The Big Half

The Big Half
DateSeptember
LocationLondon, United Kingdom
Event typeRoad
DistanceHalf marathon
Established4 March 2018; 6 years ago (2018-03-04)
Course recordsMen: 1:00:22 (Kenenisa Bekele, 2020)
Women: 1:07:35 (Eilish McColgan, 2022)
Official sitewww.thebighalf.co.uk

The Big Half is an annual road running event over the half marathon distance (21.1 km), held in central London, United Kingdom. The event, first held in 2018, initially took place in early March, a few weeks before the London Marathon, but after the COVID-19 pandemic switched to dates in late August/early September.

Course

The event, organised by London Marathon Events, attracts both mass and elite participation, with runners following a course that is closed to road traffic. They start near the north side of Tower Bridge on the Highway then run eastwards, including a stretch through the Limehouse Link tunnel, to the Canary Wharf district before returning through Wapping to cross Tower Bridge. Runners then route through Bermondsey, Rotherhithe, Surrey Quays and Deptford to finish by the Cutty Sark in Greenwich.[1] Finish area facilities are accommodated in the grounds of the Old Royal Naval College, the National Maritime Museum and Queen's House and in Greenwich Park.

The 2023 event attracted over 16,000 runners, and was also the official British Athletics trial race for the 2023 World Athletics Road Running Championships.[2]

The Big Mile is a free mass participation event using the same finishing stretch as The Big Half.[2]

Records

Mo Farah[3][4][5] and Charlotte Purdue[3][4][6] are respectively both three-time winners of the elite men's and elite women's categories of the event. The men's course record holder is Kenenisa Bekele;[7][1] the women's course record holder is Eilish McColgan.[5]

Editions

Edition Date Men's winner Time Women's winner Time
1 4 March 2018[3]  Mo Farah (GBR) 1:01:40  Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 1:10:29
2 10 March 2019[4]  Mo Farah (GBR) 1:01:15  Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 1:10:38
3 1 March 2020[7][1]  Kenenisa Bekele (ETH) 1:00:22  Lily Partridge (GBR) 1:10:50
4 22 August 2021[6]  Jake Smith (GBR) 1:02:06  Charlotte Purdue (GBR) 1:09:51
5 4 September 2022[5]  Mo Farah (GBR) 1:01:49  Eilish McColgan (GBR) 1:07:35
6 3 September 2023[8]  Jack Rowe (GBR) 1:01:08  Calli Thackery (GBR) 1:09:15
7 1 September 2024  Jack Rowe (GBR) 1:02:35  Eilish McColgan (GBR) 1:09:14

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c Person, Rick (2020-03-02). The Big Half: race report. Runners World. Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  2. ^ a b "Sir Mo overcomes illness in farewell London race". The Big Half. Big Half. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Mo Farah claims inaugural 'Big Half' win. BBC Sport (2018-03-04). Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  4. ^ a b c Big Half 2019: Mo Farah wins last race before London Marathon. BBC Sport (2019-03-10). Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  5. ^ a b c Adams, Tim (4 September 2022). "Sir Mo Farah and Eilish McColgan dominate at Big Half in London". AW. Retrieved 4 September 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Charlie Purdue and Jake Smith enjoy Big Half victories". Athletics Weekly. Athletics Weekly. 22 August 2021. Retrieved 22 August 2021.
  7. ^ a b The Vitality Big Half 2020: Kenenisa Bekele breaks Mo Farah's course record. BBC Sport (2020-03-01). Retrieved 2020-03-04.
  8. ^ "Mo Farah finishes fourth in The Big Half in final London race". BBC Sport. 3 September 2023. Retrieved 4 September 2023.