London

London, the capital of the United Kingdom (UK), is home to about 8.5million people (12.5% of the UK’s population). Set on the river Thames, London is home to numerous landmark attractions, including the Houses of Parliament, the Tower of London and Buckingham Palace.

Its history goes back until the Roman empire, who founded the then-called Londinium. Nowadays, it belongs to the world leading financial centres and is the world’s most-visited city, because of its history and culture.

I moved to London in 2015. It was so massive in comparison, and I am still finding my way around. I love to explore new places by running and exploring them – it not only keeps your run interesting, but you get to know the city better too!

Whether you like short and quick or long and slow, there’s definitely something for everyone in London. Personally, I love the parks and the sightseeing element of running in London, it’s something you don’t get as much of in other cities.

Runner's Paradise

London has a unique identity – for a city so urbanised, there’s still lots of green space. Whether you’re someone who loves to hit the trails and conquer hills, or someone who likes to hit the pavement, there’s something for everyone. As the city is set along the river, you get the choice to go for flat and fast runs or to go explore the concrete jungle.

A major city like London with lots of runners obviously also has plenty of social running groups you can join on fun runs. One of them is the Midnight Runners Crew. As the name implies, they tend to run in the evenings. What has started as an initiative to get people off the couch in December changed to an all-year-round social running group called AdventRunning. With Lazy Girl Running, there’s also a women-only group regularly exploring Finsbury Park and Hamstead  Heath.

Favourite Routes

RICHMOND PARK

CITY OF LONDON

HYDE PARK TO THE MALL

  • Category: TRAIL
  • Start & Finish:

    Richmond Station
  • Distance: 7.0km
  • Duration: 30-50mins
  • Difficulty: easy
Download GPS data
  • Category: ROAD
  • Start & Finish:

    Westminster Station
  • Distance: 8.3km
  • Duration: 35-70mins
  • Difficulty: easy
Download GPS data
  • Category: ROAD
  • Start: Marble Arch
  • Finish: The Mall
  • Distance: 8.0km
  • Duration: 35-60min
  • Difficulty: easy
Download GPS data

Must see places

  • London Eye

  • Camden High Street

  • Big Ben

  • Royal Albert Hall

  • Tower Bridge

Races

There is a selection of races in and around London, mostly road and track events. For a list of upcoming running events visit FindARace.

RACE CALENDAR

About the Author

My name is Elin and I’m the founder of LivelyEl – a London-based running, fitness and healthy lifestyle blog. I enjoy exploring new places and finding new, fun and different ways to keep fit, although I do run the odd marathon from time to time! I think being fit and healthy is less to do with eating clean and lifting weights, and more about doing whatever is good for you – and that includes enjoying life!

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