head over to my training plans article.
parkrun: free 5K runs in London every Saturday
When: Every Saturday, 9am, all year round | Distance: 5K | Organiser: parkrun, parkrun.org.uk
Start with the event that started it all. parkrun was born in London (Bushy Park, Teddington, 2004, with just 13 runners and five volunteers) and has grown into a global movement of millions. Every Saturday morning, dozens of London parks host a free, timed 5K: Bushy, Richmond Park, Wimbledon Common, Clapham Common, Victoria Park and many more.
How to enter: It's free, forever. Register once at parkrun.org.uk, bring your barcode, and you can walk, jog or run any parkrun in the world, any week. Events are organised entirely by volunteers, there's no time limit, and nobody finishes last. If you're building towards a bigger London race, a Saturday parkrun is the perfect weekly benchmark.
Cancer Research UK London Winter Run 10K (February)
When: February | Distance: 10K | Organiser: London Winter Run, in partnership with Cancer Research UK, londonwinterrun.co.uk
Proof that London running doesn't hibernate. Billed as the UK's biggest 10K, the Winter Run sends around 26,000 runners through closed central London streets in the depths of February. The route starts in Trafalgar Square by Nelson's Column and finishes near Big Ben, passing Covent Garden, St Paul's Cathedral and the Gherkin along the way, with snow machines, high-fiving huskies and the occasional yeti thrown in for good measure.
Since launching in 2015, the event has raised over £6.8 million for Cancer Research UK. As a cancer survivor, this one sits close to my heart. Every entry funds research that saves lives like mine.
How to enter: First come, first served via londonwinterrun.co.uk. Entries for the following year typically open in September, and it sells out; the final 7,000 places for 2026 went in a last-chance November release. Don't sleep on it.
London Landmarks Half Marathon (April)
When: Late March / early April (4 April 2027) | Distance: 13.1 miles | Organiser: Tommy's, llhm.co.uk
If the marathon is London's biggest race, the Landmarks Half might be its best-loved. Organised by Tommy's, the pregnancy and baby charity, the LLHM is 100% not-for-profit and has raised over £88 million for hundreds of causes since it began. Around 21,500 runners start by Downing Street and take in what the organisers call "the grand, the quirky and the hidden": Big Ben, the Thames Embankment, the Gherkin and the Tower of London, before a triumphant finish under Nelson's Column in Trafalgar Square, welcomed home by Chelsea Pensioners and Pearly Kings and Queens.
How to enter: Via a free public ballot, which usually opens in June for the following year's race. The ballot for the 10th anniversary edition on 4 April 2027 has already closed. Miss the ballot and charity places are the way in, with Tommy's and partners including Alzheimer's Society, Breast Cancer Now, Great Ormond Street Hospital Children's Charity and Mind. Falling three weeks before London, it's also a superb final tune-up race for marathon runners, assuming you can get in.
TCS London Marathon (April)
When: April | Distance: 26.2 miles | Organiser: London Marathon Events, tcslondonmarathon.com
The big one, and the reason we're all here. One of the six World Marathon Majors, 26.2 miles from Greenwich to The Mall, and comfortably the hardest race in Britain to get into. Well over a million of us enter the ballot each year, and around 97% of us get the "not this year" email. I've written before about what to do if you're rejected, because a rejection is not the end of the road.
How to enter: The ballot (free to enter, results in July), a charity place with a fundraising pledge, Good For Age or Championship qualifying times, or a club place. My route in for 2027 is a charity place with The Robin Cancer Trust, and honestly, the fundraising and the cause have made the whole journey mean more than a ballot place ever could.
Hackney Half Marathon (May)
When: May (17 May 2026) | Distance: 13.1 miles | Organiser: LimeLight Sports, hackneymoves.com
East London's festival that happens to involve 13.1 miles of running. The Hackney Half starts from the festival village on Hackney Marshes beside Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and tours Hackney Downs, Hackney Empire, Broadway Market, Victoria Park and the London Stadium, soundtracked by live bands and lined with some of the loudest crowds in London running. The course is flat, the vibe is unmatched, and the whole thing anchors the wider Hackney Moves weekend of races.
How to enter: Book direct at hackneymoves.com when entries open (it sells out), or take a charity place with one of the many partner charities, typically for a small registration fee and a fundraising pledge of around £300 to £350.
London2Brighton Ultra Challenge (May)
When: Late May bank holiday weekend | Distance: 25K, 50K, 75K, marathon or 100K | Organiser: Action Challenge, ultrachallenge.com
For those who finish a marathon and immediately think "what's next?", here's your answer: the original Ultra Challenge, and the event that gave me my own first 100K finish back in 2023 (race report here). Around 2,000 adventurers set off from Old Deer Park in Richmond and head capital-to-coast: over the North Downs, through the Surrey and Sussex countryside to halfway at Turners Hill, then over the South Downs to the finish at Brighton Racecourse.
