A record 17,193 people finished The Big Half on Sunday, 7 September 2025, 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 showcases 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 the half marathon into 5K chunks, were members of 280 community run groups from across the capital who benefit from discounted entries to encourage a wider diversity of people taking part in the event.

The main event started close to Tower Bridge and finished at Cutty Sark. The Big Mile, a free event for families and children of all ages, saw more than 1,500 people running on a course held over the final stretch of The Big Half course.

Hugh Brasher, London Marathon Events CEO, described The Big Half as : "Both a celebration of running and of community and ... 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.”

Jack Rowe (Aldershot, Farnham & District AC) won the elite men’s race for a record third successive year and equalled Sir Mo Farah’s record of three wins overall at the event in the elite men’s category. He broke clear of Mohamud Aadan (Thames Valley Harriers) and Weynay Ghebresilasie (Shettleston Harriers) around mile 11 to storm to victory in 1:04:08. Aadan was second in 1:04:46 and Ghebresilasie was third in 1:04:53.

Rowe said: “It’s really nice to have become the first person to win The Big Half three times in a row. It was a really good, fun race. There was a big group of us out there and it was quite hard to push a fast pace as it was windy at times, which made it quite cagey, but also fun to race in.”

In the elite women’s race, Jess Warner-Judd (Blackburn Harriers), who is preparing for her marathon debut at November’s TCS New York City Marathon, took the honours after a close battle with Abbie Donnelly (Lincoln Wellington AC) and Samantha Harrison (Mansfield Harriers). Warner-Judd pulled clear about four miles from the finish to come home clear in 1:10:35, with Donnelly second in 1:11:24 and Harrison third in 1:11:40.

Judd, who was diagnosed with epilepsy after collapsing during the European Championships 10,000m final in Rome last summer, said she’s had a challenging 12 months dealing with her condition, but is enjoying a fresh start on the roads. She said: “It has been a really hard year. I wanted to have a track season but, basically, every time I go onto the track it’s like I can’t remember the race, so I’ve started trauma therapy and that seems to be really helping."

Results and news stories are at the runABC race listing here.

Photo courtesy of The Big Half