UK Running This Week: Cardiff Record, Chicago Debut and the Royal Parks Half

· Updated 10 October 2026 · 3 min read · Artisan Design

Runners in the Chicago Marathon on a sunlit city street

A big weekend for British road running: two of our best women line up in Chicago, thousands take on the Royal Parks Half in London, and the Cardiff Half has just produced a course record. Here's what happened this week, and what's coming up.

Cardiff Half Marathon: a course record, and a strong British showing

Runners in the Cardiff Half Marathon passing the Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay
Cardiff Half Marathon 2016. Photo: Gareth James, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Kenya's Joyciline Jepkosgei won the women's race at the Cardiff Half Marathon on Sunday 4 October in a course record of 1:05:40. Natasha Wilson was the first British woman home, sixth in 1:10:34, ahead of Kayley Price (eighth, 1:14:03) and Tracy Barlow (ninth, 1:16:05). In the men's race, Lloyd Sheppard (eighth, 1:03:43) and Logan Rees (ninth, 1:03:57) led the British finishers.

Read more: the top British finishers in Cardiff (World-Track) and the full results (Cardiff Half Marathon).

Chicago Marathon: Amy-Eloise Neale's debut

On Sunday 11 October, Amy-Eloise Neale runs her first marathon in Chicago. She was the leading British woman at the Great North Run last month, fifth in 1:10:27. Jess Warner-Judd, whose best is 2:24:45, is in the elite field too.

The race at the front looks fast. Uganda's Jacob Kiplimo is back to defend his title, having run 2:00:28 in London in April, and Brigid Kosgei, who won the Great North Run in 1:06:15, leads a women's field that includes defending champion Hawi Feysa.

Read more: the Chicago preview (World Athletics) and the Great North Run results (Marathon Handbook).

Royal Parks Half: London's landmarks on closed roads

Runners approaching the finish of the Royal Parks Half Marathon in Hyde Park
Approaching the finish of the 2016 Royal Parks Half. Photo: Rod Allday, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Also on Sunday, the Royal Parks Half sets off from Hyde Park at 9am: 13.1 miles through Hyde Park, The Green Park, St James's Park and Kensington Gardens, past Buckingham Palace and the Houses of Parliament. Since it began, its runners have raised more than £80 million for over 1,900 charities. Good luck to everyone running.

Read more: the Royal Parks Half Marathon (The Royal Parks).

Coming up: the Great South Run

Next Sunday, 18 October, it's the Great South Run in Portsmouth, the UK's most popular 10-mile race. The flat course starts and finishes on Clarence Esplanade and passes the Historic Dockyard, the Spinnaker Tower and Southsea seafront, so it suits first-timers and PB hunters alike.

Read more: the Great South Run (Realbuzz).

Cover photo: runners in the 2025 Chicago Marathon, by Mike Cox on Unsplash.