Oxford, UK | THE·TEAM SME Mass Participation, organisers of the Cambridge Half Marathon, and Motiv Sports UK, organisers of the Oxford Half Marathon, are thrilled to announce an exciting new collaboration between the two events: Cambridge x Oxford: The Half Marathon Challenge.
It’s the first time the two half marathons have worked together, and the timing reflects the strength of both events. Individually, the Cambridge Half Marathon and Oxford Half Marathon are among the UK’s most popular half marathons, regularly selling out and drawing a combined field of more than 30,000 entrants each year. Together, they’re offering something new: a single challenge that links two of the country’s best-loved road races into one season-long achievement.
From 2027, just 500 runners will have the opportunity to secure their place in the Challenge, entering both the Cambridge Half Marathon and the Oxford Half Marathon as a single, connected journey. The Cambridge Half Marathon, on Sunday 14 March 2027, opens the Challenge at the start of the UK running season. The Oxford Half Marathon, on Sunday 10 October 2027, brings it to a close later in the year.
Challenge entrants will receive a package designed around the two-race journey, including:
- An exclusive Cambridge x Oxford: The Half Marathon Challenge training t-shirt
- Two limited-edition medals — one earned at each race — designed to combine into a single Challenge award, with iTab personalisation to record finish times from both events
- An exclusive race bib design, unique to Cambridge x Oxford: The Half Marathon Challenge athletes
- Access to pre-race shake-out runs at both races
Places will be released in two tranches of 250, with each ticket securing entry to both races. The first 250 places go on sale on Wednesday 30 September 2026, when general entry opens for the Cambridge Half Marathon. The remaining 250 places follow on Sunday 11 October 2026, when general entry opens for the Oxford Half Marathon. To secure access, runners must pre-register for the relevant event ahead of its on-sale date.
Adam Moffat, Vice President at THE·TEAM SME Mass Participation, said: “The Cambridge Half Marathon has always been about bringing people together through running, and this Challenge takes that a step further. Joining forces with the Oxford Half lets us offer our runners something genuinely new, and we can’t wait to see the first 500 take it on.”
Ian Allerton, Managing Director at Motiv Sports UK, said: “The Cambridge Half and Oxford Half are two of the best events in the country, and this partnership with the Cambridge Half Team lets us launch Cambridge x Oxford: The Half Marathon Challenge. Guarantee your place at both, take on Cambridge in the spring and Oxford in the autumn, and you’ll have covered 26.2 miles across two of Britain’s most historic cities — with limited-edition items to mark the achievement”
Both organisations see this as the start of a longer-term partnership between the two events, with ambitions for the Challenge to grow in future years. THE·TEAM SME Mass Participation and Motiv Sports UK are also inviting new commercial partners to get involved, particularly organisations that share the collaborative spirit behind the Challenge and that reflect the innovative, forward-thinking character of Cambridge and Oxford as cities.
Pricing for Cambridge x Oxford: The Half Marathon Challenge will be confirmed ahead of the on-sale dates.