The full 100K packs in around 1,500 metres of climb and is roughly 60% off-road, with famously brilliant support. Marquee rest stops every 12.5K, hot food, medics, massage and a fully signed route. You can run it straight through or split it over two days with camping at halfway, and there are quarter, half, three-quarter and marathon-distance options if 100K sounds like a lot (it is).
How to enter: Direct through ultrachallenge.com, either self-funded (around £199 for the full distance, no fundraising commitment) or with a heavily discounted charity-sponsored place. Mind, for example, offers 100K entry for a £20 registration fee and a minimum £575 fundraising pledge.
ASICS London 10K (July)
When: July | Distance: 10K | Organiser: LimeLight Sports, thelondon10k.com
Summer's big city-centre celebration of running. The route rolls through the West End on fully closed roads (Piccadilly, Regent Street, Pall Mall, Trafalgar Square, the Embankment and Westminster Bridge) with live bands and DJs at every kilometre. It's flat, fast and genuinely PB-friendly, with a generous 1 hour 45 minute cut-off, and it welcomes everyone from elites to first-timers, including wheelchair athletes.
How to enter: Book direct at thelondon10k.com or grab a charity place. If you're marathon training for the autumn, this is a perfect mid-summer speed test.
The Big Half (September)
When: Early September (6 September 2026) | Distance: 13.1 miles | Organiser: London Marathon Events, thebighalf.co.uk
From the team behind the London Marathon, the Big Half borrows some of the marathon's most famous real estate. You start in the shadow of Tower Bridge, loop out towards Canary Wharf, cross the bridge itself, and finish beside the Cutty Sark in Greenwich, passing through the four boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich. It's flat, point-to-point, and a deliberate celebration of London's diversity, with a proper festival at the finish, a team relay option and a family-friendly Big Mile on the same day.
How to enter: General entry direct at thebighalf.co.uk (entrants must be 17+), or a charity place, typically with a fundraising minimum of around £350. If you want a taste of marathon-day London without the ballot heartbreak, this is the closest thing there is.
Vitality London 10,000 and Westminster Mile (September)
When: Late September (26–27 September 2026) | Distance: 10K, plus 1 mile the day before | Organiser: London Marathon Events, londonmarathonevents.co.uk/london-10000
Want a marathon-finish experience without 26.2 miles of admin? The Vitality London 10,000 starts on The Mall, heads into the City past St Paul's Cathedral, the Bank of England, Big Ben and Westminster Abbey, and finishes right in front of Buckingham Palace, the only 10K in the capital to do so. Around 24,500 runners take part, with a wellness festival in Green Park to keep supporters entertained.
The day before, the Vitality Westminster Mile offers a family-friendly one-mile dash on the same iconic stretch, with waves for all ages and abilities. If you want to get the kids, parents or reluctant other half into running, this is the weekend to do it.
How to enter: General entry via londonmarathonevents.co.uk (runners must be 15+ for the 10K), with charity places also available.
Royal Parks Half Marathon (October)
When: October (11 October 2026) | Distance: 13.1 miles | Organiser: The Royal Parks charity, royalparkshalf.com
Arguably London's most beautiful race. Since 2008, the Royal Parks Half has started and finished in Hyde Park and threaded 13.1 miles through four of London's eight Royal Parks (Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Gardens) with Buckingham Palace, Horse Guards and the Houses of Parliament along the way. Autumn colours, closed roads, over 16,000 runners, and charity at its heart: the race has raised nearly £60 million for more than 1,000 charity partners.
How to enter: Public ballot at royalparkshalf.com, with a huge range of charity places if the ballot doesn't go your way. As with the Landmarks Half, demand far outstrips supply, so get your ballot entry in early and line up a charity plan B.
RunThrough: 5K, 10K and half marathon races all year round
When: Multiple events every month, all year | Distance: 5K, 10K and half marathon | Organiser: RunThrough, runthrough.co.uk
Finally, the glue that holds the London race calendar together. RunThrough stages chip-timed races in London's parks almost every week of the year: Battersea Park, Victoria Park, Greenwich Park, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park and more. The Battersea Park events are a personal favourite of the London running community: pancake-flat laps starting near the Millennium Arena, ideal for a first-ever race or a serious PB attempt, with a medal and post-race snacks for every finisher.
How to enter: Book direct at runthrough.co.uk. If you need a tune-up race four weeks out from a big goal event, there will always be a RunThrough race waiting.
The Krispy Kreme London 50: the run I designed myself
Which brings me back to the doughnuts.
This October I'll be in London for the third edition of the Krispy Kreme London 50, a 50K route entirely of my own design, crossing the capital and calling at 20 Krispy Kreme stores in a single day. No ballot, no medal, no chip timing. Just a route I plotted myself, a city that never stops surprising you, and a doughnut roughly every 2.5K.
