The ballot for the 17th annual Royal Parks Half Marathon, presented by Royal Bank of Canada, was reportedly its most successful ever, achieving a record number of entrants and a 43% increase compared to 2023.
The scenic UK half marathon will take place on October 13, 2024. The recipients of ballot places will be part of a 16,000 strong group of runners, enjoying a 13.1-mile route through four of London’s royal parks, including Hyde Park, Green Park, St James’s Park and Kensington Gardens.
For those unsuccessful in this year’s ballot, runners can still enter through fundraising, with hundreds of places available via the event’s charity partners, including The Royal Parks, Mind, Great Ormond Street Hospital Charity and more.
Having raised over £60 million for over 1,200 UK charities, money raised for The Royal Parks helps to keep eight vital green spaces alive, teach children and adults about the natural world, care for wildlife and conserve historic monuments.
Sean Taylor, Senior Partnerships Manager at the event’s official fundraising partner, JustGiving, said “Last year on JustGiving we saw a 13% increase in the number of fundraising pages created for running challenges and this trend is by no means slowing.
“For this year’s Royal Parks Half Marathon we’ve already seen a 36% increase in the number of fundraising pages created for the event and these pages have raised 53% more than they did at the same point in time last year.”
Head of the Royal Parks Half Marathon, Liz Tack, said “Year on year, we are astounded at the support we receive for the ballot and this year is no different. We are so grateful for every single person who entered.”
She added, “For those unsuccessful in the ballot, you still have the chance to run for a charity and it would be great to see you on the start line. We absolutely love putting this event on and we’ll make sure that come October, it will be a day you’ll never forget.”
Originally taking place for the first time in 2008, the race was set up by The Royal Parks charity as an annual fundraising initiative to help conserve and enhance London’s eight royal parks, while enabling charities to be involved in a major mass participation event.
