The half starts at 9am on Sunday 25 October on Cainscross Road, the 10k at 9.20am. Entries close 23 October, and the clocks go back that morning.

The Stroud Half Marathon is on Sunday 25 October 2026. The half starts at 9am and the Stroud 10k at 9.20am. Both start and finish beside the Marling School playing field on Cainscross Road, GL5 4HE. (Stroud Half Marathon 2026)

Entries are open at the time of writing. The half is £38 affiliated and £39 unaffiliated, and entries close at 9am on Friday 23 October. Minimum age is 17 on race day. (RaceNation entry page)

The super early bird prices some listings still quote, £29.50 and £31.50, opened on 14 February 2026 and are long gone.

Stroud Half Marathon 2026: what has changed three weeks out

Checked on 5 October 2026, 20 days before the race:

  • Entries are still open for all three races. The half closes at 9am on Friday 23 October; the 10k and the Mini Mile close at noon the same day, according to the closing times on their RaceNation entry pages.
  • There is a children’s race this year. The Stroud Mini Mile starts at 9.15am from Marling School, between the half and the 10k, on a one-mile town centre loop on the closed roads. It is for 5 to 15 year olds, costs £10, is chip timed, and places are capped at 100. Under-8s must run with a responsible adult, who does not pay. Entries opened on 14 September.
  • Road closures are still unpublished. See below for where they will appear.
  • The half’s UK Athletics licence number still reads “TBC” on the organiser’s race page.

How fast was it last year?

The 2025 race was on 26 October. The official results list 1,495 entries in the half. Lester James of Team Bath Athletics Club won in 1:07:59, and the first woman was Alice Tredgett of Severn AC in 1:19:36, 43rd overall. Three of the top nine men ran for Stroud & District AC. (2025 results)

The detail that will catch runners out

The clocks go back on race morning. British Summer Time ends on the last Sunday in October, which in 2026 is Sunday 25 October, race day. A 9am start is 9am on the new time. If your phone updates and your bedside clock does not, you will arrive an hour early rather than an hour late, which is the better of the two mistakes, but worth knowing.

Entry prices, both races

Stroud Half Marathon, 9am start, age 17 and over:

  • Affiliated entry, £38.00
  • Unaffiliated entry, £39.00

Stroud 10k, 9.20am start, age 15 and over:

  • Standard affiliated entry, £25.00
  • Standard unaffiliated entry, £27.00
  • Affiliated entry with bus to the start, £30.00
  • Unaffiliated entry with bus to the start, £32.00

All close on Friday 23 October: the half at 9am, the 10k at noon. Prices are from the organiser’s live entry pages, checked on 5 September and re-checked on 24 September and 5 October 2026, unchanged.

The 10k is point to point, so read the bus line carefully

The 10k is the newer race, back for a second year. It is not a loop from Marling School. It starts on Grove Lane, GL2 7NY, and finishes at Marling School, so runners have to get to the start.

The organisers run buses from Marling School at 08:30, dropping at the start just before 9am, and places are limited. That is the £5 difference between the standard and the with-bus entries, and it has to be booked at the same time as your entry. The alternative is a lift: there is limited parking at the start and it is a drop-off point only. (Stroud 10k 2026)

Parking, for runners and for residents

There is no parking at Marling School, for either the start or the finish. The organisers name three town car parks and put the walk at 10 to 15 minutes:

  • Cheapside car park, by the station, GL5 3BL
  • Cainscross car park, GL5 4JQ
  • London Road, GL5 2AP

Some Stroud car parks are free on a Sunday and some are not. Our parking in Stroud page has the tariff for each one, including the Ebley Wharf order that makes it the only district car park charging on a Sunday.

Road closures: nothing has been published for 2026 yet

This is the honest answer, and it matters if you live on the course. Both race pages say the same thing: “Some roads around the route will be closed for the safety of runners and volunteer marshals. Details of the road closures will be released nearer the time of the event for residents.”

