blue hills

Runner Information


  • Runners Village in Royal Victoria Park
  • Race start & finish on Royal Avenue
  • 3 x wave starts at 10.20am (white), 10.35am (green) and 10.50am (orange)
  • Road closures in place from 9am
  • Race Day App

    Our free downloadable TDL event App provides details of race day arrangements (including any last-minute changes) and allows supporters, at the event or at home, to track their live progress around the course and predicts your finishing time using timing points every 5km around the route.

    This technology is adapted for the 2-lap course at the Bath Half, and dependent on availability of internet access.

    The TDL EVENTS App features an interactive course map for your friends and family to track your progress around the route and can be downloaded via the App Store or the Google Play Store. Just search for “TDL EVENTS”.

  • BATHALF Runners Village

    Click HERE to view a downloadable version of our 2024 BATHALF Runners Village map

    The Runners Village is unchanged from last year, and is located on Middle Common in Royal Victoria Park. The main access is from Cow Lane, and a secondary access from Marlborough Lane

    Pedestrian routes from the city centre to the village will be signposted by ‘Red Route’ signs

  • Getting to the Half Marathon Start

    The half marathon start and finish line are at the same location on Royal Avenue

    PA announcements will call runners to walk from the runners exit by the baggage tents in the Runners Village to the start on Royal Avenue before each wave. Please be ready in the village in good time before your designated start time

    Runners and spectators take separate routes from the village to the start, to reduce congestion

  • Travel Information

    See our Getting to the Race page to find information about trains, buses, park & ride and car parking.

  • Charity Hospitality

    Many of our charity partners have marquees in the Runners Village offering hospitality for their runners and spectators.  The charity marquees are grouped together, and you’ll see them straight ahead of you as you enter the Village

  • Half Marathon Start Information

    The half marathon starts on Royal Avenue.

    All half marathon entrants will be allocated one of three specific start waves, seeded according to the finish time you predicted on your entry form. Your designated start wave will be indicated by the colour on your race number.

    • 10:20am – White start (fastest runners)
    • 10:35am – Green start – CHANGED FROM 2023
    • 10:50am – Orange start – CHANGED FROM 2023

    Regardless of which wave you start in, all runners will receive their own personal ‘chip time’ published in the race results recording your actual running time on the half marathon course, from the moment you cross the start line until you finish the race.

    Runners are asked to assemble in the Runners Village in good time before your designated start time. It will take approximately 10 minutes to walk from the Runners Village to the start. Please listen out for the public announcements as we call each wave forward from the Runners Village before your start time.

    The front pens in the White Start are reserved for elite and best for age athletes and runners with verified sub 90 mins finishing times.

    Runners can move back to a later start, but not move forward to a faster start. If you want to move forward to an earlier start you will need to request and pay for a replacement race number in advance – details to be published shortly

  • Baggage Tent & Changing

    We will provide a free baggage tent and a segregated male/female changing tent in the Runners Village for runners wanting to leave their kit during the race. The baggage tent is supervised by volunteers, but bags are left at owners’ risk without any liability for loss of damage

    Thread the tear-off label on the bottom of your race number through the handle of your bag and look for the baggage bay corresponding with your race number. Please remember to turn off your mobile phone before handing to our volunteers

  • Warm up

    Better Leisure’s instructors will be leading pre-race warm ups in the Runners Village, before each wave start at the Radio Bath stage next to the baggage and changing tents

    They will also be offering post-race stretching and warm down sessions after the race

  • Keeping warm before and after the race

    Bring an old hoodie or sweatshirt with you to keep you warm as you wait for the start. You can discard this at the side of the start pen as you go under starters orders – these will be collected and recycled by one of our race charities. If you don’t have a spare one, buy one from your local charity shop!

