What time does the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2026 start? Route, road closures, race numbers, tracking and travel for Sunday 11 October

The Royal Parks Half Marathon 2026 takes place on Sunday 11 October, with the first wave leaving South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park at 08:45 and the last wave away between 09:30 and 09:45. The 13.1-mile race runs on closed roads through Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Gardens, passing Buckingham Palace, the Mall, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall and the Houses of Parliament. It finishes in front of the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall. Hyde Park roads are closed from 00:01 on Sunday until 05:00 on Monday 12 October, St James's Park roads from 06:00 to 18:30, and Westminster streets on the route from 07:00 to 12:30, The WP Times reports.

The race is organised by The Royal Parks, the charity that runs London's historic royal parks, and this year has a new headline sponsor, the Spanish sportswear brand Oysho, which replaces Royal Bank of Canada. Registration for 2026 closed after a public ballot that ran from 26 January to 6 February, although The Royal Parks was still offering charity places. Runners have four hours to finish, which works out at about 18 minutes 19 seconds per mile. Race day coincides with the heaviest Tube engineering weekend of October. The Circle and District lines are closed through Victoria, Westminster and South Kensington on 10–11 October, so organisers are sending runners and supporters to Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Green Park on the Piccadilly line.

When is the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2026 and what time does it start?

The Royal Parks Half Marathon 2026 is on Sunday 11 October, the race's usual second-Sunday-of-October slot. The event village and baggage marquee in Hyde Park open at 07:30. The first runners set off at 08:45, and waves follow until the last group is released between 09:30 and 09:45. Waves are allocated by predicted finish time, from about 1 hour 30 minutes to 3 hours 30 minutes. Each runner's wave is printed on the race number and confirmed in the runner instructions email. The course closes four hours after the start, and slower runners still on the route may be moved on to the pavement by marshals as roads reopen.

What is the Royal Parks Half Marathon route?

The Royal Parks Half Marathon route is a single lap that starts on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park and finishes in Kensington Gardens, in front of the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall. The finish was moved there in 2025, and the organisers' current route page and race listings updated this month show the same start and finish for 2026. On the 2025 route, runners left Hyde Park at Hyde Park Corner, crossed The Green Park and ran a loop of St James's Park. They then passed Buckingham Palace, the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben, and ran along Whitehall to Trafalgar Square. From there they went up the Strand and back, returned along the Mall for a second time, and headed back through The Green Park to Hyde Park. The final miles loop through Hyde Park and Kensington Gardens, including Serpentine Road, which organisers call the loudest cheer mile on the course, and pass Kensington Palace. The course is close to flat, with about 65 metres of total climb over 21.1km.

Royal Parks Half Marathon track: the route section by section

Water stations and course support

Water stations are planned at about 3.5, 6.5, 9.5 and 11 miles, with toilets along the route. Energy gels are not handed out, so runners need to carry their own. Pacers run in the waves with flags showing target finish times; the pacer allocation for each wave is on the runner information pages. Stewards and medical teams are posted along the course, and emergency vehicle access is kept open on every closed road. Warm-up clothing should be left in the discard zones near the start, not on the course.

What pace do you need to finish?

The table shows the average pace needed for common finish times over 13.1 miles. The last row is the organisers' four-hour course limit.

Which roads are closed for the Royal Parks Half Marathon?

The organisers have confirmed three closure windows for 2026. Hyde Park roads are closed from 00:01 on Sunday 11 October until 05:00 on Monday 12 October, because the start, event village and part of the course are inside the park. Roads in St James's Park are closed from 06:00 to 18:30. The rest of the Westminster route is closed from 07:00 to 12:30. Parking is suspended on the route from 06:00, and vehicles left in closure zones can be removed. A street-by-street list for 2026 has not been published on the organisers' road closures page, so residents should check the traffic notices posted along the route in the week before the race.

Which streets are usually closed?

Because the route has barely changed, the streets closed in the last two races are the best guide to 2026. In 2025, closures covered the Mall, Constitution Hill and Birdcage Walk, Park Lane in both directions, Whitehall and Parliament Street, Trafalgar Square and the Strand, and Piccadilly eastbound. In 2024, detailed times were published for most of the same streets. Constitution Hill, Queen's Gardens, Marlborough Road, the Mall, Horse Guards Road and Birdcage Walk were closed from 06:00 to 13:00. Great George Street, Parliament Square, Bridge Street and Victoria Street were closed from 07:00 to 11:30. Trafalgar Square, the Strand, Whitehall and Parliament Street were closed from 07:00 to 12:00, Park Lane from 07:45 to 12:00 and Hyde Park Corner from 08:00 to 12:00.

