Christmas lights half marathon

Christmas Lights Half Marathon 2023

Run a half marathon through London's Christmas lights on our new self-guided, GPS audio tour.

26 NOV 2023 - 5 JAN 2024

See more of London's festive lights and sights than ever before on our first ever half marathon Christmas lights running tour, guided along the way by audio directions triggered by your GPS location.

As you jingle through 13.1 miles of yuletide joy on a specially curated route, you'll discover more about the world's most iconic lights and the festive traditions they're linked to, through an audio guide that keeps you going along the way, with lots of festive tunes too. Optional festive bauble on completion.

AUDIO TOUR

How does it work?

1. GET READY

Please sign up at least 24 hours before you intend to run so we can send you your code in time. Codes are generated once per day. Once you've received your code, you'll be able to access our half marathon Christmas lights tour on VoiceMap, an award winning audio tour app. VoiceMap gives you the freedom to explore at your own pace, and its innovative technology uses your location to play audio at exactly the right time and place, making it a hands-free experience.

2. ON THE DAY

Head to the start location ( theI.F.O. Birdcage, on Battle Bridge place just off Pancras Road) at a time of your choice on any day between Sunday November 26th and Friday January 5th. Simply open the app, put your headphones on and hit "go" - you'll hear your first set of directions.

3. ALONG THE WAY

As you start running, your commentary will begin, guiding you through the most impressive lights that London has to offer and revealing background information and insights about what you can see along the way. Triggered by your GPS location, you'll receive more directions and commentary as you progress along the route. When we aren't guiding you or revealing the history of the lights, you will be accompanied by banging Christmas tunes!

4. WHEN YOU FINISH

Send us your finisher pics for our online Finisher's Gallery to immortalise your Christmas Lights Half Marathon forever! You can also choose to receive a fantastic Christmas bauble that will be sent to you on completion of the half marathon.

BOOK YOUR PLACE

We've been leading in-person guided 10ks and 5ks of London's Christmas lights for 8 years, with up to 2000 people joining us over the season. So that we can hit more lights in one go, whilst also accommodating varying paces over a half marathon distance, we're embracing GPS audio technology to provide a silent disco-style half marathon running tour. And we can't wait for you to join us!

Vanessa Cain-Tait
Founder, Secret London Runs

What you'll see

The exact route of the tour is a closely guarded secret, revealed only when you strap in and begin your audio tour. You can rest assured however that over its 21km duration you will see all the best festive sights that London has to offer, taking in the following areas:

St Pancras/Bloomsbury
Mayfair
The West End
the Baker Street Quarter
Chelsea & South Kensington

We've been leading Christmas lights tours for eight years - we know where every light display, tree and festive sight is in London. This will be a half marathon like no other.

Starts at the I.F.O. Birdcage, on Battle Bridge Place just off Pancras Road
(it's right between King's Cross and St Pancras station) 🎄

Finishes at Victoria Station 🚅

BOOK YOUR PLACE

Finisher's Festive Bauble

Optional

Introducing our first ever Christmas Lights "Medal" - a half marathon bauble for you to celebrate and hang on your tree.

5k and 10k guided routes available

Led by a Christmas-loving guide in small groups, you'll jingle through London's festive lights with tunes pumping

Classic Christmas Lights

10k and 5k options
New route for 2023
Covers Mayfair, the West End, the Southbank
3k walking option
NB Overlaps with half marathon route

Christmas in the City

10k and 5k options
Covers the City of London and Borough
Brand new tour for 2023
NB NO OVERLAP with half marathon route

1. How fast do I need to be?

All fitness levels are welcome. Each tour has a guide pace to keep you in your comfort zone. We operate on a "no one gets left behind basis" which means that we'll always run at the pace of the gentlest person in our lovely group. So please don't be nervous about joining us. But also, don't be afraid of signing up for a merrily medium or festively fast pace and the gentle jingle is often very gentle. There are also walking tours available of the 5k Christmas lights tour.
2. Do you have a bag drop?

Unfortunately we do not have a bag drop, especially with the tour starting and ending in different parts of London. Our tours are not races - so we advice packing light and bringing a running backpack for your essentials. If you need to store any items, we recommend using Luggage Hero before you come to your tour.
3. What do I need to bring with me?

Your ticket on your phone (we don't need a paper copy), water if you usually run with it. Wear warmer clothes than you usually would for a run of the length of your tour - we will be stopping around the run to for twinkly lights and festive history. Of course, we highly recommend all the Christmas fancy dress.
4. Is the Christmas lights tour suitable for children?

Yes - children are welcome, as long as they're accompanied by an adult who takes full responsibility for their safety whilst on the tour. Accompanied children are welcome at all our tours, as long as they're comfortable with the guide pace, but we do have 2 Family Special dates for the 5k Christmas lights tour, so you can bring little ones and know there are plenty of others there too.