Liverpool Half Marathon – everything you need to know about this Sunday’s race
Liverpool Half Marathon returns this Sunday 15 March, with 15,000 runners expected to take part in the biggest BTR Liverpool Half Marathon the city has seen – and people travelling around the city are being urged to plan their route with care due to road closures.
This year’s event includes an amended route as well as a later start time of 9.30am to allow runners an extra half an hour to travel to the new start line at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
The event also features 500 runners taking part in the 11th staging of the BTR 10 Mile Road Race. Both races start at the same time.
Runners, spectators, residents, and visitors are encouraged to plan their travel arrangements in advance given the number of people expected to descend on the city centre.
New route
Alongside the new start line, the first four miles of the route have been revised to take in more of the city centre and landmarks including Liverpool Town Hall, the Chinese Arch, and Liverpool Cathedral.
The latter part of the course has also been changed. Runners will no longer head through Otterspool Park and onto The Promenade – instead, they will make their way back from Sefton Park and Princes Park along Princes Road and Upper Parliament Street, before taking in Queens Wharf and Halftide Wharf, then joining the usual route at King’s Dock for the home straight along the waterfront to the finish line at Pier Head.
Road closures
The event will require the closure of a number of roads and road junctions between 4am and 3pm on Sunday 15 March 2026, all of which will reopen on a rolling basis as the run passes through.
Road closures will begin at 4am around the start/finish (start – Hill Dickinson Stadium, finish – around the Royal Liver Building) on Sunday 15 March, with route closures implemented from 8.30am.
While the new route accommodates the expansion of the event, it will mean the waterfront, Strand, and Upper Parliament Street North-bound route will be closed a little longer than previous years, until 1.30pm.
More information on road closures can be found here. An interactive road closure map is also now live on the BTR website.
Those coming into the city centre are advised that the roads will be busier than normal until 2pm. People are encouraged to use public transport or adjust arrival times to avoid busier periods.
Public transport
Arriva North West is operating shuttle buses from Liverpool ONE bus station to Great Howard Street and Blackstone Street. The service will start at 6.30am, with the last bus departing at 9am. The fare is £2 per person.
Merseyrail is operating a number of earlier train services into Liverpool Central, Moorfields, and Sandhills, on the Northern Line and Wirral Line networks.
More information on rail and bus travel can be found here.
Alan Rothwell, BTR Founder, said: “This weekend we welcome an incredible 15,000 runners and thousands of spectators to experience the biggest ever BTR Liverpool Half Marathon. The event is about to be taken to another level and it’s extremely exciting for everyone involved.
“I urge runners and spectators to plan travel arrangements well in advance to make their day as seamless and stress-free as possible. To make the course safe we must close roads and have restricted access in places, but these will be lifted as soon as it is safe to do so. We thank you for your support. And we look forward to welcoming everyone to Liverpool.”