What the closures mean for Westminster and Pimlico residents

For residents of Pimlico and Victoria, the closures cut the usual routes north and east on Sunday morning. Victoria Street and Parliament Square have been closed on recent race mornings, so trips from Victoria to Whitehall, Trafalgar Square or the Strand are likely to be diverted until about lunchtime. Park Lane and Piccadilly eastbound closures affect drivers heading from Victoria towards Mayfair and the West End. Pedestrian access to homes inside the closure zones is normally kept open, with marshals at crossing points. Drivers leaving SW1 before 07:00 or after about 12:30 will avoid the Westminster section. Churches, hotels and businesses around St James's Park should plan for restricted road access until 18:30. Anyone with a flight or a hospital appointment that morning should plan a route that avoids the Mall, Whitehall, Park Lane and Hyde Park Corner.

How do you get to the Royal Parks Half Marathon with the Tube works?

TfL engineering work makes getting to the Royal Parks Half Marathon harder this year. The Circle line is closed between Edgware Road and Aldgate via Victoria on 10–11 October, and the District line is closed from Edgware Road and Tower Hill to its western branches. That leaves South Kensington, Sloane Square, Victoria, St James's Park, Westminster and High Street Kensington without Circle and District trains. The Piccadilly line has no daytime closures on race day, and the organisers' recommended stations are all on it. Knightsbridge is about 12 minutes' walk from the start, Hyde Park Corner about 15 minutes, and Green Park about 20 minutes, with step-free access. The Victoria line runs as normal, so runners from Pimlico and Victoria can take it to Green Park. The Central line serves Marble Arch and Lancaster Gate on the north side of Hyde Park.

Bus routes along Knightsbridge, Bayswater Road and Park Lane normally drop runners close to Hyde Park, but many central routes will be diverted while roads are closed. National Rail passengers arriving at Victoria can take the Victoria line to Green Park, and those at Paddington can walk into Hyde Park from Lancaster Gate. Cycling to the park is possible, but roads inside Hyde Park are closed and bikes cannot be ridden on the course.

How do race numbers, waves and bag drop work?

Race packs for the Royal Parks Half Marathon arrive by post and can still arrive in race week. The race number, or bib, carries the timing chip, so there is no separate chip to collect or return. The wave number is printed in the bottom-left corner, alongside the runner's T-shirt and medal choice. The back of the bib has space for emergency contact and medical details, which should be filled in before race day. Race numbers are not transferable: a runner using someone else's bib can be removed from the results, and the medical details on it would be wrong in an emergency. Runners are encouraged to write their first name on the front so spectators can call it out.

Race-day checklist for runners

• Fill in the emergency details on the back of the race number and pin it to the front.
• Check your wave and funnel in the runner instructions email.
• Travel by Piccadilly or Victoria line; the Circle and District lines are closed.
• Arrive at the event village from 07:30 and drop bags early.
• Carry your own gels; water is at about 3.5, 6.5, 9.5 and 11 miles.
• Agree a meeting point with supporters in the event village, not at the finish line.

Event village and finish area

The event village in Hyde Park is both the assembly area for the start and the meeting point after the race. After crossing the line at the Albert Memorial, runners walk to the village to collect their medal and finisher items. The village has food and drink, partner activities, accessible toilets and a prayer tent. It also has a sensory calm zone and a low-volume area for supporters who need a quieter space, and British Sign Language interpreters were provided in 2025. Last year the village programme ran from 10:30 to 14:00, and the village closed at 16:00. The charity Jog On has collected unwanted running shoes at the event, in pairs, tied together and clean, for reuse.

How can you track runners at the Royal Parks Half Marathon?

Runners can be tracked live in the official Royal Parks Half app, which reads the chip in each race number to show split times, position and predicted finish. Supporters can follow several runners at once, and runners can share their progress with friends and family. Last year, official results were published on the race website the day after the event, and runners received emails with their times. Past results, including 2025, are held on the event's timing partner's results site, which can be searched by name or race number. Anyone who thinks their time is wrong can use the results request form on the official website.

Where to watch the Royal Parks Half Marathon

The best spots for spectators are where runners pass twice or where crowds are densest. On the Mall, supporters can see runners on both of their passes without moving. The out-and-back on the Strand shows the leaders and the main field running in opposite directions. Serpentine Road in Hyde Park, late in the race, has the loudest support and is close to the event village. Whitehall and Trafalgar Square give the Westminster backdrop but fill quickly, and marshals control crossing points. The finish area in Kensington Gardens is busy from about 10:00. Balloons, confetti cannons and glass are not allowed. Accessible viewing areas are provided along the route.

Is the Royal Parks Half Marathon a charity run?

