Best Runs in and near London, from 5K Fun Runs to Marathons & Ultras

What are the best runs in London? Ever since my mid-twenties, I try to run every day, usually 7 to 12K, 10K on average. Often I don’t run at all for lengthy periods, when my knees or feet don’t feel 100% or I’m generally under the weather. However, when I’m feeling on top of my game, you can bet I run every day.

Ellie sometimes joins me running. Never for the proper daily runs. However, we sometimes go on shorter runs together and I do my run afterwards. About once per month, my wife and I do the odd organised 5 or 10K ‘fun run’ event together. I am also registered for several half marathons, one marathon, and one ultra, all in or near London, this year.

Sometimes I get asked which runs I recommend. This made me think, I could do a little blog post about this topic, so here you are.

 

THE UGLY

Like with everything in life, people have different preferences. That said, I find it hard to believe that anyone would LOVE repetitive multi-round runs in objectively unattractive environments with little that catches the eye, or outright ugly surroundings. (Many people find flat, boring, and repetitive USEFUL when trying to beat their personal best, though.)

VICTORIA PARK HALF MARATHON – NOT EXACTLY ONE OF THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON

I used to live in East London and I’m a huge fan. It’s just that I’m not a fan of doing 8.5 small rounds in the dullest corner of Victoria Park. There are ponds and a canal. But you won’t be able to see much of them from the track. Mainly, you’ll see grassy patches and some shaky trees, plus public toilets and, in the distance, plenty of council housing. If you’re lucky, you’ll see a few dog turds or discarded plastic bags near the track to break the monotony.

   

RACE TRACKS, SEVERAL ROUNDS

By the same token, I’d avoid any run that consists of more than 2 rounds, unless it’s a truly magnificent environment like Greenwich Park or Richmond. A long time ago, I attempted a double-marathon on inline skates at Goodwood Race Circuit. It involved doing 22 rounds around the race track. When my skates broke after just a few rounds, I was almost relieved. Flat ground, no trees, relentless tarmac. In my view, race tracks should be avoided at all costs.

HILLS VS. FLAT

I struggle enormously with hills. Still, I’d prefer a slightly hilly course over a completely flat one ten out of ten times. Even a proper hilly half like Hastings (it goes all the way from the beach to the top of the cliff, over a few cliff top hills, then back down to the beach) is more fun than most completely flat routes.

   

THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON: INNER-CITY VS. NATURE

If given a choice, I’d typically prefer to run in nature. It would have to be an exceptionally beautiful city like London, Paris or Budapest to make an exception. And it would have to be the city centre, not the suburbs.

For the avoidance of doubt, most runs listed here are officially inside London or in or near another city or town. As long as they are mainly located in a park or otherwise in nature, with no or only few stretches through densely built-up areas, then that’s nature to me, not city.

Vitality London 10K, ASICS London 10K, London & Brighton Marathon, for example, are inner-city events, from where I’m standing. Hyde Park 10K, Richmond, Wimbledon, Greenwich, Hastings, and Windsor are out in nature.

WHAT DISTANCE TO PICK

If you’re relatively new to the game, maybe never taken part in an organised run, it might be a challenge to pick the right distance. Personally, I’d always start small. Even a 5K fun run can be great practice for longer runs and give you a good idea about what to expect. The advantage of events that only consist of 5Ks (and not simultaneous longer distances as well): they don’t attract any running club members or athletes.

   

NO SHAME IN BEING THE LAST ONE AT THE FINISH LINE

This can be a huge advantage. Some people might find it discouraging, being overtaken by 99 or 100% of the field. There is nothing wrong with arriving last at the finish line. If anything, you’re likely to have faced up to a bigger challenge than most of the other runners, of course. But many people will find the experience more positive, if there are no fast runners.

PUT ON A FAKE MOUSTACHE OR A SANTA COSTUME

Some of these events even come themed, such as the Mo-Runs (for Movember Runs), where every runner, male or female, has to wear a fake or real moustache, the Santa Runs, where you dress up as santa, and so on. It’s in the title: fun runs are all about the fun, and zero about improving your personal best or breaking any records.

 

MY FAVOURITE FUN RUNS

Apart from the Mo-Runs and Santa Runs (any of them, really, unless they are in Victoria Park, because those suck; we usually do the ones in Battersea Park), there are plenty more great 5Ks. If your employer sponsors a team, then the JP Morgan Corporate Challenge is a good option , too.