It started as one of my slightly ridiculous solo ultra ideas, and with Krispy Kreme's support behind it, it has grown into something genuinely special: part ultra, part city tour, part rolling bake sale. Across the three runs it has helped me raise around £20,000 for charity, and it has taught me more about London as a running city than any organised race ever could. You see the capital differently at street level over 50K: the neighbourhoods between the landmarks, the parks that link everything together, the sheer variety packed into one city.
And that, really, is the point of this whole article. The marathon opened the door. But London itself is the event, 365 days a year, at every distance, organised or otherwise. You don't need a race number to run London. Though if you fancy one, the table above gives you twelve months of options.
Training for a London running event with Runna
So you've picked your race. Whether it's a first parkrun, a crack at the Big Half or the full London2Brighton 100K, the gap between entering and enjoying it comes down to one thing: training that actually fits your life.
I use Runna for everything from 5K speed blocks to my ultra preparation, and it's genuinely the app I'd recommend whatever London event you've circled on the calendar. It builds a plan around your current fitness, your goal race and the days you can actually train, then adapts as you go. The paces take the guesswork out, the structure keeps you honest, and on the mornings when motivation is hiding behind the sofa, having the session already on your watch is half the battle won.
It's perfect for everything from 5Ks to ultras, which, conveniently, is exactly the range this article covers. I'm a proud Runna ambassador, and that's because it's the tool I train with, not the other way around.
Exclusive blog offer: I can offer readers a 2-week free trial, double the usual length. Download the Runna app and use promo code ANDY2, or simply click this link to redeem. Thousands of people have already taken advantage of the offer, and that's a full fortnight to try a plan for your chosen London event before spending a penny.
London running events FAQ
What running events are there in London besides the marathon? London hosts major races almost every month, including the Cancer Research UK London Winter Run 10K (February), the London Landmarks Half Marathon (April), the Hackney Half and London2Brighton Ultra Challenge (May), the ASICS London 10K (July), the Big Half and Vitality London 10,000 (September) and the Royal Parks Half Marathon (October), plus free weekly parkruns and year-round RunThrough races.
Are there free running events in London? Yes. parkrun is a free, timed 5K held every Saturday at 9am in dozens of London parks including Bushy Park, where parkrun began in 2004. Register once at parkrun.org.uk and bring your barcode.
Which London races have a ballot? The TCS London Marathon, the London Landmarks Half Marathon and the Royal Parks Half Marathon all use ballots. Everything else in this guide is first come, first served or entered via a charity place.
What's the best half marathon in London? It depends what you want. The London Landmarks Half wins for atmosphere and sightseeing, the Big Half for a marathon-style experience over Tower Bridge, the Hackney Half for festival energy, and the Royal Parks Half for scenery. All four sell out or ballot, so plan ahead.
Is there an ultramarathon that starts in London? Yes. The London2Brighton Ultra Challenge starts at Old Deer Park in Richmond each May and runs 100K capital-to-coast to Brighton Racecourse, with 25K, 50K, 75K and marathon-distance options also available.
When should I enter London running events? Early. The Winter Run, Hackney Half and Big Half all sell out; ballot events (Landmarks, Royal Parks, the marathon) open their ballots months in advance, usually the summer before. Charity places are the reliable back door for almost every event, typically for a registration fee plus a fundraising pledge.
What's your favourite London race, and would you run 50K for doughnuts? Let me know in the comments, and keep an eye on the blog and my Instagram for this October's Krispy Kreme London 50.
About the author
Andy Hood is an ultra and endurance runner from North Devon and the voice behind Running Westward Ho!. A testicular cancer diagnosis in 2021, followed by surgery and chemotherapy, stopped his running in its tracks. He rebuilt, came back stronger as "Andy v2.0", and turned his running into a platform for cancer awareness, raising over £27,000 for cancer and mental health charities along the way.
His self-designed challenges have included running 170 miles of the South West Coast Path from Westward Ho! to Land's End, the Tour du Mont Blanc (twice), the London 2 Brighton 100K, 24 hours on a treadmill covering more than 100 miles, and the doughnut-fuelled Krispy Kreme London 50 linking 20 Krispy Kreme stores across the capital. He is a proud Runna ambassador, the creator of the Check Ya Balls underwear range, and a loud advocate for men checking themselves: whatever you call them, check them, every Testes Tuesday.
In 2027 he'll finally run the London Marathon, via a charity place for The Robin Cancer Trust, dressed as a giant pair of testicles.
Find more race reports, training guides and the full story at runningwestwardho.co.uk.
Article includes affiliate codes/links, I may receive a commission if you purchase products or services from any of the companies listed, at no cost to you. This goes toward running the blog, bringing you interesting articles and supporting my charity fundraising with over £27,000 raised to date.
Comments