Cardiff Half Marathon 2027
Sunday, 3 October 2027 · Cardiff, United Kingdom
The Cardiff Half Marathon starts outside Cardiff Castle and finishes at the Civic Centre. In between, the course passes the Principality and Cardiff City stadiums, goes to Penarth Marina and crosses the barrage into Cardiff Bay, passes the Norwegian Church, the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, and loops round Roath Park Lake in the north of the city. The organiser calls the route predominantly flat and fast and says it has been measured by a grade 1 course measurer.
The 2027 race is on Sunday 3 October, and the ballot was open on 2 October 2026. The series page gives the field as 27,500 runners, and it is one of the six SuperHalfs races.
The times and arrangements below are the 2026 race's, which was on Sunday 4 October, because the 2027 race day pages are not up yet.
The weekend at a glance
- Entry
- A ballot, open on 2 October 2026. Charity places, international entries and elite entries are the other routes in
- Your number
- Posted to UK runners, to arrive within 7 days of the race. Overseas runners collect at the Event Village on City Hall Lawns. In 2026 Friday 12:00 to 18:00, Saturday 8:00 to 17:00 and race day from 7:00
- Start
- Outside Cardiff Castle. In 2026 the first wave was at 10:00 and the second at 10:10
- Finish
- The Civic Centre
- Baggage
- From 8:30 on Museum Avenue. One small backpack per runner (2026)
- Time limit
- 4 hours, which lets the roads reopen
- Climb
- 68 m, measured from the organiser's route. The organiser calls it predominantly flat
- Weather
- The last four race mornings ran from 13.0 °C to 18.2 °C at 10:00
In the Running plans this weekend for you. It covers the trip and its costs, the race morning from your own block and hotel, the course, and a pacing plan for this course. It is invite-only while it is being tested.
Join the waitlistOn this page
Getting to Cardiff 2026 details
Cardiff Central is the main station, and the organiser says it is within 3 to 4 hours of the major UK cities. On race day Transport for Wales ran extra early services on the Treherbert, Aberdare, Merthyr Tydfil, Caerphilly, Barry Island, Penarth, Hereford and Newport lines, arriving before 9:00. Cardiff Central is 1 km from the Castle, 13 minutes on foot.
Cardiff Airport is 15 km south-west of the city and has its own rail station, Rhoose Cardiff International Airport, and a shuttle bus. The organiser lists the airlines serving it as Aer Lingus, Air France, KLM, Ryanair, TUI, Vueling and WestJet. Bristol Airport is about 45 minutes away with coaches and trains.
If you drive, the organiser's Park and Walk was at Cardiff City Stadium on Leckwith Road, open 7:00 to 16:00, at £12 a car. Booking closed at midnight on the Friday and the 2026 spaces sold out. Large sections of the city are closed on the day, and the organiser warns that late starters are not allowed.
Where to stay in Cardiff
The start and finish are both in the middle of the city. Walking times from Cardiff Castle.
| Area | To the start |
|---|---|
| Around Museum Avenue and the Civic Centre | 11 minutes on foot, 0.8 km |
| Around Cardiff Central | 13 minutes on foot, 1 km |
| Around Queen Street station | 15 minutes on foot, 1.15 km |
| Cardiff Bay, around Mermaid Quay | 36 minutes on foot, 2.7 km |
Cardiff Bay is on the course and 2.7 km from the Castle, so a bed there is a longer walk or a short ride to the start.
Collecting your number 2026 details
UK runners are sent their pack, which should arrive within 7 days of the race. Runners from overseas collect theirs at the Event Village on City Hall Lawns, which in 2026 was open from 12:00 to 18:00 on Friday, from 8:00 to 17:00 on Saturday and from 7:00 on race day. The 2027 dates are not yet posted.
Race morning 2026 details
The first wave started at 10:00 and the second at 10:10 in 2026, with the elite wheelchair race at 9:57. Your bib colour sets your pen. White, green and red were the first wave and the pens opened at 9:15, and blue, purple and yellow were the second, with pens opening at 9:40. You must assemble in the right pen and cannot move forward between pens.
Baggage drop opens at 8:30 on Museum Avenue. You may leave one small backpack. Toilets are in the Civic Centre and along the route. Pacers run for finish times from 1:30 to 3:00.
The course
The start is outside the Castle and the finish at the Civic Centre, with the grandstand in front of it. The organiser's route description puts the stadiums early, Penarth Marina and the barrage crossing into Cardiff Bay in the middle, with the Norwegian Church, the Senedd and the Wales Millennium Centre, and a loop around Roath Park Lake late in the race.
It gives no distances for the landmarks, no climb figure and no drinks-station kilometres. There are a number of official water, sports drink and energy gel stations, with toilets within the first mile and at all drink stations.
Weather in Cardiff in October
The race is on the first Sunday of October. These are the last four races at Cardiff Castle, at 10:00 and at 13:00.
| Race day | 10:00 | 13:00 | Wind at 10:00 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 October 2022 | 14.2 °C | 17.6 °C | 7 km/h |
| 1 October 2023 | 18.2 °C | 19.3 °C | 10 km/h |
| 6 October 2024 | 13.3 °C | 15.4 °C | 17 km/h |
| 5 October 2025 | 13.0 °C | 15.1 °C | 21 km/h |
The warmest start was 18.2 °C in 2023 and the windiest 21 km/h in 2025.
Afterwards 2026 details
Finishers receive a medal, water, a finisher T-shirt and food. In 2026 there were changing areas, showers for a £2 charity donation and physiotherapy. Cardiff Central is 1 km from the Castle, a 13-minute walk.
In the Running plans this weekend for you. It covers the trip and its costs, the race morning from your own block and hotel, the course, and a pacing plan for this course. It is invite-only while it is being tested.
Join the waitlistOther race weekends
Cardiff Half Marathon is part of the SuperHalfs. The series' other races with a guide here are Lisbon Half Marathon, Prague Half Marathon, Berlin Half Marathon, Copenhagen Half Marathon and Valencia Half Marathon.
Close by, and with guides of their own, are Brighton Marathon, Manchester Marathon and TCS London Marathon.
The next races with a guide
Sources
| 2027 date, ballot open, flat and fast claim | Cardiff Half Marathon, organiser |
| Start time, two waves, pens, baggage, race pack collection, time limit, pacers | Race day information, organiser, 2026 edition |
| Start, finish, route, certification | Route, organiser |
| Course heights and climb | Route, the Strava route embedded on the page, organiser, 2026 route, read 16 September 2026, page checked 2 October 2026 |
| Trains, Park and Walk, buses, airports | Travel and parking, organiser, 2026 edition |
| 27,500 runners, landmarks, ways to enter | Cardiff Half Marathon, the SuperHalfs series page for the race |
| Airport rail station and shuttle bus | Public transport, Cardiff Airport |
| Past race dates | Results pages and reports for 2022 to 2025, Wikipedia and the results sites |
| Walking times between places | OpenStreetMap routing, foot profile, checked on the date above |
| Race-day weather | Open-Meteo historical weather, at Cardiff Castle, a 9 km grid |
Written from the organiser's published information and the app's own race data, checked on 2 October 2026.
If something here is wrong or out of date, tell us.