RECORD NUMBERS TAKE PART IN THE 2025 BIG HALF
—More than 17,000 complete The Big Half, the UK’s most diverse half marathon and community running festival—Coopah Refugee Run Club proud to see thousands wearing The Big Half finisher’s T-shirt and medal they helped design—-Wheelchair racing legend David Weir breaks course record just weeks after scary crash—–Entries for the 2026 Big Half are now open.
——A record 17,193 people finished The Big Half today in a unique celebration of running and community.Now in its eighth year, The Big Half has become the UK’s most diverse and vibrant running festival and is a showcase of the varied people and communities that make up London.Among those taking part in The Big Half and The New Balance Big Relay, the team event that enables participants to break down the half marathon into 5K chunks, there were members of 280 community run groups from across the capital who benefitted from discounted entries to encourage a wider diversity of people taking part in the event. The event started close to Tower Bridge and finished at Cutty Sark. Along the route, community groups, musical bands and local schools created cheer zones to create a unique atmosphere for participants.The Big Mile, for families and children of all ages, saw more than 1,500 people take part on a course held over the final stretch of The Big Half course.Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Events CEO, said: “The Big Half is both a celebration of running and of community and today a record number of people experienced that powerful combination on the streets of London. From all those taking part in either The Big Half, The New Balance Big Relay or The Big Mile, or to those spectating and creating incredible atmospheres at community cheer zones along the route, today was a showcase of what makes London and the people of London great. This is an event like no other, it is the UK’s most diverse and vibrant community running festival and if you want to experience it, entries are now open for next year’s event.”COOPAH REFUGEE RUN CLUB MEMBERS PRIDE AT SEEING THOUSANDS OF FINISHERS WITH MEDAL AND T-SHIRTS THEY DESIGNEDOne of the 280 community groups taking part in The Big Half today was The Coopah Refugee Run Club whose members helped design The Big Half finisher’s medal and T-shirt.One of the designers was Rawand Gurun, who arrived in the UK from Kurdistan in 2020 and found a sense of community in the Coopah Refugee Run Club.Today he ran The Big Half for the first time, having not been able to run 5K continuously when he joined the club and afterwards he was proud to see thousands of his fellow finishers wearing the T-shirts and medals he helped create.He said: “Anytime I am in London I feel proud and it was a big achievement for us, and it means a lot to do it as part of the Coopah Refugee Run Club. It makes us feel emotional to see others wearing the T-shirt. Running is community and this spreads the message that we support each other and share love.”His fellow Coopah Refugee Run Club member Salman Nizni added: “We designed the T-shirt and medal this year, and it is very meaningful to us. We had a really good time during the run, and I am so happy to see everyone wearing the T-shirt that we have designed afterwards.”
ELITE RACESThe Big Half 2025 began with a series of elite races which saw David Weir break the course record in the elite men’s wheelchair race just weeks after being involved in a collision with a vehicle that left him needing hospital treatment.Weir, now 46, set a time of 46:58 to win the event for a record fourth time and admitted afterwards he was surprised at this performance given he had to take two weeks off after the training accident in mid-July.He said: “I’ve not raced for a while after the accident in July and have been left a bit rusty so I am very happy to have set a course record, but I still think there is more than in the tank.”Elsewhere in the elite races, Jack Rowe won for a third straight year – matching Sir Mo Farah’s record of wins in the elite men’s category – finishing in a time of 64:08 while Eden Rainbow-Cooper, fresh from finishing second at last weekend’s TCS Sydney Marathon, won the elite women’s wheelchair race.The elite women’s race was won by Jess Warner-Judd who revealed afterwards how much she enjoyed the atmosphere on the route and focusing on road racing after personal struggles on the track.She said: “I’ve had to start over. I wanted to focus on the track and make [the World Athletics Championships in] Tokyo, but it became clear early on that it wasn’t going to happen. Training was going well, which made it even more frustrating – I’m probably in the best shape of my life, but I just couldn’t replicate it on the track. I’m hoping therapy will help me get back there, but honestly, I’m really enjoying the road. It feels like a fresh start.”For more information on the elite races, click here. For post-race quotes from the winners and leading finishers from the elite races at The Big Half, click here.A NEW LOOK FOR THE 2026 BIG HALF AS ENTRIES OPENThe Big Half revealed a brand-new look for the future today as entries opened for the 2026 edition which will take place on Sunday 6 September.The London Marathon Events (LME) team have created a new look for the event that reflects the fun, boldness and vibrancy of the UK’s most diverse half marathon. This fresh update can be seen on The Big Half website.LME is also working with London-based innovation agency SVNTH Dimension to ensure the event resonates with the capital’s diverse run crews and communities.Timipre Maxwell founded SVNTH Dimension as well as co-founding the BRKED-OFF run club and having grown up in Lewisham, he is very much at the heart of The Big Half community.He said: “In today’s world, we have more tools to connect us than ever before, but people feel more alone than ever. That’s why communities like running and hiking clubs are so powerful. They create physical and digital spaces for people to coexist.“My biggest mission in life is about social change – particularly for ethnic minorities, and eventually for Africa as a whole. That’s why working with London Marathon Events feels so right. It fits with my personal ethos to the core: creating opportunities that lead to real impact.” To learn more about Timipre and SVNTH Dimension, click here.FREE-TO-USE VIDEO AND IMAGESBroadcast-quality footage from Finish of The Big Half, plus interviews of the elite race winners plus mass participant finishers, as well as a VNR, are available for editorial use. Please use this link or email media@londonmarathonevents.co.ukInterviews include:Elite race winners (Jack Rowe, Jess Warner-Judd, David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper)Rawand Gurun and Salman Nizni from Coopah Refugee Run ClubFor more The Big Half media resources, click here.ImageryImages from The Big Half are available to download here. The images are free to use for editorial use only. Please credit: The Big Half. The password to download images is: TBH2025ENDSNOTES TO EDITORSAbout The Big HalfThe Big Half is a world-class mass participation event, organised by London Marathon Events, over the half marathon distance (13.1 miles)The community event was first held in 2018 and takes place in four London boroughs: Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets.The Big Half is also a campaign called #WeRunAsOne. This unique event will demonstrate how sport and community can come together to inspire social change, create social cohesion and improve health and wellbeing. Find out more at thebighalf.co.ukLondon Marathon Events Ltd, organisers of The Big Half, gifts its surplus each year to The London Marathon Foundation (the operating name of The London Marathon Charitable Trust, a registered charity (283813) and a company limited by guarantee registered in England & Wales (01550741), registered office: 190 Great Dover Street, London, EYB).Since 1981, The London Marathon Foundation has awarded grants totalling in excess of £114 million to more than 1,750 projects in London and across the UK.London Marathon Foundation has given more than £18.5 million over 380 projects that promote the health and wellbeing of residents in Greenwich, Lewisham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets. These grants have funded a variety of projects, meaning that residents can benefit from a range of activities from trying out the London Marathon Playing Field in Greenwich, playing cricket at Catford Wanderers Sports Club in Lewisham, enjoying a free game of table tennis at Marlborough Sports Garden in Southwark, or trying out cycling with Chrisp Street Community Cycles in Tower Hamlets. For further information, please contact:media@londonmarathonevents.co.uk
Lianne Hogan | Senior Communications Manager | London Marathon Events Ltde lianne.hogan@londonmarathonevents.co.uk | m +44 (0) 7921 465111Ryan Goad | Head of Communications & TV | London Marathon Events Ltde ryan.goad@londonmarathonevents.co.uk | m +44 (0) 7950 708574 
###