Robin Hood Half Marathon

The Robin Hood Half Marathon starts and finishes beside the River Trent on Nottingham’s Victoria Embankment, using a traffic-free, single-lap 13.1-mile route through the city. It is usually run in late September, with a 9:30 am start, and it comes from a Nottingham road-race tradition that has run every year since 1981 apart from the pandemic cancellation. The event now sits around the half marathon, with fun runs and a corporate relay for five-runner teams, so the field is broader than a standard club race. It is also Nottingham’s biggest charity fundraising event; fundraising is optional, but most runners do it, and entrants can choose a charity when they sign up. The course is not flat: early climbs come around miles 2, 4, and 6, before the route settles into a mix of city roads, parkland, and riverside running. Runners pass the Victoria Embankment, the River Trent, Nottingham Castle, the Robin Hood Statue, the historic Nottingham Park Estate, and Wollaton Park, where the resident deer can sometimes be seen. The old Nottingham Marathon once included a full marathon as well, but the modern event focuses on the half after route problems around Holme Pierrepont led to the longer race being dropped. Its long history, central route, charity culture, and Nottingham landmarks give it a local identity that is easy to understand even if you are only there to run one lap and get back to the river finish.