Canterbury Trail Marathon

Canterbury Trail Marathon & Half Marathon - Canterbury

The Canterbury Trail Marathon & Half Marathon is an off-road running event scheduled for 25 October 2026, based at CCCU Sports Centre, Pilgrims Way, Canterbury. Courses run through countryside just south of Canterbury and use scenic trails, rural footpaths and quiet country lanes.

Routes cross rolling farmland and historic pathways and include a mix of wide runnable tracks and more technical trail sections. The event offers two distances:

• Marathon - full trail distance with varied surfaces.
• Half Marathon - shorter, way marked trail route.

The Marathon has four checkpoints and aid stations; the first and fourth are at The Ivy Barn in Littlebourne, the second at Kingston Barn and the third at Lower Hardres Village Hall. The Half Marathon has two checkpoints, both at The Ivy Barn in Littlebourne. Each aid station provides toilets, food, hot and cold drinks, and options to top up water bottles.

Both distances have a mandatory kit list. The Marathon requires navigation and participants must download the route to a phone or watch for use on the day; there will be a kit check and route download check at Event HQ. The Half Marathon is way marked but downloaded route maps are strongly recommended.

Event HQ is at Canterbury Christ Church University Sports Centre and includes showers, changing rooms and toilets, food and drink, a chill-out zone, recovery area and free massages. Cut-off times are 3.5 hours for the Half Marathon and 7 hours for the Marathon. Entry fees vary by affiliation; the minimum age is 18 on the day and there are no on-the-day entries. One pound from every entry fee will support the Kent Neuro Therapy Centre. OpenTracking is available to follow runners live. Visit the organization's website for the most recent information.