RUN-THROUGH FOR THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON

Ellie & I usually book our runs through Run-Through. We like that there are so many runs to choose from on a single platform. There are loyalty discounts. They saved me a tidy three-digit sum over the years. Furthermore, it only costs £5 to re-schedule a run, as long as it’s done one week in advance. Run-Through are convenient and suit my needs, but to be perfectly frank, they are far from brilliant. (And they don’t even retweet us, when we recommend them on Twitter.)

To give an example: the information in their emails is not presented well, sometimes you have to click a link in order to find out the date of the run, etc. On one occasion, a couple of years ago, they had buried the vital information, that the race date had changed, somewhere in the third paragraph of an email. Nothing about it in the subject line. Of course I missed it.

I found out the day before the initial race date that the date had now changed. It was through yet another one of their cryptic emails. Moreover, I was blocked for the new race date. I got really upset, but Run-Through allowed me to transfer my entry to another race, free of cost, despite falling outside the official one-week notice period. Their response time to emails is usually two or three days, but in this instance they responded within hours, when I put ‘URGENT’ in the subject line. So no hard feelings.

Having a middleman (which is in fact what Run-Through are) can make it easier for information to get lost between the race organiser and the runner. If it’s an out-of-town event, I always check the race organiser’s website and never rely fully on Run-Through to keep me updated.

OTHER WEBPAGES WHERE TO LOOK FOR THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON

I’ve used plenty of other websites over the years to book Ellie’s and my runs and I don’t think I ever encountered any major disasters. For example, out of the following three, I used the first two without any issues:

FindARace

LetsDoThis

TimeOutdoors

Sometimes it can be best or even the only option available, to book a specific run directly with the race organiser. This can be an organiser who only ever does one event per year, or one that organises dozens or even hundreds of events per year, such as the Castle Race Series, whom I’ve used several times.

   

ONE LEVEL UP: 10Ks

10Ks are the shortest distance for ‘real’ running events, in my opinion. There will be many participants who treat them like fun runs, with zero or very little ambition or prior training. However, you’ll have all the running club members and other crazies. There is usually a rule that says to stay to the left or right of the track, in order to allow the faster runners to pass through.

The vast majority of runs, Ellie & I do together, are 10Ks. We usually walk some of the distance and slowly jog the rest of it.

OUR FAVOURITE 10Ks

The following is a list of recent runs I’ve taken part in, often with Ellie, and greatly enjoyed. In many cases we aim to do those runs every year:

Hyde Park 10K

Regent’s Park 10K

Vitality London 10K

ASICS London 10K

Cancer Research UK London Winter Run

Richmond Park 10K

Wimbledon 10K

Greenwich Park 10K

Battersea Park 10K

London Easter 10K

 

Bushy Park 10K and Hampton Court 10K are high up on my list, too.

Probably the coolest 10K was just after the 2012 Olympics at the QE Olympic Park, when the stadium had been opened to the runners. The last few hundred metres were inside the stadium, on the running track. The enormous speakers were playing the theme from Rocky and prerecorded cheers and clapping from a stadium audience. A professional MC pretended to cheer the imaginary gigantic crowd on. There were even a few passers-by, friends, and family members filling a few hundred of the 80,000 seats. Unfortunately, subsequent runs we did there, all finished outside the stadium, usually next to Zaha Hadid’s Aquatics Centre.

HALF MARATHONS

There it is. The magic word: “marathon”. Yes, there’s another word, “half”, in front of it, but this is now the real world of serious long-distance running. Even at halves, my guess is that the majority of runners have practiced or prepared very little. However, the touch and feel of those events is almost like the real thing.

There are hundreds, sometimes thousands of runners at each of those events, who have practiced incredibly hard. Be in no doubt: they will do everything to break their personal best, maybe even get the fastest track time or at least beat their colleagues from the running club.

Apart from the one in Hastings, mentioned above, my favourite halves are the ones in Richmond and Wimbledon. A bit further afield, Windsor is absolutely brilliant. I must have run it 5 or 6 times at least.

MARATHONS

I’m registered for a marathon this year (Battersea Park Marathon in October). Apparently, this is where it all happens. If you are serious about long-distance running, this is probably the distance you’re going to attempt at some stage. Maybe even only once or twice, but most runners will give a marathon a shot.

