London Marathon Events launches The Big Half

The Big Half is more than just an event; it is a campaign. This unique event will demonstrate how sport and the community can get together to inspire social change, create social cohesion and improve health and wellbeing.

Its guiding principle is to be “Truly Global yet Uniquely Local”. The Big Half will be much more than a mass participation running event with the world’s best athletes and thousands of mass runners. It will be a street party of epic proportions and it aims to inspire participation from a variety of socio-economic groups, faiths, ages, ethnicities and to become the first sports event whose participants truly represent London’s diverse population.

The programme for Sunday 4 March 2018 features:

• The Big Half, a mass participation race over the classic half marathon distance, starting at the iconic setting of Tower Bridge and finishing in Greenwich
• The Little Half for younger runners will be held on a 2.1 mile route from Southwark Park to the stunning Finish Line by the Cutty Sark in Greenwich
• The Big Relay, exclusively for community groups from the four host boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich, with distances ranging from one mile to five miles
• The Big Festival in Greenwich with a huge range of food music and entertainment, including performances from community groups and fun activities and fitness classes for the whole family to enjoy

The route map is available to view online.

The campaign aims to attract people of all ages and all backgrounds and to inspire them to take part in an event, centred on running. Working in partnership with Sported, the sports development charity, London Marathon Events will engage with local communities at grassroots level, in a way that has never been done before. The event will be accessible, affordable and fun. It will celebrate London’s diverse communities in a way that no other sports event has done before.

The Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, said:

“The Big Half has the potential to become one of the most remarkable days in our sporting calendar. And putting local people at the heart of a world-class running event is a masterstroke. Sport has the power to change people’s lives, and we hope The Big Half will become an annual event that can help inspire tens of thousands of Londoners to get involved in sport and in their local communities.”

Hugh Brasher, Event Director, The Big Half, said:

“If you were inspired by Sunday’s London Marathon, this is your chance to get involved in an event like no other. Sport can be an incredible way of joining people together and getting communities to interact together. We are creating an event that is unique, that is fun, that people will want to come back to year after year. The Big Half is a celebration of community and life.”

A total of 7,500 places are reserved for community groups from the four host boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich who will be able to get entries at just £10 each through their local schools, faith institutions, sports groups and other community groups. Apply to community.entries@thebighalf.co.uk

General entries for The Big Half open today (Friday). There are only 5,800 entries available at £39.00 (£37.00 for club runners) and these are available on a first come, first served basis. There are an additional 1,500 discounted entries at £30.00 reserved exclusively for residents in the four host boroughs of Tower Hamlets, Southwark, Lewisham and Greenwich.

Come and join the party on 4 March 2018 and enter now on The Big Half website.