Live: Riverside Marathon 2026 — every update from the course
Record crowds, a course record in the women's race and a sprint finish for the men. Follow the race as it happened.
The Riverside Marathon returns for its 31st edition, with more than 18,000 runners on a new, flatter course along both banks of the river. Our reporters are at the start, at the halfway bridge and at the finish in Victoria Park. Follow every update here; this page refreshes itself with new posts.
13:05 — Course closes; what a day
The last runners are home and the course is now closed. More than 17,400 people finished, a record for the race. Thanks for following along with us today. Our full report, with results and photos from the whole course, will be on the site this evening.
12:40 — The last mile is a party
The crowd at the Mill Lane corner has not thinned all day. A brass band has been playing the same four songs since ten o'clock, and nobody seems to mind. Volunteers are handing out orange slices faster than they can cut them.
12:15 — Medical update
The race's medical team says it has treated around 140 runners, mostly for blisters, cramp and mild dehydration. Temperatures are rising, and organisers are asking runners still on the course to take water at every station and walk if they need to.
11:52 — A course record in the women's race
History at the finish line. The women's race has been won in 2:21:40, taking almost a minute off the course record set six years ago. The winner ran alone for the last 12 kilometres and looked, if anything, faster at the end than at the start.
I didn't look at my watch after 30 km. I just ran the river.
the women's winner, speaking at the finish
11:30 — The wheelchair races are done
Both wheelchair races finished in bright sunshine. The men's winner came home in 1:31:02, the women's in 1:44:19. Both were greeted at the line by their training partners, who had cycled the course alongside the barriers.
10:12 — Men's winner crosses the line
The men's race is over. The winner crossed the line in 2:07:55, nine seconds clear of second place after a sprint along the final straight in front of the grandstand. It is the fastest time ever run on the new course.
09:48 — Three men break clear at 35 km
On the long drag up Station Hill, three men have broken away from the lead group. The gap is only fifteen seconds, but they are looking at each other and nobody wants to lead.
09:35 — The view from the Iron Bridge
The halfway point is the loudest spot on the course. Local running clubs have set up tables with jelly sweets and handwritten signs. One reads "Your legs will forgive you. Eventually." Another simply says "Why?". Runners are laughing as they pass.
09:28 — Women's race: a lone leader
In the women's race, one runner has gone clear. She is already forty seconds ahead of a group of four and running at a pace that would break the course record by almost a minute if she can hold it. It is a brave move with half the race still to go.
09:20 — Halfway: the pace is fast
The leading men went through halfway in 1:03:30, well under course-record pace. Our reporter at the Iron Bridge says the lead group is still eleven strong and running as a tight pack along the north bank.
08:45 — The mass start is under way
The last of the five waves has crossed the start line. It took 41 minutes for everyone to get through. Costumes spotted so far: two rhinos, one very tired-looking wedding cake and a full-size telephone box.
08:00 — And they're off
The elite races and the first wave have started, in cool, still conditions and perfect running weather. The crowd on Bridge Street is ten deep.
07:30 — Good morning from the start line
Good morning. It is 9°C, the sun is just coming up over the river and the start area is already busy. Runners are warming up in foil blankets, and the queue for the toilets is, as always, the longest queue in the city.
