My marathons

Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon

The organiser has not published a date. Royal Tunbridge Wells
The Pantiles
© OpenStreetMap The Pantiles. Photograph by Octavius Aurelius, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

The course

Drag along the profile

Flat home.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

Height drawn many times taller than life. Heights: GEDTM30.

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 21. The trace runs between 32 and 134 metres, a range of 102 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there.
0 5 10 15 20 km
0 5 10 13.1 mi

  • flat home

Your 2 gels, at the orange marksFor a 1:55 finish, one every 40 minutes

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

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

The course in short 3 lines
  • A single loop through the Kent countrysideOne anti-clockwise lap from Southborough through five villages and the town.
  • Spring Hill and the three-hour requestSpring Hill at Fordcombe climbs 300 feet; entrants need to finish in 3 hours.
  • High at the start, low at PenshurstHigh point 134.0 m at km 2.0; low point 31.9 m at km 8.0; 149.4 m of climbing.
Course notes 3 short reads on the course
Whole courseLandmarkA single loop through the Kent countrysideOne anti-clockwise lap from Southborough through five villages and the town.

The organiser describes the circuit as running through some of the finest countryside in Kent. The start was on the A26 St John’s Road, with northbound traffic stopped at 9:00. Race HQ is the sports hall of Fusion Tunbridge Wells Sports Centre, St John’s Road, and the Harriers have hosted the race for over 40 years.

Sourced

Whole courseTacticsSpring Hill and the three-hour requestSpring Hill at Fordcombe climbs 300 feet; entrants need to finish in 3 hours.

Water is given in cups at five points on the course and at the finish. Pacers ran for 1:30 and 1:40 on gun time and for 1:50, 2:00, 2:10, 2:20, 2:30, 2:40 and 2:50 on chip time, and the organiser says the pace varies with the course rather than holding to minute-mile splits.

Sourced

Whole courseGradientHigh at the start, low at PenshurstHigh point 134.0 m at km 2.0; low point 31.9 m at km 8.0; 149.4 m of climbing.

The loop drops 102 m from its high point near the start to its low point at the 8th kilometre, and the lap finishes at about 108 m. The organiser’s own figure for Spring Hill alone is 300 feet, the climb it names as the one to mention.

Measured

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

2 gels for Royal Tunbridge Wells, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile, 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
climb
149.4 m490 ft

The Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon is a hilly course of 21.1 km with 149.4 m of climbing. Its lowest point is 32 m and its highest 134 m above sea level.

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.

Sources and licence

Last checked.

Course line matched onto OpenStreetMap road geometry: (c) OpenStreetMap contributors, Open Database License 1.0 (ODbL). Elevation sampled from GEDTM30, Global Ensemble Digital Terrain Model at 30 m (v1.2): Elevation: GEDTM30 (Ho & Hengl, OpenGeoHub), CC BY 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0).

Elevation gain computed by us from that line, smoothed over 1 kmsmoothed over 0.6 mi.

The line is drawn on the roads and measures 0.06% shorter than the certified distance.

Date and entry information from the organiser.

Every source and licence behind them →

Keep exploring

More races to look at after the Tunbridge Wells Half Marathon.

Marathons people fly to

Races in Europe
  • A frame from our London Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth4:02

    London Marathon

    London, United Kingdom

    Sun 25 Apr 202742.2 km42 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • Manchester Town Hall, Manchester

    Manchester Marathon

    Manchester, United Kingdom

    Sun 18 Apr 202742.2 km48 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Manchester Town Hall, by Mark Andrew., CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
  • Edinburgh Castle, Edinburgh

    Edinburgh Marathon

    Edinburgh, United Kingdom

    Sun 30 May 202742.2 km39 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it. Photo: Edinburgh Castle, by Stephencdickson, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
  • A frame from our Athens Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:56Race week

    Athens Marathon

    Athens, Greece

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km281 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.

Courses on film

All races on film
  • A frame from our Athens Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:56Race week

    Athens Marathon

    Athens, Greece

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km281 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Malaga Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:50Race week

    Malaga Marathon

    Malaga, Spain

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km63 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Porto Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:53Race week

    Porto Marathon

    Porto, Portugal

    Sun 8 Nov42.2 km133 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
  • A frame from our Curitiba Marathon filmImagery: Google Earth3:51Entry open

    Curitiba Marathon

    Curitiba, Brazil

    Sun 15 Nov42.2 km128 m

    Climb summed after smoothing the heights over 1 km. The edge is this course's height profile on one scale for every race: 250 m above its lowest point fills it.
More races in the United Kingdom