Manchester Marathon charity places for 2026

Relay

Take on the distance in a team of 2 or 4!

If 26.2 miles sounds a little too daunting, why not team up with friends, family or colleagues to cover the distance between you?

The Manchester Marathon relay offers both two and four-person relay options, with each person covering part of the course. Each member of the relay team will receive a chunky medal and t-shirt when they finish.

Para-Athletes

All Para-Athletes are welcome including elite racing wheelchairs, assisted and unassisted day wheelchairs and racerunners. All athletes must complete the race within the 6hrs 30 minute cut-off time. Please note, hand-cycles are not currently permitted. 

Event HQ

Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Talbot Road
Stretford
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M16 0PX
UK

Run through Manchester's vibrant city and enjoy its rich heritage, including the historic city centre and the Theatre of Dreams itself, Old Trafford.

The course weaves through central Manchester and local communities, with a flat profile that allows you to pick up the pace.

Map

This event is constantly striving to improve sustainability to reduce its impact on the environment.

The approach is to ensure that the event is run as sustainably as possible to minimise its impact on the planet with the familiar 'reduce, re-use and recycle' ethos at the forefront.

Here are the areas of progress made so far:

Sustainability summary

• Recycle as much as possible
• Separate waste
• Partnerships to encourage sustainable training
• Springwater bottles made from 51% - 100% recycled plastic
• Drop zones and additional receptacles to encourage runners to deposit bottles in a place they can easily be recycled
• Race packs/pre-event communications digital rather than paper-based
• Recyclable paper envelopes
• Green Runner option to forego the t-shirt/medal in favour of donating to support The Ocean Cleanup
• Medals ordered early to ensure delivery by sea rather than air freight
• Any remaining medals recycled
• Finisher t-shirts are eco-friendly using 50% recycled polyester
• Donate remaining t-shirts/unanted clothing to charity

Running the adidas Manchester Marathon will earn you a chunky medal that embodies the bold, vibrant atmosphere of the race and its city.

Every year thousands of runners take part in this event and fundraise for charity. While this is hugely beneficial to the charities it gives the runner advantages too, from supporting a cause that is close to your heart to securing a place in this highly sought-after event and much more.

Benefits of running for charity

Committing to raising money for charity gives you motivation to get outside and run, plus all of these extras which will elevate your event experience:

• Fundraising support

  Charities know that raising money is all part of the challenge, which is why they provide advice, branded materials and a personalised online fundraising page to help the donations roll in. Think videos for social media, branded imagery and testimonials from previous runners.

• Training support

  Whether this is your first run or your fifth, you'll need to train for it! You'll receive an in-depth training plan with guidance, plus many charities have access to expert coaches and elite runners too, who can provide exclusive tips for your race preparation. Experts include Runningwithus, Full Potential and Olympic champs.

• Branded running kit

  When you show up on the day, people need to be able to see clearly that you're supporting a charity. Most charities will give you a branded and personalised t-shirt or vest to run in on the big day, and often a training top too.

• Support on the day

  When you're partway through your run and your energy is flagging, what you need is a boost from cheering spectators to keep you moving. Many charities set up a cheer station along the route, keeping an eye out for you to send up a huge cheer as you run past!

• Post-race recovery

  Refreshments and an indulgent post-race sports massage are often provided by charities for their runners. This is the perfect way to recover alongside other people who have run for that cause.

• Exclusive social groups

  You won't be the only person running for that charity, so it's well worth meeting other runners through the charity's invite-only social media pages! You can organise to meet up for training runs, chat with the charity's expert coaches and share tips and stories with each other to keep the motivation levels running high.

What are charity places?

Charities buy places in this event, then give them to runners who agree to raise money for the charity – these are called charity places. Charity places are a great way to support a good cause and get a place in the event, especially if general/ballot entries are closed.

Running a marathon and charity fundraising go hand-in-hand - which charity will you run for?

Lovely race with amazing crowds. Really well organised and easy to get to event village. Frequent water stations with loads of gels. Not too crowded to run in, after a few miles there is loads of room. Great PB course; one of the flattest in the country. Fab medal and t-shirt. Jo H

 

Great atmosphere. Lots of spectators and support. Live roadside entertainment. Aid stations with energy gels. Lots of transport links into Manchester... Overall great marathon. Well worth doing. John H

My first marathon. The route was mainly flat with a couple of hills towards the latter part of the race. Crowd support was amazing and the organisation of the event was also very good. Great tshirt and medal. I would do this one again. Lynsey K

 

This is still one of my favourite marathons. Easier than London and the way things are with London these days my 'go-to' marathon. Manchester is a brilliant city with great links in and around it. Plenty of hotels to stay at. The race itself is just as good as all the other big marathons in the uk with tons of crowd support. Only a few short moments where there isn't someone shouting your name... I got my PB this time which was previously in London. Just a good all round event for the whole weekend. Daniel D

I love this race. I always enter this race every year because it is fast and quick and the crowds are amazing. High recommended. Ryan W

Fantastic event which was well organised from start to finish. Loved seeing all of the signs each time we ran through a new town or villiage on route. There was plenty of aid stations throughout and the event was supported throughout. Heidi S

The race was very well organised, lots and lots of support all the way around. The residents were even out on their driveways with music, sweeties and tons and tons of encouragement. Joanne G

Amazing first marathon!!! So good that I signed up the day after for 2019's run! Loads of support from the best supporters and definitely beginner friendly run. Catherine F

My first ever marathon and i wasn't disappointed. Flat course and the crowds were awesome. Frank W

This was my second year running Manchester, I love this marathon, probably my favourite one to date, the support is second to none, the course is great, the medal and tshirt are superb, the marshalls and over all organisation of the whole weekend is brilliant, plenty of water and energy supplements! Vicci M

Reviews thanks to RaceCheck