The only closure document linked from the Stroud Half website is a PDF of the temporary traffic regulation order from 2019. It is seven years old and should not be read as this year’s plan. Re-checked on 5 October 2026, 20 days out, and nothing has changed: the race pages still carry the same “nearer the time” wording and the same 2019 PDF.

Do not wait for Stroud District Council to list it. Its temporary road closures page now says it “no longer deal[s] with temporary road closures for street parties, fairs or events” and sends enquiries to Gloucestershire County Council, which is why its list of orders stops in 2025. The county publishes its temporary closure orders as public notices, and we found no notice for the race in a search on 5 October. Gloucestershire Highways is on 08000 514 514.

We will add the 2026 closures here when they appear. In the meantime, roadworks and travel carries the district’s dated closures.

The course, water and pacers

The half is 13.1 miles, described by the organisers as not flat but a good course for a fast time. Water stations with recyclable cups are at 4.5 miles, 8.4 miles and 11 miles, plus the finish. Those are the distances on the organiser’s own page as it read on 24 September 2026, and they are not the ones some listings carry.

Read the route map with the same caution. The organiser’s page carries a line above it saying, in terms, that the map shown is “the version we released in 2024”, so it is there to show you the shape of the course rather than to confirm this year’s exact lines.

Volunteer pacers run at 1:20, 1:30, 1:45, 2:00, 2:15, 2:30, 2:45 and 3:00, in pacer flags or t-shirts. Every finisher gets a metal medal.

One rule the organisers are firm about: in-ear headphones are not allowed. UK Athletics rule T55 S5 permits bone conducting headphones only, and the organisers say runners seen in in-ear headphones will be disqualified.

The race is run by RaceNation Events, with James Higgs as race director, on 01460 298338 or info@racenationevents.com. The UKA licence number for the 10k is 30133; the half’s was still printed as “TBC” on the organiser’s own race info panel when we looked again on 24 September 2026, a month before the race.

The same field, three days running

Marling School has an unusually busy weekend. The Rotary Five Valleys fireworks are on the playing field on Monday 26 October, the day after the race, and the Aston Down display is on the Saturday before. If you live on Cainscross Road, that is three consecutive days of event traffic.

Frequently asked questions

When is the Stroud Half Marathon 2026?

Sunday 25 October 2026. The half starts at 9am and the Stroud 10k at 9.20am, both on Cainscross Road beside the Marling School playing field, GL5 4HE.

How much does it cost to enter the Stroud Half Marathon?

£38 affiliated and £39 unaffiliated. The Stroud 10k is £25 affiliated and £27 unaffiliated, or £30 and £32 with a bus to the start. Half entries close at 9am on Friday 23 October and 10k entries at noon that day.

Which roads are closed for the Stroud Half Marathon?

The 2026 closures still had not been published on 5 October, 20 days before the race. Both race pages say details will be released nearer the event, and the only closure PDF on the organiser’s site is the 2019 order. Event closures are now made by Gloucestershire County Council, not Stroud District Council.

Where do you park for the Stroud Half Marathon?

Not at Marling School, which has no parking for the start or the finish. The organisers name Cheapside car park (GL5 3BL), Cainscross car park (GL5 4JQ) and London Road (GL5 2AP), each a 10 to 15 minute walk.

Is there a children’s race at the Stroud Half Marathon?

Yes, new for 2026: the Stroud Mini Mile, at 9.15am on Sunday 25 October from Marling School, for 5 to 15 year olds. It costs £10, places are limited to 100, and under-8s must run with an adult, who enters free.

Who won the Stroud Half Marathon in 2025?

Lester James of Team Bath Athletics Club, in 1:07:59. The first woman was Alice Tredgett of Severn AC in 1:19:36.

Are headphones allowed at the Stroud Half Marathon?

Bone conducting headphones only, under UK Athletics rule T55 S5. The organisers say runners seen wearing in-ear headphones will be disqualified.

Sources