Compiled and fact-checked by Tommo, Verus founder · Last verified August 2026 · Spot an error?
Running · Half Marathons
Reading Half Marathon 2027
- Race day
- Sunday, 21 March 2027
- Location
- Reading, UK
- Distance
- 13.1 mi / 21.1 km
Reading Half Marathon: 21 March 2027. Entry, route, pace calculator, charity places.
Reading Half Marathon Race Timeline
192 days to go
More than 56 days out — a good window to build a consistent base before half-marathon-specific training ramps up.
Reading Half Marathon 2027: quick answers
When is Reading Half Marathon 2027?
Reading Half Marathon 2027 takes place on Sunday, 21 March 2027, starting at 10:15am (Mini Marathon 8:30am).
What time does Reading Half Marathon start?
Reading Half Marathon starts at 10:15am (Mini Marathon 8:30am) from Green Park business park, Reading.
Where does Reading Half Marathon start and finish?
Reading Half Marathon starts at Green Park business park, Reading and finishes at Select Car Leasing Stadium (Reading FC), on the half-way line.
How many miles is Reading Half Marathon?
Reading Half Marathon is 13.1 miles (21.1km).
How much does Reading Half Marathon cost to enter?
Entry is direct through the official site — no ballot. Half Marathon entry was £46 for affiliated club runners and £48 for unaffiliated runners as of Aug 2026, with a two-year (2027-28) option at £92/£96. Always confirm current pricing, as it can rise closer to race day.
How can I track a runner at Reading Half Marathon?
No dedicated live-tracking app is advertised for this event — check the official site for updates closer to race day.
Key Race Metrics & Overview
- Date
- Sunday, 21 March 2027
- Distance
- 13.1 miles / 21.1km
- Location
- Reading, UK
- Start Point
- Green Park business park, Reading
- Finish Point
- Select Car Leasing Stadium (Reading FC), on the half-way line
- Start time
- 10:15am (Mini Marathon 8:30am)
- Surface
- Predominantly closed public roads, tarmac, with some undulating sections
- Cut-off time
- Around 4 hours from the start.
- Age requirement
- Runners must be 17 or over on race day.
- Official pacers
- 1:20, 1:25, 1:30, 1:35, 1:40, 1:45, 1:50, 1:55, 2:00, 2:05, 2:10, 2:15, 2:20, 2:25, 2:30, 2:40, 2:50, 3:00
- Tracking app
- No dedicated live-tracking app is advertised for this event — check the official site for updates closer to race day.
Direct Entry Summary
Entry is direct through the official site — no ballot. Half Marathon entry was £46 for affiliated club runners and £48 for unaffiliated runners as of Aug 2026, with a two-year (2027-28) option at £92/£96. Always confirm current pricing, as it can rise closer to race day.
Ballot Policy
No ballot — entry is first come, first served through the official site.
Reading Half Marathon Race Day Weather
A real forecast appears here once one exists for race day — usually about a week to ten days out. Nothing is shown until then, because a made-up forecast is worse than none.
Reading Half Marathon Route Map & Elevation Profile
Starting at Green Park business park, Reading and finishing at Select Car Leasing Stadium (Reading FC), on the half-way line. Total elevation gain is not published for this event, and Verus does not estimate one.
Is Reading Half Marathon flat?
Reading Half is officially described as undulating rather than completely flat — the one real climb is up Russell Street, off Oxford Road, in the second half of the race. There's no official or independently-confirmed elevation-gain figure published, but it's not considered a flat course in the way Brighton or London are.
Reading Half Marathon Course Profile
Elevation change not published for this event.
Tap a point on the course for details.
Green Park business park, Reading
Start line.
University of Reading (Whiteknights campus)
The route passes through the university campus in the early miles.
Reading town centre & mile 8 party zone
Bands and DJs line this stretch past The Oracle, the Abbey Ruins and the Maiwand Lion.
Russell Street climb
The course's one notable hill, off Oxford Road — no official elevation figure is published, but it's the section most runners mention afterwards.
