The 10 Best Half Marathons in the World for 2027 (Dates, Courses & How to Enter)

The half marathon is the distance most serious runners race most often. It’s long enough to demand real fitness, short enough to race hard several times a year, and forgiving enough that a bad day doesn’t cost you a whole season. It’s also the distance where the world’s best road races have become genuinely global destinations — courses where elite men run under 58 minutes and 20,000-plus amateurs line up behind them.

This list covers the ten half marathons worth building a trip around in 2027: fast courses, iconic cities, big fields and properly organised race weekends. They’re listed in calendar order rather than ranked, because the right race for you depends far more on when you peak than on which one sits at number one.

A note on dates: where organisers have confirmed 2027 dates, they’re given below. Where they haven’t yet, the race’s usual window is given and marked as expected. Always confirm on the official site before booking travel.

1. Ras Al Khaimah Half Marathon — UAE

Date: Mid-February 2027 (expected — the 2026 edition was held on Saturday 14 February)
Why it’s here: One of the fastest half marathon courses on Earth

Held entirely on Al Marjan Island, Ras Al Khaimah is a race built for speed: flat, sea-level, cool by Gulf standards in February, and consistently home to some of the deepest elite fields of the year. The 2026 edition was won by Geoffrey Kamworor, which tells you the calibre of runner it attracts.

For amateurs it’s a straightforward proposition — a genuine PB course with a winter-sun trip attached. The trade-off is atmosphere: it’s a closed island course with limited crowds, so this is a race for the clock, not the spectacle.

Best for: A February PB attempt, and northern-hemisphere runners who want to escape winter training for a week.

2. Barcelona Half Marathon — Spain

Date: Sunday 14 February 2027
Why it’s here: The fastest half marathon ever run happened here

In February 2025, Jacob Kiplimo ran 56:42 on the streets of Barcelona — the fastest half marathon ever recorded, and the first run under 57 minutes (its ratification as a world record has since become a saga of its own). That tells you most of what you need to know about the course: flat, fast, and reliably cool in mid-February.

The route starts at the Arc de Triomf and runs through the city past the Ramblas, Torre Agbar and along the beachfront. It’s a big-city race with a big-city feel, and Barcelona in February is a cheap and pleasant place to spend a long weekend.

Best for: A fast early-season half with a proper city break around it.

Clash watch: Barcelona and Ras Al Khaimah typically fall on the same weekend. Pick one.

3. Lisbon Half Marathon — Portugal

Date: Sunday 7 March 2027, 09:30
Why it’s here: The most dramatic start line in road running

The EDP Lisbon Half Marathon starts on the 25 de Abril Bridge — the huge red suspension bridge over the Tagus — and finishes at the Jerónimos Monastery in Belém. Running off that bridge with 20,000 people as the sun comes up over Lisbon is one of the great experiences in the sport.

It’s also genuinely fast, with a history of elite world-leading times, and it’s part of the SuperHalfs series (more on that below). The 3-hour cut-off makes it accessible to almost everyone. One logistics note: runners reach the start on the south bank by Fertagus train to Pragal station, so plan your morning around it.

Best for: Anyone who wants a single half marathon they’ll remember for the rest of their life.

4. NYC Half — USA

Date: Mid-March 2027 (expected — NYRR has not yet confirmed the 2027 date)
Why it’s here: Brooklyn to Central Park through Times Square

The United Airlines NYC Half starts in Brooklyn, crosses the Manhattan Bridge, runs up a closed-traffic FDR Drive and — the moment everyone comes for — straight through Times Square before finishing in Central Park. There’s nothing else like running 7th Avenue with the whole street shut to cars.

It’s not a PB course: the bridge climbs and the rolling Central Park finish add real time. It’s also hard to get into. Most runners enter via the non-guaranteed drawing; the alternatives are NYRR’s guaranteed-entry programmes, charity places and travel packages.

Timing note: The drawing for the 2026 race ran from late October to mid-November 2025. If the pattern holds, the 2027 drawing opens within weeks. If this one is on your list, watch the NYRR site now.

Best for: The experience, not the time. A bucket-list half for anyone who’s ever wanted to run through Manhattan.

5. Prague Half Marathon — Czech Republic

Date: Saturday 3 April 2027
Why it’s here: Fast, beautiful and one of Europe’s best-organised races

RunCzech’s Prague Half is a SuperHalfs race run through the Old Town and along the Vltava, with the kind of elite field that produces world-leading times. It’s flat, cool in early April and organised with a precision that other races study.

It’s also a Saturday race, which matters more than it sounds: you can race, recover over Sunday, and fly home without losing a working day.

Best for: A spring PB in one of the most beautiful cities in Europe.

6. Berlin Half Marathon — Germany

Date: Sunday 4 April 2027
Why it’s here: Berlin speed at half the distance

If you know the Berlin Marathon’s reputation, the GENERALI Berlin Half inherits it: flat, fast, lined with crowds and packed with landmarks from the Brandenburg Gate to Alexanderplatz. The 2026 race was won in 59:11, with Amanal Petros breaking the German record in 59:22 behind — a measure of how quick the course is.

Entry is by lottery, with charity, tour-operator and running-camp routes as alternatives. Berlin is also a SuperHalfs race.

Clash watch: Prague (Saturday 3 April) and Berlin (Sunday 4 April) fall on consecutive days in 2027. You cannot sensibly race both, so if you’re collecting SuperHalfs, choose one for 2027 and pick the other up in a later year.

Best for: A fast spring half with a proper big-city atmosphere.