The Royal Parks Half Marathon was founded in 2008 as a fundraising event and remains one of the UK's largest charity runs. It has raised more than £70 million for over 1,200 UK charities. Entrants fundraise either for The Royal Parks or for a charity of their choice. Charities buy places and offer them to supporters in return for a fundraising pledge, and The Royal Parks was still offering charity places for 2026 after the ballot closed. Money raised for The Royal Parks goes towards the upkeep of more than 5,000 acres of historic parkland, including the four parks on the route.

The Royal Parks shop, which also raised money for the charity's conservation work, is no longer trading. Its online shop has closed, and the shop in Hyde Park was due to close at the end of March 2026. Official race merchandise and event photographs are available through the Royal Parks Half website and the links sent to runners after the race.

Winners, records and field size

The race has grown from its first edition in 2008 to up to 17,000 expected runners in 2025, and the 2024 race recorded about 21,000 finishers across all entries. In 2024, the top 100 men all ran under 1 hour 21 minutes 48 seconds, and 50 women finished inside 1 hour 30 minutes 31 seconds. Oscar Bell has dominated the men's race. He won in 2021 in his first half marathon, nearly three minutes clear, and won again in 2022 and 2024, when he finished in 1 hour 5 minutes 12 seconds. The 2024 women's race was won by Nicola Jackson in 1 hour 18 minutes 15 seconds. The 2025 results are published on the official results site. The race has won running awards, including best new event in 2008 and best new race of the decade in 2017. The 2021 edition was also marked by the death of Marcus Fisher, a 30-year-old landscape architect who collapsed while running for Prostate Cancer UK.

How do you enter the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2027?

Registration for the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2026 is closed. The 2026 ballot opened on 26 January and closed on 6 February, and places were drawn at random. Runners who want to take part in 2027 can register their interest on the official website, and organisers will contact them early in the new year with ballot details. The other route is a charity place, offered by partner charities and by The Royal Parks, usually in return for a minimum fundraising target set by each charity. Runners must be at least 17 on race day. Overseas runners, including many from Germany who look for London half marathon places each autumn, often go for charity places because the ballot is heavily oversubscribed.

How does it compare with other London half marathons?

The Royal Parks Half Marathon is one of several major London half marathons, each with a different character. The Big Half, run by London Marathon Events, starts near Tower Bridge and finishes by the Cutty Sark in Greenwich; the 2027 edition is listed for Sunday 5 September. The Ealing Half Marathon, held on Sunday 27 September this year, is a community race on fully closed roads in west London. The Royal Parks race is the only one of the three that runs through the royal parks and past Buckingham Palace and Parliament, which is why it has such a large charity field.

What else is closed in London that weekend?

Race day falls on the busiest weekend of October for engineering works in central London. As well as the Circle and District closures, the DLR is closed between Stratford International and Woolwich Arsenal on 10–11 October. The Weaver line has no service at all until 10:15 on Sunday, the Suffragette line is closed between Barking and Barking Riverside, and the Elizabeth line is closed between West Drayton and Slough until 08:15 on Sunday. The Victoria, Piccadilly, Jubilee, Central, Bakerloo and Northern lines have no planned closures through the West End that weekend. For anyone not running, the simplest plan is to avoid driving through Westminster on Sunday morning and cross the centre on the Victoria or Piccadilly lines.

Frequently asked questions

What time does the Royal Parks Half Marathon 2026 start?

The first wave starts at 08:45 on Sunday 11 October, and the last wave leaves between 09:30 and 09:45. The event village opens at 07:30.

Where does the Royal Parks Half Marathon start and finish?

It starts on South Carriage Drive in Hyde Park and finishes in Kensington Gardens, in front of the Albert Memorial and the Royal Albert Hall.

How long are the roads closed?

Hyde Park roads are closed from 00:01 on Sunday to 05:00 on Monday, St James's Park roads from 06:00 to 18:30, and other Westminster roads from 07:00 to 12:30.

Which Tube stations should I use on race day?

Knightsbridge, Hyde Park Corner and Green Park, all on the Piccadilly line. The Circle and District lines are closed that weekend.

Can I track a runner during the race?

Yes, through the official Royal Parks Half app, using the runner's name or race number.

Can I transfer my race number to someone else?

No. Race numbers are not transferable, and the emergency details on the back must belong to the person running.

Is the Royal Parks Half Marathon course flat?

Mostly. The single-lap course has about 65 metres of total climb over 21.1km, with gentle undulations around Constitution Hill and Hyde Park.

How can I enter the 2027 race?

Register your interest on the official website before the ballot opens early in 2027, or apply for a charity place.

Sources: Royal Parks Half — route, Road closures, FAQs, Runner information, Event Guide 2025, Results, The Royal Parks event page, Royal Parks shop, TfL planned closures, LondonWorld 2025, LondonWorld 2024, London HQ, 13milers, RunABC preview, Ealing Half, Time Outdoors — Big Half, Wikipedi

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