Second London half-marathon to launch in October

Professional Fundraising

12 February 2008

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A new London half-marathon that will take runners through the capital’s Royal Parks is to launch this October, the weekend after another new half-marathon in Greenwich.

The race is being organised by the Royal Parks Foundation, the charity in charge of London’s eight Royal Parks. It will take place on 12 October and will be the capital’s second inaugural half-marathon of the month, after the launch of the separate Run to the Beat event on 5 October.

The Royal Parks Foundation Half Marathon will start and finish in Hyde Park, following a route through Green Park and St James’s Park that will pass the Houses of Parliament, Buckingham Palace and Marble Arch. The Foundation said the route was “agreed in principle” by all relevant organisations.

There are 12,500 available places in the race, which cost £117.50 each for charities and are on sale in a number of packages. Offers range from a Golden Oak package of 500 places, to a Sapling Charity offer for organisations that need fewer than 50 places. There will also be individual places on sale to the public for £39.

Sara Lom, chief executive of the Royal Parks Foundation, said it had decided to launch the event after news that races such as the Flora London Marathon and Great North Run were oversubscribed.

“We want it to be a great day out for everyone, not just the runners, but also the spectators. We want it to be green and sustainable, and we want charity fundraising to be at the heart of it,” she said.

Lom said she hoped local community groups would also take part. Although she said the start-up costs for the race in year one were “quite hefty”, Lom said the Foundation planned to devote any gains made from the race in subsequent years to maintenance of the eight royal parks.

Joe Saxton, driver of ideas at research consultancy nfpSynergy, who last year said London needed a second marathon as an alternative for small charities that have difficulty getting places in the Flora London Marathon event, has provided informal advice and support to the Royal Parks Foundation.

Saxton said the race had been designed with charities in mind and the Foundation would reserve some places for smaller organisations and be flexible on how they pay for their places.

The Run to the Beat half-marathon, a week earlier, has been organised by IMG Mass Participation Sports, the company behind the Mazda London Triathlon.

Leukaemia Research has been announced as the first charity partner for the race, which will follow a route around Greenwich and past The O2 arena that will be lined with musical entertainment.

Other charities can buy places in the race for £30, the same amount it costs individuals to enter on their own.

Lom said the Run to the Beat event concentrated on music and was a completely different proposition to the Royal Parks race. “I think there’s lots of runners who will want to do both,” she said.

Meanwhile, events company Skyline has also launched a series of three 5km charity races. Its first Doitforcharity run will take place in Regent’s Park on 11 May, followed by Cannon Hill Park in Birmingham on 27 April and Heaton Park in Manchester on 8 June.

Charities can reserve places 100 places for £15, 50 places for £17.50, or 25 places for £20.

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