YULE JOG
CHRISTMAS LIGHTS RUNNING TOUR 2020
Kick-start your festive season with a magical 5k or 10k running tour of London's Christmas lights!
On a brand new route for 2020, you'll see the streets of London transformed by a series of world famous light displays and twinkling trees. In small groups of similar paced runners, you'll be led by a Christmas-loving guide to jingle through the 2020 highlights, with plenty of time for pho-ho-hotos and a little festive history too.
Of course, every runner gets a santa hat at the start of the run. Fancy dress encouraged, but not compulsory.
Due to London's move into tier 3, we will not be going ahead with these tours. Although England Athletics technically allows it, we don't feel that it's appropriate to encourage groups to meet in central London and using public transport. If you're booked on you will have received an email to let you know.
We're gutted but think it's the right thing to do. Thank you for all your support - here's to loads of happy running together in 2021!
KEY INFO (10k)
STARTS AT: Trafalgar Square (near the Fountains)
NEAREST STATION: Charring Cross
ENDS AT: Paddington Station
DISTANCE: 10km / 6 miles
TIME: Approx 1.5-2 hours (but can be longer depending on pace and number of questions)
SPEED: Each date has a guide pace to keep you in your comfort zone, including a half-run/half-walk (see below). No one gets left behind.
GROUP TOUR TICKETS: £25 per person - includes Santa hat, digital photos and finish-line snack
DATES & TIMES: Group tours are throughout late November and December (see below). But private bookings are available at a date/time of your choice.
KEY INFO (5k)
STARTS AT: Trafalgar Square (near the Fountains)
NEAREST STATION: Charring Cross
ENDS AT: Baker Street Station
DISTANCE: 5km / 3 miles
TIME: Approx 1 hour (but can be longer depending on pace and number of questions)
SPEED: Each date has a guide pace to keep you in your comfort zone, including a half-run/half-walk (see below). No one gets left behind.
GROUP TOUR TICKETS: £22 per person includes Santa hat, digital photos and finish-line snack
DATES & TIMES: Group tours are throughout late November and December (see below). But private bookings are available at a date/time of your choice.
DATES & PACES
Our tours are about having fun, not about breaking records. Nobody gets left behind. But please choose a distance/pace that you're comfortable with.
5k TOURS
WALK/RUNNING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND 5k
Half-walk / half-run: mixing short intervals of gentle jogging with walking
Sunday 6th December, 4:30pm
GENTLE JINGLE 5k
Join this tour if you're comfortable running 5k in 12-13 minute miles
Sunday 6th December - 5pm – SOLD OUT
Tuesday 8th December – 6:30pm
Saturday 12th December – 5:30pm
MERRILY MEDIUM 5k
Join this tour if you're comfortable running 5k in 10-11 minute miles
Friday 18th December, 6pm
Saturday 19th December, 5.30pm
10k TOURS
WALK-RUNNING IN A WINTER WONDERLAND 10k
Half-walk / half-run: mixing short intervals of gentle jogging with walking
Monday 7th December, 6.30pm
Sunday 13th December, 5pm
Wednesday 16th December, 7pm
GENTLE JINGLE 10k
Join this tour if you're comfortable running 10k in 12-13 minute miles
Sunday 6th December – 5pm – SOLD OUT
Sunday 6th December – 5:15pm – SOLD OUT
Monday 7th December 7pm
Wednesday 9th December 6:30pm
Saturday 12th December 5pm – 5pm
Monday 14th December 6:30pm
Thursday 17th December – 6pm
Sunday 20th December – 5pm
MERRILY MEDIUM 10k
Join this tour if you're comfortable running 10k in 10-11 minute miles
Tuesday 8th December – 7pm
Friday 11th December – 6:30pm
Saturday 12th December – 4:30pm
Sunday 13th December – 5:30pm
Monday 14th December – 7:00pm
Wednesday 16th December – 6:30pm
Saturday 19th December – 5pm
FESTIVELY FAST 10k
Join this tour if you're comfortable running 10k in 9 minute miles and under
Wednesday 9th December, 7pm
Sunday 13th December, 4.30pm
If you'd like to join us on a certain date/time for a specific distance/pace please get in touch to request it. Especially if there are a group of you, we'll do our very best to accommodate you.
