There are two Kingston half marathons in 2026: 4 October from Market Place at 8.30am, and 22 November from the Hawker Centre at 9am. Prices, cut-offs, parking.

If you searched for the Kingston Half Marathon and came away confused, this is why: there are two of them, seven weeks apart, run by different companies from different start lines.

Kingston Half Marathon RunUK Kingston Half Marathon
Date Sunday 4 October 2026 Sunday 22 November 2026
Start 8.30am 9.00am
Start and finish Kingston Market Place, KT1 1JS Hawker Centre, Lower Ham Road, KT2 5BH
Organiser River Thames Running RunUK
Entry £42.50 club, £44.50 non-club £38.32 affiliated, £40.43 unaffiliated
Second distance 10K postponed for 2026 10K, same day, 9am

Both use the Thames towpath. Neither is on closed roads.

The October race: Sunday 4 October, Market Place

River Thames Running starts and finishes in the Ancient Market Place and takes the flat riverside route out past Hampton Court Palace. The organiser describes the course as “flat as a pancake”, a mix of road, path and gravel, measured by Olympic Games measurer Hugh Jones and run under Run England rules.

The practical detail, all from the organiser’s own pages:

  • Race village in Kingston Market Place, Sunday 4 October, 7am to 8.10am.
  • Entry: £40 plus a £2.50 transaction fee for club runners, £42 plus £2.50 for everyone else. The event page said it was 88% full on 5 September.
  • Minimum age 17 on race day.
  • Cut-off 3 hours 30 minutes. Anyone still out after that has to move onto the pavements, because the marshals are volunteers.
  • Water at 4.7, 8.6 and 11 miles and at the finish. Toilets at 1, 5 and 8.6 miles.
  • No in-ear headphones under Runbritain rules. Bone conduction is allowed.
  • No prams. The organiser is explicit that the event is not fully road closed, so it is not suitable.
  • Race numbers are collection only. From 25 September at About The Run, Unit A, 7 Crown Arcade, KT1 1JB, or Sporting Feet, 9 King Street, Richmond, TW9 1ND. Shop collection ends at 3pm on Saturday 3 October; after that it is race morning from 7am only.
  • No refunds after 14 days, no deferrals, no transfers.
  • Prizes are shop vouchers, £100, £75 and £50 for first, second and third of each sex, plus free entry to another River Thames Running event.

The Kingston 10K is not happening this year. The organiser’s page says the “‘Russell-Cooke’ Kingston 10k will not be returning in 2026 whilst we work on improving the course”, and points 10K runners at a Kew Gardens race on 3 April 2027 instead. If a listing site sold you a Kingston 10K place for October, check it.

One inconsistency to be aware of: the event page carries a “88% FULL” banner while the FAQ page answers “Has the Kingston Half Marathon sold out?” with “No”. Both were live on the same site on 5 September.

The November race: Sunday 22 November, Hawker Centre

RunUK starts and finishes on the fields at the Hawker Centre, Lower Ham Road, KT2 5BH, and runs through the town centre streets and along the towpath. The half and the 10K both start at 9am.

Prices come from the organiser’s own booking system, checked on 5 September:

Race Affiliated Unaffiliated Places left
Half marathon £36.00 + £2.32 fee £38.00 + £2.43 fee 933
10K £24.00 + £1.67 fee £26.00 + £1.80 fee 965

Every finisher gets a medal, and there is chip timing, a free baggage drop, toilets at the start, a medical team and a warm-up ten minutes before the gun. Headphones are banned unless they are bone conducting, under UKA Rule 240 S 5. The official charity partner is Kingston Hospital Charity.

Do not drive into the Hawker Centre. The organiser could not be blunter about this: “we have lost use of the Hawker Centre Car Park, there will be NO CAR PARKING within the Centre as in previous years”, and there will be a marshal on the gate turning runners away. It suggests the surrounding residential roads, naming Dukes Avenue and Riverside Drive, and asks runners not to block driveways. The main building is open from 8am, on the condition that runners behave; the club lost the use of it one year after member complaints.

By train, the nearest station is Kingston, then either the 65 bus towards Ealing or a twenty minute walk.

Roads, parking and what it means if you are not running

Neither race closes the roads. River Thames Running answers the question directly: “No, roads will be open and marshalled by traffic management company and volunteers.” Expect marshals and cones on the riverside and around the Market Place rather than diversions.

If you are parking in town on 4 October, our parking guide has the tariffs for all ten council car parks, including the five that charge round the clock every day of the year. The Guildhall car park is Saturdays only, so it is no use on a Sunday. For anything else affecting the route that weekend, see our roadworks and travel page.

Sources

All checked on 5 September 2026.