7. Gold Coast Half Marathon — Australia

Date: Saturday 3 July 2027
Why it’s here: The best winter half in the southern hemisphere

The Gold Coast Marathon weekend is Australia’s flagship road-running event, and the half marathon runs on the same flat, fast coastal roads along the beachfront. July is mid-winter in Queensland, which means mild, dry, near-perfect racing weather at exactly the point in the year when the northern hemisphere is too hot to race fast.

For northern-hemisphere runners it’s the ideal mid-season target: a genuine PB course at a time of year when no flat, cool half exists closer to home.

Best for: A mid-year PB, and anyone combining a race with an Australian holiday.

8. Great North Run — UK

Date: Sunday 12 September 2027
Why it’s here: The biggest half marathon in the world

Newcastle to South Shields, across the Tyne Bridge with the Red Arrows overhead, with around 60,000 people running. The Great North Run is less a race than a national event — the crowds are extraordinary for the full 13.1 miles, and the atmosphere is unmatched anywhere at the distance.

It’s not a PB course: the field is so large that the first few miles are crowded, and the late climb out of the Tyne valley bites. But no list of the world’s great half marathons is complete without it.

Best for: Atmosphere. If you’ve never run a race where the crowd carries you, run this one.

9. Copenhagen Half Marathon — Denmark

Date: September 2027 (expected — exact date to be confirmed)
Why it’s here: Arguably the best big-city half in the world

CPH Half is flat, fast, famously well-organised, and enormous — around 45,000 places. Copenhagen skipped its regular edition in 2026 to host the World Athletics Road Running Championships, and the return in 2027 is attracting unprecedented demand: more than 100,000 runners had entered the 2027 lottery for those 45,000 places.

That lottery is open now and free to enter; you pay only if you’re selected. If Copenhagen is on your list, the single most useful thing you can do is enter the draw today.

Best for: An autumn PB with a big-city atmosphere, and one of the six SuperHalfs.

10. Valencia Half Marathon — Spain

Date: Late October 2027 (expected — the 2026 edition is on Sunday 25 October; 2027 not yet confirmed)
Why it’s here: The world-record factory

No course in the world has produced more fast half marathon times than Valencia. It has hosted world records for both men and women, it’s pancake-flat, and late October in Valencia is cool and dry. For an amateur chasing a PB, there is no better-proven course anywhere.

Demand has outgrown the old first-come-first-served registration, and entry now runs on a ballot. With a field of around 25,000, you’ll want to watch for the 2027 application window closely. Valencia is also the final race of the SuperHalfs calendar.

Best for: The fastest possible course for your autumn A-race.

Honourable Mentions

• Cardiff Half Marathon (UK) — 4 October 2027. The UK’s second-largest half and the sixth SuperHalfs race. Flat, fast, with a finish in front of Cardiff Castle.
• Royal Parks Half (UK) — Sunday 10 October 2027. Four of London’s Royal Parks in one route, and one of the most beautiful autumn races anywhere.
• The Big Half (UK) — Sunday 5 September 2027. A London half that crosses Tower Bridge and finishes by the Cutty Sark — one week before the Great North Run.

The SuperHalfs: Six Races, One Medal

Six of the races above — Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, Copenhagen, Cardiff and Valencia — form the SuperHalfs series. Finish all six (within a set time window) and you earn the SuperHalfs medal: effectively the half marathon equivalent of the World Marathon Majors, but achievable without a single ballot of 100,000 people standing between you and every start line.

The 2027 calendar makes an interesting puzzle:

• Lisbon — 7 March
• Prague — 3 April
• Berlin — 4 April (the day after Prague)
• Copenhagen — September
• Cardiff — 4 October
• Valencia — late October

Realistically you can collect five of the six in 2027 — Prague and Berlin are too close to race both. Most runners take the series over two or three years anyway, building each race into a season rather than cramming them in.

How to Build a 2027 Season Around These Races

A half marathon is short enough to race several times a year, but racing well still requires structure. A few principles:

• Pick one or two A-races. A spring half (Barcelona, Lisbon, Prague or Berlin) and an autumn half (Copenhagen or Valencia) is the classic pairing. Build a proper block for each.
• Leave six to eight weeks between hard efforts. You can race a half more often than that, but you won’t race it well.
• Use smaller races as tune-ups. A local 10K three to four weeks out is worth more than a second destination half.
• Put the entry windows in your calendar, not just the race dates. Copenhagen, NYC, Berlin and Valencia all run lotteries or ballots, and they open months before race day. Missing a window costs you a year.
• Match the race to your goal. Chasing a PB? Valencia, Barcelona, Ras Al Khaimah, Berlin, Prague. Chasing an experience? Lisbon, NYC, the Great North Run.

Practical Notes for Travelling Runners

• Book accommodation early. Race weekends in Copenhagen, Berlin and Lisbon push hotel prices up sharply.
• Arrive at least two days before the race. One for travel, one to collect your bib and stay off your feet.
• Check the start logistics. Point-to-point races like Lisbon, NYC and the Great North Run need a plan for getting to the start and back from the finish.
• Pack for the weather you’ll get, not the weather you want. February in Barcelona can be cold at the start; July on the Gold Coast can be warm by the finish.
• Don’t plan anything strenuous for the day after. Especially not a long walking tour.

The Bottom Line

If you want the fastest possible course, go to Valencia or Barcelona. If you want an experience you’ll talk about for years, go to Lisbon, New York or the Great North Run. If you want both — a fast course in a beautiful city with a proper big-race atmosphere — Copenhagen, Berlin and Prague are the answer.

Whichever you choose, the deciding factor for 2027 is less about the race than about the entry window. Several of these races now run lotteries with far more applicants than places, and those draws open months ahead. Pick your targets now, note when the entry windows open, and you’ll have your season sorted before most runners have started thinking about it.

Which half marathon is on your 2027 calendar? Share your plans on Instagram or Threads!