Where Reading Half Marathon starts and finishes
Reading Half Marathon starts at Green Park business park, Reading and finishes at Select Car Leasing Stadium (Reading FC), on the half-way line. We haven't been able to place those on a map accurately enough to show one — a pin in the wrong place is worse than no pin.
These are the start and finish points, not the route. Verus doesn't hold course files for this race, and drawing a line between two pins would be a guess you might end up training on. The official course map is the one to use: view it on the organiser's site .
Full Reading Half Marathon Route Breakdown
Starts at Green Park business park and heads through Whitley Wood towards the University of Reading's Whiteknights campus around miles 4-5, before moving into Reading town centre for miles 6-8, passing beneath The Oracle and by the Abbey Ruins and the Maiwand Lion. The route then climbs Russell Street — the course's one notable hill — before a loop through west Reading around mile 11 and a finish inside the Select Car Leasing Stadium.
Reading Half Marathon Pace Calculator & Splits
Reading Half Marathon Pace Calculator
Enter a target finish time to see your pace and projected splits.
Average pace / mile
18:19
Average pace / km
11:23
Reading Half Marathon Pace Chart
Official pacers cover 1:20, 1:25, 1:30, 1:35, 1:40, 1:45, 1:50, 1:55, 2:00, 2:05, 2:10, 2:15, 2:20, 2:25, 2:30, 2:40, 2:50, 3:00. Split markers calculated for standard checkpoints.
| Target | Pace /mi | Pace /km | 5K | 10K | Finish |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 13:44 | 8:32 | 42:41 | 1:25:23 | 3:00:00 |
| 3:15 | 14:53 | 9:15 | 46:15 | 1:32:30 | 3:15:00 |
| 3:30 | 16:02 | 9:58 | 49:48 | 1:39:37 | 3:30:00 |
| 3:45 | 17:11 | 10:40 | 53:22 | 1:46:43 | 3:45:00 |
| 4:00 | 18:19 | 11:23 | 56:55 | 1:53:50 | 4:00:00 |
| 4:15 | 19:28 | 12:06 | 1:00:29 | 2:00:57 | 4:15:00 |
| 4:30 | 20:37 | 12:48 | 1:04:02 | 2:08:04 | 4:30:00 |
| 4:45 | 21:45 | 13:31 | 1:07:36 | 2:15:11 | 4:45:00 |
| 5:00 | 22:54 | 14:14 | 1:11:09 | 2:22:18 | 5:00:00 |
| 5:30 | 25:11 | 15:39 | 1:18:16 | 2:36:32 | 5:30:00 |
| 6:00 | 27:29 | 17:05 | 1:25:23 | 2:50:46 | 6:00:00 |
| 6:30 | 29:46 | 18:30 | 1:32:30 | 3:04:59 | 6:30:00 |
| 7:00 | 32:04 | 19:55 | 1:39:37 | 3:19:13 | 7:00:00 |
Reading Half Marathon Finish Time Estimator
Enter a recent 5K, 10K or Half Marathon time to estimate your Reading Half Marathon finish time.
Your 5K time
Estimated Reading Half Marathon finish
1:54:55
An estimate only, based on Pete Riegel's race-time prediction formula. Real marathon performance depends on endurance, training specificity, pacing and race-day conditions — not just your speed over a shorter distance.
Training for a different distance? Try the full pace calculator, race time predictor or pace chart.
Got your target time? Save it to your profile.
Tag Reading Half Marathon, set your goal pace, and let Verus track your countdown, training and fundraising in one place.
Start Your Verus JourneyReading Half Marathon Race Day Checklist
Tap items to mark off your race-day readiness.
- Race number attached, and any timing chip fitted per your race pack instructions
- A bag for the baggage tent in the Race Village — labelled with your bib number
- Weather-appropriate kit, plus something warm and disposable to discard before the start
- Your own gels/fuel, since on-course water-station brand details weren't published at the time of writing
- Confirmation of your colour-coded start wave, based on your predicted finish time
- A plan for reaching Green Park — via the Green Park shuttle bus or the new Green Park railway station
- A meeting point agreed with family/friends near the Select Car Leasing Stadium finish for after the race
Training Strategy for Reading Half Marathon
10-14 weeks is a solid window for a first half marathon; 8-10 weeks is enough if you're already maintaining a baseline mileage. Build your long run up gradually rather than jumping straight to race distance.
