My marathons

Cardiff Half Marathon

Cardiff
Cardiff Castle
Cardiff Castle. Photograph by Tevfik Teker, CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

The course

The route starts outside Cardiff Castle, runs to Penarth and the barrage, through Cardiff Bay, round Roath Park Lake and finishes at the Civic Centre.

The course in short 3 lines
  • Castle to Penarth, the Bay, Roath Park and the Civic CentreCastle, stadiums, Penarth Marina, the barrage, the Bay, Roath Park Lake, Civic Centre.
  • Entry by ballotThe 2027 ballot ran until 18 October 2026, with results on 22 October.
  • Wales' biggest road raceMore than 29,000 registered runners; the 2016 World and 2018 Commonwealth half marathon championships.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryCastle to Penarth, the Bay, Roath Park and the Civic CentreCastle, stadiums, Penarth Marina, the barrage, the Bay, Roath Park Lake, Civic Centre.

The organiser describes a route that is predominantly flat and fast. Runners head down past the Principality and Cardiff City Stadiums on the way to Penarth, take in Penarth Marina, cross the barrage and run through the heart of Cardiff Bay past the Norwegian Church, the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre.

The course then heads north through the city for a loop of Roath Park Lake before a grandstand finish at the Civic Centre. The course has been measured by an AUKCM Grade 1 course measurer.

Sourced

Whole courseTacticsEntry by ballotThe 2027 ballot ran until 18 October 2026, with results on 22 October.

The 2025 race sold out in a matter of hours, and the 2026 ballot drew five times as many applications as there were places, which is why the organiser moved to a ballot. Applying is free: runners register their details and payment information, and a successful applicant’s fee is taken automatically. The 2027 ballot ran to midnight on Sunday 18 October 2026, with results on Thursday 22 October.

The UK ballot entry is 59 pounds and the international ballot entry, with a team option, is 70 pounds. A non-refundable admin fee is added by the registration platform. Runners must be 17 or older on race day.

Sourced

Whole courseTacticsWales' biggest road raceMore than 29,000 registered runners; the 2016 World and 2018 Commonwealth half marathon championships.

Founded by Barnardo’s in 2003 with 1,500 runners, the race is now one of Europe’s largest half marathons and holds a World Athletics Elite Road Race Label. It hosts the Welsh Half Marathon Championships every year and staged the World Half Marathon Championships in 2016 and the Commonwealth Half Marathon Championships in 2018.

Finishing counts toward the SuperHalfs series with Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen and Valencia.

Sourced

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

2 gels for Cardiff, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, by the clock:

  1. km 7.3mile 4.6
  2. km 14.7mile 9.1

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
Compeed Anti-blister stick
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
Compeed Blister plasters, medium, 6
Photo: Compeed

Compeed

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

Best selling on Amazon amazon.nl, read 2 Nov

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.
distance
21.1 km13.1 mi

Race week

Timetable

Before race week 3 key dates

  1. 18 Oct 2026

    2027 ballot, last day to apply The ballot is free to enter; a UK ballot and an international ballot run side by side. Places are allocated at random.

  2. 22 Oct 2026

    2027 ballot results Registration for charity and SuperVoucher places opens the same day.

  3. 1 Sept 2027

    Registration deadline for 2027 Runners with a charity or event partner place must register by this date.

Sunday 3 October Race day

  1. 09:509:50 AM

    Wheelchair race start

  2. 10:0010:00 AM

    Half marathon start, elite, white, green and red pens Outside Cardiff Castle. The blue, purple and yellow pens start at 10:10 am.

  3. 10:1010:10 AM

    Half marathon start, blue, purple and yellow pens Outside Cardiff Castle

Times as published by the organiser, in Cardiff time, checked .

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Cardiff time

Trip

Getting a place

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

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