2:09 Events

11/07/2025

You may have missed it but we are now open for entries for the 2026 Longleat 10K, our long running 10K that takes place almost entirely inside the Safari park grounds of one of Britain's most popular stately homes. The race, which also includes a 2-mile run, is scheduled for Sunday January 25. At that time of year the weather is a roll of the dice. In 2025 the rain and wind made it more challenging than usual but it could just as easily be run against a backdrop of blue skies and winter sunshine.

09/07/2025

We are still more than 7 months away from the 2026 Farnbrough Winter Half Marathon, which is scheduled for Sunday February 8. Entries are ticking along quickly, although there is still plenty of space. Off the back of course record breaking performances at the 2025 event - Adam Clarke ran 1:03:46 to win the men's race and Ellie Monks ran 1:15:56 in breaking the women's course record - we are expecting a sold out field.
Nevertheless it is great that the 2026 event will be included once again as a qualifying race for the England Athletics Masters Half Marathon championships

08/07/2025

The world of marathon running is now dominated by the seven - soon to be eight if Cape Town passes this year - Abbott World Marathon Majors races. Demand for entries to all those event is at unprecedented levels. But not every big city race is, or wants to be, part of the series.
Paris, for example, which for a few months last year held the record for the most finishers in any marathon with the 53,899 runners that crossed the line in 2024, has remained resolutely independent. It has never quite had the elite fields or the crowds of say London or New York and it has never wanted to be a Major. But with the city's wide straight, largely flat roads, built to showcase Napolean's army, and a host of world class attractions on route, it's always been a great runners' race. Sadly like so many other big city marathons, entries are hard to find.
Fortunately we have a limited number of guaranteed entries for the 2026 race which we are offering with our three-night package at the wonderful 37 Le Bis boutique hotel, which is walking distance from the race start and finish. See our website for more details.

07/07/2025

There are plenty of arguments about the fastest marathon courses around, two of the main contenders are part of the Abbott World Marathon Majors series: Chicago and Berlin.
There is no definitive answer but for years many of the world's fastest times were set in Berlin in part because it was a race favoured by the likes of Paul Tergat, Haile Gebrselassie and Eliud Kipchoge. More recently though Chicago has taken the men's world record with Kelvin Kiptum's 2:00:35 in the 2023 men's race and Ruth Chepngetich's staggering 2:09:56 in the women's race last year which highlights its own claim to be the world's fastest race.
Further down the field average finishing times in Berlin are faster than Chicago and with only 73 metres of elevation gain throughout the whole 26.2 miles Berlin has the flatter course.
Why not find out for yourself? Run the BMW Berlin Marathon this year. After being sold out for months, due to a few late cancellations our trip to this year's race on September 21 has opened up again. See our website www.209events.com for more details.

Official Travel Partner for New York, Berlin, Boston, Tokyo, Chicago, Thunder Dragon Marathon Bhutan, Cyprus Challenge, Great Wall, and many other marathons

06/07/2025

Time is running out if you want to 'run' in this year's Bacchus Wine Half Marathon and 10K at Denbies Vineyard in Dorking on September 7. We are down to our last 200 entries and the only available places after will be with our charity partners, QEF and Combat Stress.
Don't worry if you miss out on Bacchus, the race is 'twinned' with a much bigger wine event, the Marathon du Beaujolais near Lyon in France on Saturday November 22. With over 27,000 runners last year across the marathon, half marathon and 13K the Marathon du Beaujolais is the world's largest wine race, run for the last 20 years in celebration of the annual release of Beaujolais Nouveau.
2:09 Events is the UK travel partner of the event and we have packages based on race entry, a ticket to the pre and post race parties and two or three nights stay in a hotel that is walking distance from the finish line. Since the race is also 'twinned' with the Bacchus Wine Half Marathon, we'll be offering some Beaujolais Marathon prizes to UK runners at this year's Bacchus. Another reason to snap up one of those last entries.

02/07/2025

We are now open for bookings for 2026 Thunder Dragon Marathon and Half Marathon in the magical Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan. This is our own race that we organise in partnership with local Bhutanese company Blue Poppy Tours and Treks. The race takes place on Sunday May 24, 2026 although it is only available to people booked on to one of our tour packages. We are three packages available: an 8-night trip which includes a four-day trek in the high Himalayas; an 6-day cultural trip that includes visits to the new and old capitals Thimpu and Punakha and a whistle-stop 4-day trip centred on Paro.
Bhutan is not an easy place to visit. Squeezed between India and China it's geographically distant and remote. Although the people are warm and welcoming, its highly protected environment and culture, mean there are limits to how many tourists can visit Bhutan each year. But it's an awe-inspiring country that is a once in a lifetime experience. Here'a little video we made of last year's race.

29/06/2025

We are now just over two months away from this year's Bacchus Wine Half Marathon and 10k on September 7. There are less than 200 places left for each race and on current trend we would expect to be sold out before the end of July. For those who have already entered, numbers will be sent out in mid August, three to four weeks before the event.
Putting on Bacchus takes a lot of staff and we are always looking for extra volunteers to marshal, help at drinks stations or at the start finish area. It's a fun day for everyone and if you are interested in being part of the team on September 7, send us a note to [email protected],

20/06/2025

A magnum of English sparkling wine from the South Downs created a stir recently when it out-performed Champagne at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards to be named one of the top 50 wines in the world.
We were not suprised. We've been promoting the merits of English wine, particularly sparkling wine, for more than a decade now. The difference is we offer the wine with running at our annual Bacchus Wine Half Marathon and 10K, which we organise in partnership with Denbies Vineyard in Dorking. This year the event takes place on Sunday September 7.
If you are taking part in the half marathon, you'll have the chance to sample six different English wines during the race (it's two for the 10K), including Denbies own award winning sparkling wine.
Your chance of being part of the event and sampling the wines is fading as the weeks go by because we are down to our last 400 entries from the 3000-limit we can accept for the day. Find out more about the race and Denbies at www.run-bacchus.com

18/06/2025

Round two of the 2026 Abbott Marathon Majors series is just around the corner. Sydney is first off at the end of August, quickly followed by Berlin (September), Chicago (October) and New York (November). Due to some injury cancellations one or two spots have opened up for our 2025 trips to Berlin as well as Chicago and New York. If you are interested in any of these races, drop us a line at [email protected]. There are more details on our website (www.209events.com) of prices and available hotels for each trip. We are a travel partner to each race so we can not sell 'entry only' to any of these races.

10/06/2025

Now would be a good time to start thinking about your fancy dress outfit for this year's Bacchus Wine Half Marathon and 10K on September 7. To offer you some inspiration here are a few of our favourites from last year. Don't forget there are no prizes for fast times at Bacchus - it's not that kind of event or race - all the goodies (which are bottles of wine) go to the best fancy dress we see on the day. The judging is done by our marshals and it's completely subjective.
Of course if you haven't entered yet, get a move on, we have less than 300 entries available now for both the half marathon and the 10K and with just three months to go before race day, we are certain to sell out.

10/06/2025

Just a quick one from us, the photos from the South Downs are now available from the weekend. ENJOY!!

2:09 Events Photography (Click Sports)