    Please do not wear plastic bin liners in the start, they create landfill waste and they can be dangerous, tripping up and injuring other runners at the start

    If you have given your clothes to friends and family before the race, make sure you agree in advance where you are going to meet them after the finish so you can get changed into warm dry clothes quickly

  • Toilets

    The main event toilets will be located alongside the entrance to the Runners Village – these can be busy when people first arrive at the venue and again just before the start of the race

    There will be an additional set of toilets on gravel walk, near the entrance to the start pens

    On the course route there will be toilets at every drink station and first aid post, plus a set of toilets at 1.5 miles – in the layby opposite the Newbridge Park & Ride

  • Water & Energy Stations

    Wessex Water ‘Hydrozones’ (water stations) will be located in the Runners Village, on the course route at Newbridge and at Pinesway and in the post-finish area. These will provide cupped mains water (in compostable paper cups) and refill points for runners’ own bottles.

    You can buy one of our 330ml refillable dishwasher-safe BATHALF branded runners bottle through our online store HERE or on race day in the Runners Village.

    Hydration is a ‘balancing act’. Use your experience from training runs to predict how much you need to drink to keep hydrated. Trust your thirst and aim to maintain ‘pale straw’ coloured urine. Do not drink too much water without replenishing essential salts.

    HIGH5 is also providing an energy gel station in Great Pulteney Street at the half way point (roughly) providing their Energy Gel Aqua. We recommend you try the HIGH5 gels before race day or bring one you are used to.

    Runners are used to being self-sufficient for drinks during training runs, and we encourage our runners to help us achieve our sustainability targets by doing the same during the event. Bath & North East Council does not allow single use plastic bottles to be used at public events.

    Paper cups will be collected by our volunteers and taken for composting by a local processor. Wrappers for HIGH5 gels will be sent for specialist recycling.

  • Entertainment & Cheer Points

    A wonderful selection of local bands, MC’s and choirs will be performing at a number of locations around the course to support the runners and entertain spectators :

    • Victoria Pub & Kitchen – Upper Bristol Road
    • Radio Bath – Lower Bristol Road
    • Matty’s Cafe – Lower Bristol Road
    • Toyota dealership – Lower Bristol Road
    • Churchill Bridge
    • Great Pulteney Street

    All have given up their time to perform for free for your entertainment. So please give them a wave as you pass !

    Quite a few of our charity partners will also have their own cheering points around the course to support runners

  • Radio Bath Sound Stage and Commentary

    Radio Bath will be presenting at their sound stage in the Runners Village, with music and commentary at the start and finish line, at the entertainment outside the station on Lower Bristol Road and with live updates on air throughout race day

  • Catering in the Village

    We have a great choice of local caterers offering a selection of fresh food and drinks in the heart of the Runners Village

    Jessica’s Coffee will be offering hot & cold drinks and cake. Check out Big G’s Grill’s marinated chicken wraps, or one of the fresh toasted sandwiches from The Great British Toastie Company, or go the whole hog with an In House Entertainments’ hog roast. The choice is yours!

  • Massage

    The University of Bath will be offering pre-race massages from 08:30 – 10:00.

    Bath College’s spa team will be offering post-race massages from 11:30 until 14:30.

    These are on a first come first served basis using a numbered ticketing system.

    This is always one of the highlights of race day, a fitting reward!

  • Injury or illness

    Please do not take part in the event if you feel ill or suffer a temperature, sickness or diarrhoea in the week before the race, and do not travel to the event if you experience COVID symptoms.

    If you are injured or feel ill during the race please slow down or walk to the next first aid post. Staff will be able to advise and help you, and provide any necessary medical treatment. Event marshals can direct and assist you to the nearest first aid post. If you decide to drop out, you can wait at the first aid post (in the dry and warm) to be collected by our St John Ambulance event support minibus and taken back to the secondary first aid post in the Runners Village. Our team can contact your family to let them know.

    Please make sure to fill in the next of kin details on the back of your race number, including any medical conditions or medication, in case of emergency. Best to do this before you leave home.

  • Spectator Information

    For Spectator Information – see more here

  • Lost Children, Lost Property, Injured Runners

    For all enquiries, visit the Information Tent in the Runners Village

  • Family Fun Run

    Click here for details about the Family Fun Run and the Family Fun Day on Saturday 16 March

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