The Bath Running Festival is a celebration of off road running around the beautiful hills and valleys of Bath. All the runs take in breath taking vies of Bath from Sham Castle and the open meadows about Bathampton. The long the race, the more hills, and fantastic views you will get to experience. The half marathon and marathon routes include sections along the Kennet & Avon Canal and through the historic Sydney Gardens.
The real hills begin for the half marathon and marathon runners on the original Roman Fosse Way (6.5 miles in) which is straight up for 1 mile, and the down the other side. This lumpy profile continues as the route traverses the valleys in St Catherine's and up to the famous Solsbury Hill (of Peter Gabriel fame). The views from this iron age fort are very special with views down to Bath and all the the surrounding hills and valleys on the route.
All the races are designed to be fun and friendly. We put on glorious buffets of fresh fruit and tasty treats at the feed stations around the course and at the finish line. We have a great time of marshals to point you in the right direction and to cheer you round. All finishers will receive a custom medal, unique to this race and year at the finish line.
The race is based at the University of Bath and there is free parking on Sundays. We are based at the amphitheatre, a lovely circular seating area cut into the grass by the lake. Follow the Relish Running signs to event registration and the start/finish point. We have use of the on site toilets, but no showers or changing rooms.
After the race we recommend you return to the Sports Training Village for a restorative meal at the Sports Cafe, specifically designed to replenish and refuel the country's top athletes.
Align Body Clinic
Is an injury or pain stopping you from running as much as you would like to? Check out Align Body Clinic in Bath who are offering all Bath Running Festival participants an exclusive 25% discount off their first consultation which will include;
An explanation of what is causing the injury and how to resolve it.
Treatment programme tailored to your specific goal.
A full biomechanical assessment specific to runners including strength and endurance testing of major muscle groups used for running.
Hands on treatment to help relieve symptoms on the day.
Carefully prescribed exercises to improve running performance and reduce injury
Click here for more info. on how to claim the discounted offer.
Format
As there are some narrow sections we will be starting the event in waves so everyone has a clear run. There will be waves of about 100 runners setting off at 5min or 10min intervals. All waves are open to all runners. Please confer with friends and family before you register to ensure you select the same wave if you wish to start together. The different start times are fully accounted for in the results so you can pick any wave and get an accurate finish time. Please see the Race Day page for a provisional schedule.
Notes
Please note there is a cut off of 3hrs for the marathon runners to complete the first 14.5 miles of the marathon which takes them to the lap turn around point. After this time runners will have to complete the long half marathon course where they will be awarded a long half medal, but unfortunately we won't be able to provide a finish time. This event is not suitable for canicross.
There are no hidden booking or processing fees. Please note prices are £2 extra for on the day registrations. There are great group discount rates for groups of 10 or more, the runners can cover any range of distance on race day. 10-19 runners save 15%, 20-49 runners save 20%, 50+ runners save 25%. All bookings must be made in advance of race day to qualify for the discounted rate. We ask for all groups to be registered four weeks in advance of race day so we have the opportunity to take all groups into account when we finalise our medal order.
Beast of Bath
You can enter any race in the Bath Running Festival as a stand alone event using the Enter Online options below. We also have a series of events called the Beast of Bath Mini Challenge/Challenge. The Mini Challenge is a 5km + 10km + Half Marathon race series, the Challenge is a 10km + Half Marathon + Marathon race series.
The Beast of Bath series is 3 events on 3 dates taking on all the hills of Bath. The Pipley Wood Mud Bath on 9th Feb, the Two Tunnels 'Hilly Ticket' race options on 10th May and the finale event at the Bath Running Festival on 26th July. All runners who complete the series are awarded an amazing glass trophy, see the Beast of Bath event page for more details.
All our finishers receive a top of the range custom medal as well as a buffet of fresh fruit and other tasty treats. We also recognise a few of the speedy runners on the following basis.
Prize Categories
Top 3 male and top 3 female
First U20 male and female
First 20-39 male and female
First 40-49 male and female
First 50-50 male and female
First 60-69 male and female
First 70+ male and female
The final number of prizes awarded is determined by the number of finishers for each gender in a given race distance. If there are more than 50 finishers then the full range range of awards are made as shown above. If there are less than 50 finishers then the top 3 male and top 3 female finishers overall will be awarded a prize. We do not have any winner's prizes for any of the children's events as would like to keep this participation focused.
There is no on the day prize giving because of the multi wave, multi start time format of the events. Prize winners will be contacted mid week via email.
