Manchester Marathon charity places for 2027
Secure your charity place in the Manchester Marathon today. Run for charity in one of the UK's flattest marathons while supporting top UK charities. Find a cause and join their team today!
Do it for charity
Find a charity- Sun 18 Apr 2027
09:00
Age 18 & over
£89.99-£169
- 26.2 miles road running + 55 m ascent
Event overview
Thousands of runners take on the adidas Manchester Marathon every year to raise money for charity — and their reasons are as powerful as their finish-line moments. Whether it's a cause close to their heart or a challenge that needs a bigger purpose, running for charity turns 26.2 miles into something truly extraordinary.
One of Europe’s biggest marathons
The adidas Manchester Marathon is the UK's second largest marathon, the fourth largest in Europe, and one of the most iconic mass-participation events in the world. More than 42,000 runners are expected on the start line, cheered on by over 140,000 supporters lining the route. Among them, thousands will be running for charity — backed by a cause, a community, and a reason that goes beyond the finish line.
Run for charity
Every year, Manchester Marathon charity runners raise vital funds for life-changing causes. Choosing to run for charity means your training has a purpose, your miles have a meaning, and every step you take creates a real difference in people's lives. Sign up, start fundraising, and make your Manchester Marathon the run of a lifetime.
What is a charity place?
A charity place is an entry into the Manchester Marathon secured through a charity partner, in return for a commitment to fundraise. It's one of the best ways to guarantee your spot in this iconic event — particularly when general entries have sold out. Think of it as your golden ticket to the start line, with the added reward of knowing you're running for something bigger than yourself.
Why choose a charity place?
Running for charity gives you a powerful reason to lace up on dark winter mornings, push through tough training runs, and dig deep when race day gets hard. Beyond the motivation, many charities offer dedicated fundraising support, personalised training advice and exclusive race-day perks to help you get the absolute most from your Manchester Marathon journey. See the Fundraising section.
The adidas Manchester Marathon and charity fundraising go hand-in-hand - which charity will you run for?
Prefer to enter directly? General entry options are explained on the adidas Manchester Marathon page.
Event photos
Event video
Charity places
The charities below have places in the event. To secure your charity place, simply find a charity then book a charity place or join a charity team with your own place.
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Meningitis Research Foundation
Join the race to defeat meningitis as part of #TeamMRF, driven by a passionate mission to prevent the devastating impact of meningitis by uniting people and knowledge to save lives.
- Running vest
- Fundraising support
- Fundraising materials
- Dedicated contact
Sign up
£40
Fundraise
£500
- Beginner-friendly
- Fancy dress
- Spectators
- Teams
- Venue accessible
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.
- Cut off time
- Distance markers
- Entertainment
- First aid
- Flat
- Food stations
- Marshals
- Out and back
- PB
- Sweeper
- Toilets
- Traffic free
- Water stations
- Wave start
- Way markers
Overview
The marathon route will take more than 42,000 participants on an unforgettable journey through the electric streets of Greater Manchester, with incredible crowds cheering them on all the way to the iconic finish on Oxford Road, outside The University of Manchester.
It delivers a fast, flat tour through the heart of Greater Manchester, combining iconic city streets with vibrant local communities and uplifting crowd support.
Video
Route highlights
- Start near Old Trafford, one of the UK’s most famous sporting venues
- Cruise through Manchester city centre, including Deansgate’s wide, lively streets
- Long, flat stretches ideal for rhythm and PB chasing
- Pass through Stretford, Sale, Timperley and Altrincham, each bringing a different atmosphere
- Energetic music zones, DJs and live entertainment along the route
- Crowd-lined streets with over 100,000+ supporters cheering you on
- Famous football backdrop around Old Trafford at the start
- Bustling urban scenery through the city centre and Deansgate
- Residential streets packed with supporters, pubs and community cheer points
- Traditional town centres like Altrincham, known for big crowds and atmosphere
- Open, straight roads through Sale and Timperley to lock into your pace
- Live bands, DJs and locals creating a festival feel throughout the course
- Iconic finish on Oxford Road by The University of Manchester
Map
- Entertainment
- Paid parking
- Secure bag storage
- Toilets
- Urban
Event HQ
Old Trafford Cricket Ground
Talbot Road
Stretford
Manchester
Greater Manchester
M16 0PX
UK
- Fundraising materials
- Fundraising support
- Submit fundraising up to 1 month after event
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
- Chip timing
- Drinks
- Eco medal
- Eco t-shirt
- Event app
- Training plan
Included
- Finisher medal
- Finisher t-shirt
- Chip timing
- HIGH5 on-course nutrition
- Water stations
- Erdinger Alkoholfrei (finish line)
- Vita Coco (finish line)
- Haribo (finish line)
- Recharge lounge access
- Baggage storage
- Live results tracking
- Milestone tracker (Runna)
- 140,000+ route supporters
Optional extras
- Race photography
- Engraved medal
- Recycling
- Sustainability policy
- Trees not tees
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