PRIVATE BOOKINGS
We're now taking private bookings for Christmas 2020. Book your own private guide(s) for your running club, office or group of friends at a date/time of your choice. We get very busy at Christmas - please get in touch early to secure your preferred date.
Group bookings are £230 for one guide with up to 10 people. We can take more than 10 people, but in smaller groups and multiple start times if required.
REVIEWS
Here are a handful of the many great reviews we received of our 2019 Christmas Lights tours
"A brilliant event, I'd thoroughly recommend this to any Christmas-loving runner! Fab fun, great atmosphere, knowledgeable and friendly guide, everyone was made welcome it was such a super & unique way to see the festive lights. Looking forward to trying other Secret London Run events. Thank you to our guide Ian."
LARISSA
5* TRIPADVISOR REVIEW
"What a fantastic evening! Our tour guide Sophie took us on an amazing 10k ish jog round London’s Christmas Lights, with Christmas music and snacks en route. A great way to see the lights, some of which I didn’t even know existed! Sophie was excellent with great guiding all the way round and lots of information about the sights, traditions and general facts about the places we visited. A definite for next year.
KIRST
5* TRIPADVISOR REVIEW
"Took part in the Yule Jog 10k last night - 24 Santa’s, 1 reindeer and 2 elves (I was one of them)! Absolutely brilliant tour, Matt was an amazing leader, funny and entertaining and kept us all together, which was a feat in itself! Had an amazing time, so much fun and all ready for Christmas now! Highly recommend! The biggest question is what’s the costume next year?!"
JANE DAVIS
FACEBOOK RECCOMENDATION
Here's what's been said about our group private Yule Jog tours! Fill out the form on this page ASAP to book your private tour for the 2020 season!
"I organised a private Christmas lights 10k running tour for my running mates and have to say from the ease of booking to the actual event itself it was fantastic! Our tour guide Cat was great fun and knowledgable and we had lots of laughs along the way. The route was fab as we got to see so many wonderful light displays that normally we wouldn’t get the opportunity to admire and had lots of fab photos taken whilst singing along to festive tunes. A really nice plus was how many people along the streets clapped, cheered and wished us merry Christmas. Overall the tour was really good value too! We are already deciding on our next one and have had lots more of our running group wanting to join us after seeing the great time we had! Thanks Cat and to the Secret London Runs team - we will be back
HAIDEE
5* TRIPADVISOR REVIEW
PRESS COVERAGE
LET'S GET SOCIAL
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FAQS
What happens if London moves into tier 3?
We're still awaiting confirmation from England Athletics but it looks like even in Tier 3 organised sport is allowed. If group numbers have to reduce, we will try to bring extra guides to accommodate you. Otherwise, spaces will go to those who booked first.
What happens if I have to self-isolate?
Please get in touch with us and we'll make sure that you're not out of pocket.
What happens if I need to change my date?
Please let us know within 7 days of your tour. We are a small operation and it's very difficult to manage our reduced capacity - so please give us as much notice as you can.
COVID-19 SAFETY MEASURES
We take the safety of our customers very seriously - here's how we will keep you safe on the Christmas Lights Running Tour.
Up to 10 people on each tour and only 2 tours will ever start at the same time (20 people max) All participants will follow the latest government guidance on social distancing between households on the tour and other members of the public.
Your guide will wear a mask to greet you – and will keep it on when speaking if you request. Otherwise, we’ll only wear our masks if we find ourselves in a busy area.
We'll avoid busy areas as much as possible. We've changed the route of this tour to avoid some of the busier roads (e.g. Covent Garden) and may add diversions on the night of your tour.
We will be in touch in advance of your tour to remind you to familiarise yourself with these safety measures.
Any runner who displays symptoms of the coronavirus, or lives with someone who does, should follow government guidance about self-isolating. Our guides will do the same.
We must have contact details for at least one member of each household, which we will retain for NHS Test and Trace purposes for 21 days. If you or someone in your household tests positive for the coronavirus within 2 weeks following your tour, please notify us as soon as possible.
Toilets may not be available at or close to the start of the run – so please make sure you’re prepared for this. But we’ll have hand sanitiser if you need it at the start and end of your tour.
All our activities take place in line with current UK government guidance, which will update over time. This may mean the guidelines at the time of booking are different when you join us. Please ensure you read and understand the current guidelines.