This South London spot will be home to a brand new marathon

Jog on

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A running crew takes on Sydney's scenic streets
(Image credit: Mhailomilovanovic / Getty Images)

The old laws of supply and demand have never been put to the test more than by Londoners with their running obsession, and the (surprisingly low) amount of actual races there are across the capital. Which is probably why it will come as a shock to absolutely nobody that London is getting a brand new half marathon, to keep up with the amount of people signing up for them. New Year's Resolutions have a lot to answer for

Cue the onslaught of even more lycra, smart watches, and those weird gels that — I have since found out — are absolutely not Frubes. Not even Frube adjacent.

Anyway, despite the amount of runners you’ll see frequenting Clapham Common, Tooting Common, Brockwell Park, Battersea Park – hey, any remotely green space, South London actually doesn’t have that many marathons. Until now, runners have been forced to trek over to East London for a good (officially timed and certified) jog.

The good news is that South London is getting a brand new marathon, and the 13.1 mile race is heading to Wimbledon. The race is set to kick off in spring 2027.

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The event is a collaboration between Merton Council and the Great Run Company – you know, the people behind the Great North Run aka the biggest half marathon in the world. The Wimbledon one probably won’t be quite as big as the famed GNR which sees 600,000 Strava-strollers (okay, incredibly fast amateur runners) take to the Newcastle streets every year. The Wimbledon iteration will have around 9,000 runners in its inaugural race.

Currently, there is no word on what the route will look like, but we do know it will be spanning across the borough in a closed-road race.

The race isn’t just great news for running-devotees, as the local council has estimated the race will bring around a £1.7million boost to local businesses. Better get those running trainers out from the back of the wardrobe where they’ve been since last summer’s optimistic fitness push.

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Hermione Blandford
Hermione Blandford
Content Editor

Hermione Blandford is the Content Editor for Shortlist’s social media which means you can usually find her scrolling through Instagram and calling it work, or stopping random people in the street and accosting them with a mini mic. She has previously worked in food and drink PR for brands including Johnnie Walker, Tanqueray, Gordon's, The Singleton, Lagavulin and Don Julio which means she is a self confessed expert in spicy margaritas and pints, regularly popping into the pub in the name of research.

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