Oxford Half Marathon 2026

The Oxford Half Marathon 2026 will take place on Sunday 11 October 2026.

The Oxford Half Marathon race is scheduled to start at 9.30am. The event village will be open from 7.30am and all runners will need to arrive between 7.30am and 8.45am.

The Oxford Half marathon will likey start and finish on Mansfield Road, right in the heart of Oxford – following the brand-new Oxford Half route introduced in 2025.

The Oxford Half marathon is expected to finish on Mansfield Road, right in the heart of Oxford – in line with the brand-new route introduced in 2025.

The Oxford Half Marathon 2021 is a 13.1-mile (21.08km) race.

Picturesque. And flat. The route takes in much of central Oxford’s stunning architecture and has next to no elevation gain. Basically, it’s a fantastic setting and a great chance for a PB.

Yes. The Oxford Half Marathon is a flat and fast 13.1-mile route through the historic city of Oxford.

There is prize money on offer for the 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed male and female runners along with a complimentary entry into the following year’s race.

Male and female age category winners will also receive a complimentary place into the following year’s race.

There is also prize money on offer for the 1st placed male and female wheelchair finishers along with a complimentary entry into the following year’s race.

The fastest runner taking part in fancy dress is offered a free place into the following year’s race!

Yes – there will be a space to store your bag whilst you run. You will receive your race number in the post if you purchased race pack postage, which will also contain your bag label and bag collection tab.

Please visit the tent that corresponds to your race number range. Any bag dropped at the bag drop must be a maximum of 45cm x 45cm x 25cm (normal backpack size).

Larger bags, holdalls and any size suitcase, will not be accepted. Random bag checks will also be in operation on event day by our security team – please follow all instructions if asked by one of our team.

If you purchased race pack postage when you signed up, you should receive this in the post around 2 weeks prior to the event. Your address must be up to date on your registration at least 6 weeks before the event in order for these to be sent to the correct place as it will not be re-sent.

If you did not pay for race pack postage when registering, you will need to collect your race pack from the collection point in the event Village on the Saturday prior to the event. The Helpdesk and collection desk will be located at Oxford University Parks (OX1 3RF) and it will be open from 10.00am to 5.00pm.

The organisers advise coming dressed ready to race so you can head straight to your start pen. However, there will be a limited amount of changing space available for runners to use, which will be located close to the bag drop area.

The Race Day Guide will have more information and will be available 2 weeks prior to the event and emailed to all runners!

There will be toilet stops at various stages throughout the course, including:

• Just after mile four.
• Midway between miles six and seven.
• Just before mile eight.
• Shortly before mile ten.
• Just before mile 12.

Yes, there will be first aid stations at the same distances as the above toilets.

Runners can bring their own supply of water, but there will also be water stops at the following distances:

• Just after mile four.
• Just before mile eight.
• Shortly before mile ten.
• Just after mile 12.
• There will also be energy drink on offer to runners at mile at Aid Station 2 (Mile 6.4)

You are more than welcome to run with headphones, however, the organisers recommend running without so you can listen for any instructions from route marshals and soak up the amazing route entertainment & atmosphere!

Runners have 3 hours and 30 minutes to finish the race. After the three-and-a-half hours cut-off time, runners will not be stopped. Instead, stewards will ask any runners left to move to the pavement so streets can reopen. Their medals will still be waiting for them at the finish line.

As always, if you can’t get there by foot, we advice you to travel by public transport. Any runners relying on travelling by car, however, should use either the Redbridge Park & Ride or Thornhill Park & Ride sites because the city centre will have various road closures in place on the day (more on these later).

IN previouse events, parking and bus tickets were available in advance (up to four days before the date of travel) via the RingGo app. Tickets provide return travel to central Oxford and 12 hours of parking. Anyone who has purchased in advance will just need to show the driver their RingGo app confirmation. Up to two adult tickets per car can be purchased in this way; if you have more than two adults travelling, additional return travel can be bought in person on the day.

There are no train services from London that arrive in Oxford in time for you to make the start line on time.

Yes, there will be a lot of road closures in place during the event – with the majority closing from 8.00am on Sunday (Holywell Street, however, will shut at 6.00am). Others will be closed from Saturday.

Roads will then begin reopening gradually from 11.00am (Magdalen Street East and St Giles) until the final roads (Broad Street, Museum Road, and Parks Road) reopen at 6.0pm.

Full details of road closures – including details of closures the day before the race – can be found at

Being a city centre half marathon, there is no bad place from which to cheer the runners as they go by.

There are plenty of places where the route will provide an amazing backdrop for photos of friends and family out on the course and other spots where you’ll be able to see people go by twice as they loop back down the same road.

Check out the map for a better idea of where to stand – it may depend on where you think the person you’re supporting could most do with seeing a friendly face in the crowd.

Plenty. There will be numerous bands, choirs, DJs, and performers dotted along the route, offering runners some much-needed encouragement, and adding to the fantastic atmosphere on race day.

Details of acts and their locations will be published closer to the event date.