Oxford Half Marathon

Course & Elevation

The Oxford Half Marathon is a closed-road 13.1-mile race through the centre and northern suburbs of Oxford, held on a Sunday in October. It debuted in 2011, and the 2026 race was the 15th edition, with around 15,000 entries and 10,778 half-marathon finishers. The start and finish are both on Mansfield Road, with the event village in the University Parks. The route runs through the historic city centre past the Sheldonian Theatre, the Radcliffe Camera and Bodleian Library and the Bridge of Sighs, out through Summertown and Cutteslowe, and around Old Marston and the River Cherwell, passing Lady Margaret Hall on the way back into the university area. The organisers describe it as a fast and flat route with city-centre and closed-road sections. Runners start in waves from 9:30 am, and a Schools' Challenge race for children runs earlier on the same morning, when more than a thousand pupils took part in 2026. The race is organised by Motiv Sports UK, supports a charity programme that raised more than £1.3 million in 2026 and has a waitlist for 2027 after entries sold out in five hours.