This is a largely flat course, so most of your long runs can mirror that — flat and steady, building time on feet rather than hill strength.
Reduce overall mileage across the final 7-10 days while preserving short race-pace bursts. Arrive at Green Park business park, Reading fresh, energized, and primed — not fit, fresh.
Lock in your target pace using the interactive splits calculator below, or stay attached to one of the official pacing flags (1:20, 1:25, 1:30, 1:35, 1:40).
Test your race-day fuel and hydration plan on your long training runs, not for the first time on race day — check the Race Day Checklist below for what's actually on this course.
Half Marathon Nutrition & Fueling Plan
A modest increase in carbohydrate intake over the 2-3 days before the race — not one huge pasta dinner the night before — is the well-established approach to topping up glycogen stores for a half marathon.
Eat a carb-focused breakfast 2-3 hours before your wave start, and stick to something you've already tested in training.
On-course water-station brand and gel details weren't published at the time of writing — carry your own fuel if you have specific needs.
Recovery starts with what you eat in that first hour — a mix of carbohydrate and protein is what the evidence supports — the Stadium finish area and Reading town centre both have plenty of options.
Reading Half Marathon Charity Places 2027
Reading Half works with charity partners across several partnership tiers, with fundraising pages set up via JustGiving (the event's official multi-year fundraising partner). There's no single universal minimum — each charity sets its own entry fee and fundraising target, as in the examples below.
| Charity Partner | Entry Fee | Minimum Target |
|---|---|---|
| Sue Ryder | £15-£25 | £200 |
| Charlie Waller Trust | £25 | £250 |
Lead with your personal story — explain why the charity matters to you. Personal connection generates 3x more support than a generic link broadcast.
Share key training milestones on Instagram (first 10-miler, peak week, race week) with your fundraising link in bio. Publicly thanking donors prompts secondary gifts!
Running Reading Half Marathon for charity?
Link your JustGiving page to Verus and show up right here alongside other Reading Half Marathon fundraisers — goal, progress and story, all in one place.
Add Your Fundraiser to VerusWhere to Stay for Reading Half Marathon
Stadium / Green Park area
Official partner hotels (voco Reading and Hilton Reading) sit right at the Stadium complex, with voco offering free parking and a 2pm race-day checkout.
Not walking distance to the Green Park start itself.
Reading town centre
The most hotel choice, well connected by rail including the Elizabeth line service from London.
You'll need transport to reach the Green Park start on race morning.
Travel & Logistics
Green Park railway station (opened 2023) is a short walk from the start/Race Village. Reading station is about 40 minutes from London Paddington, with an hourly shuttle bus to Green Park and a shuttle service between Reading station and the Stadium finish running 07:00-15:00 (contactless payment only).
The official Blue Car Park at Mereoak Park & Ride (RG7 1JY) runs a roughly 9-minute shuttle, included with a parking booking. Other official car parks (Green and Yellow, RG2 6GP; Pink, RG7 1PB) are a 13-15 minute walk from the start — there's no parking at the venue itself, and cars must be parked by 8am with no exit before 12:30pm.
Roads along the route are closed for the duration of the event — full details confirmed by the organizer closer to race day.
Spectator & Cheer Guide
The Select Car Leasing Stadium finish is free to enter for spectators, with around 15,000 people typically cheering runners home.
A dedicated Entertainment & Cheering Points page exists on the official site, though it doesn't list specific mile-marker spots beyond the finish.
No dedicated live-tracking app is advertised for this event — check the official site for updates closer to race day.
Reading Half Marathon Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know for race weekend.
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Race details independently compiled and fact-checked by Tommo against the official Reading Half Marathon site , last verified August 2026. Always confirm official timings and policies directly prior to race day.