The world’s big marathons, named after the major cities in which they are taking place, are for running, what the Premier League is for the footie or the Grand Slams for tennis.

BATTERSEA PARK MARATHON VS. THE BIG NAMES

Battersea is a no-name marathon, not one of the big ones like the London, Paris, or Boston Marathons. No doubt there will be some top talent on the track, though. I’ll be taking it slow and easy and enjoy the beautiful scenery.

 

LONDON MARATHON – CERTAINLY ONE OF THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON

The London Marathon, which I’ve run in 2010, is the best running event I’ve ever taken part in. 35,000 runners, including the world’s best, hundreds of thousands along the track, cheering on the runners. I’m getting emotional just writing about it, it’s that amazing. While I’ve only run it once, so far, Ellie & I never miss one as cheering crowd members, if we are in town at the time. Ellie has also volunteered as a steward.

BRIGHTON MARATHON

Brighton Marathon is extremely popular with London Marathon runners as a preparation for the big run.

ULTRAS…

The achievements of elite ultra-runners totally blow my mind. For example, the Montane Winter Spine Race goes non-stop along the Pennine Way for 431km (268 miles). The fastest runner, earlier this year, took just under 85 hours. Clearly super-human BAMFs, all of the participants in this race. The price tag is four digits and you have to provide evidence that you are an elite ultra runner, to even only be allowed at the start line. The cut-off times are brutal, meaning that even some of the best runners won’t make it to the finish line before the race is officially declared ‘finished’.

 

…VS. ‘ULTRAS’

What many people don’t know, is that there are so-called ‘ultras’ on offer for normal folk. Usually the distances are somewhere between 45 and 65km with no cut-off time. On the entry form, there will be one question, where you’ll be asked to tick the right box for “your approach”:

[  ] Running

[  ] Jogging

[  ] Walk-running

[  ] Walking

For the avoidance of doubt, I have the greatest respect for those participants that run the whole distance at those events. I’m talking about the vast majority of folk who do a mix of jogging and walking here.

GOOD ENOUGH FOR BRAGGING RIGHTS AT THE PUB

Needless to say, that actual ultra-runners will treat you with the same respect that a first-round drop-out from the Boys & Girls Clubs Regional Championships gets from a world-class heavy-weight boxer. Still, you are likely to have secured bragging rights at your local pub for at least a couple of years, if you finish any distance north of a marathon. At least that’s what I’m counting on.

I’m registered for the two-day Thames Path 100K Ultra Challenge and for the Ultra London (55K) this year. Let’s see how it goes. I’m a very slow runner. Moreover, I’m certainly going to walk some of the distance.

ARE TOUGH-MUDDERS AMONG THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON?

It sounds a bit silly to run 10 or 15k on a muddy obstacle course, so I was going to register for one of those tough-mudders several times in the past. However, each and every time something else came up and I wasn’t able to join. I can see this work particularly well in a group of friends. Kind of the personal life equivalent of a team building trip in corporate life.

IN SUMMARY – THE BEST RUNS IN LONDON

To wrap this up, the most important thing is not to put yourself under too much pressure. I’ve been an enthusiastic runner for almost half my life. That said, I never push myself too hard. My best halves were just under two hours, I took more than 5 hours for the London Marathon, because my knees had been playing up.

 

PUSH YOURSELF AS HARD AS YOU LIKE, AS LONG AS IT IS STILL FUN

By all means, if you’re super-fit and ambitious, push yourself as hard as you like. As long as it’s still fun for you. But don’t be put off, if you’re not producing great finish times. To me, running is about enjoying yourself, staying fit and healthy. About being around other, similar-minded people. And about getting into that almost meditative state of mind, where all little worries are gone for an hour or a bit longer.

LONDON MIGHT WELL BE THE BEST CITY FOR RUNNERS

London might well be the best city in the world in terms of the number and variety of organised runs on offer. I couldn’t find any reliable sources of information. Start by booking just one or two runs. Try to prepare a little bit by going on your own runs several times a week, well before your first event. Embrace the experience.

You might also want to have a look at my post about an available running technique check-up, which I found very useful. Other posts about outdoor activities include my articles about packrafting, hiking, canoeing, white water kayaking, skydiving, rock-climbing, and open-water swimming.