Spring is the half marathon’s best season. After a winter of base building, March to May is when fitness comes good, temperatures sit in the ideal 8-15\u00b0C range, and the calendar fills with city races across Europe and North America. It’s also when thousands of runners use a half as the key tune-up for a spring marathon \u2014 or as the A-race itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
These are ten spring half marathons worth targeting in 2027. They’re listed in calendar order rather than ranked, because the right race depends on where it sits in your season. (Looking for the obvious big names \u2014 Lisbon, Prague, Berlin, the NYC Half? They’re in our best half marathons of 2027<\/a> roundup. This list goes further.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n \ud83c\udfc5 Building your spring 2027 season?<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n Add your target half and your spring marathon to RunningLog as planned races, tag which is your A-race, and see the whole season laid out next to your past results \u2014 so the tune-up and the goal race actually fit together.\n <\/p>\n Start Your Free Race Log \u2192<\/a>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n A note on dates: confirmed 2027 dates are given where organisers have published them. Where they haven’t, the usual window is given and marked as expected. Always check the official site before booking travel.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 7 March 2027 The Semi de Paris is one of the biggest half marathons in Europe and, for 2027, one of the most changed. A new organiser has replaced the old first-come, first-served scramble with a lottery, and the course will now change every year to showcase different parts of the city \u2014 the 2027 route is due to be revealed early in the year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Act now:<\/strong> the 2027 lottery closes on 30 September 2026<\/strong>, with results on 1 October. Selected runners then have just 72 hours to pay. If Paris is on your list, this is the most time-sensitive entry in this article.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One French rule to know: to race in France you need either a medical certificate with the specific required wording or a completed PPS (Parcours Pr\u00e9vention Sant\u00e9). Sort it out well before race week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> An early-March city half and a weekend in Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 14 March 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n A two-lap course through one of England’s most beautiful cities, with Georgian architecture and big, loud crowds all the way round. Bath has been a fixture of the British spring calendar for decades and has the atmosphere of a race the whole city turns out for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s not the fastest course on this list \u2014 the laps and a few gentle drags see to that \u2014 but it’s reliably quick for a UK half, and mid-March timing makes it a perfect tune-up for an April marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> UK runners targeting London, Manchester or another April marathon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 21 March 2027, 08:30<\/p>\n\n\n\n Milan’s half marathon starts and finishes at Piazza Castello, in front of the Sforza Castle, and runs a loop out along the city’s old bastions and grand boulevards \u2014 past Porta Venezia, Porta Nuova and Piazza della Repubblica \u2014 before turning and heading back into the centre. It holds a World Athletics Road Race Label and is one of Italy’s gold-rated half marathons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The course is flat and late March in Milan is usually cool, which makes Stramilano a quietly good PB option that most runners outside Italy overlook. It’s also one of the easiest destination races on this list: Milan is a short, cheap flight from most of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> A flat, well-organised spring half with an Italian city break attached.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 4 April 2027 The Movistar Madrid Medio Marat\u00f3n is one of Spain’s biggest road races and a proper city celebration. Know what you’re signing up for, though: Madrid sits around 650 metres above sea level and the course is rolling rather than flat, so this is a race for atmosphere and a strong effort rather than a lifetime best.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The pricing rewards early commitment \u2014 the fee rises in tiers through to race month \u2014 so if Madrid is in your plans, entering sooner is cheaper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> Runners who want a lively spring city race and don’t need a pancake-flat course.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 4 April 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warsaw usually runs in late March, but in 2027 Palm Sunday and Easter fall on the last two Sundays of the month, so the 21st edition moves to the first Sunday in April. It’s one of the biggest half marathons in Central Europe, with a flat course through the rebuilt Old Town and along the Vistula.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Warsaw is also excellent value: travel, hotels and food cost a fraction of what they do in Paris or Madrid, and the city is an easy short-haul flight from most of Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Clash watch:<\/strong> Warsaw and Madrid fall on the same Sunday. Warsaw for speed, Madrid for atmosphere.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> A big, fast spring half at a lower cost than the Western European options.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 18 April 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Semi-Marathon International de Nice runs along the Promenade des Anglais beside the Mediterranean \u2014 flat, fast and very scenic. By mid-April the C\u00f4te d’Azur is warming up, so this is a race where an early start and good hydration matter more than at the March events.<\/p>\n\n\n\n It’s also a perfect excuse for a long weekend on the Riviera. The same French medical certificate or PPS rule applies as for Paris.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> A flat seaside half with spring sunshine included.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 25 April 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n The T\u00fcrkiye \u0130\u015f Bankas\u0131 Istanbul Half runs through the historic heart of one of the world’s great cities, and it has developed a reputation for fast elite racing to match. For amateurs it offers something no other race on this list can: a spring half in a city that straddles two continents.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Late April is a good time to be in Istanbul \u2014 warm but not hot \u2014 and the city is easily reached from almost anywhere in Europe and the Middle East.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> Runners who want a race that doubles as a genuinely different city break.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Sunday 2 May 2027<\/p>\n\n\n\n Canada’s biggest city hosts one of North America’s best early-May halves, run alongside the Toronto Marathon. Early May in Toronto is cool and usually settled, the course is fast, and the timing works well for runners who want a spring goal race after the worst of the Canadian winter has passed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For runners elsewhere in North America, it’s an easy destination race; for Canadians, it’s the natural spring target before the busy late-May weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> A fast early-May half in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Mid-May 2027 (expected \u2014 the 2026 race was held on Saturday 16 May; NYRR has not yet confirmed 2027) One of the biggest half marathons in the United States, the RBC Brooklyn Half runs from the tree-lined roads of Prospect Park down to a finish on the Coney Island boardwalk \u2014 then there’s the beach party. It’s the rare big-city half that ends at the seaside.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Timing note:<\/strong> for the 2026 race, the non-guaranteed drawing ran in early January. Expect a similar window for 2027, and set a reminder now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> A late-spring New York half with a finish line you’ll remember.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Date:<\/strong> Saturday 22 May 2027 G\u00f6teborgsvarvet is one of the largest half marathons in the world and a national institution in Sweden. The course runs through Gothenburg across its bridges and harbour, with bands and crowds the whole way round. The 2027 field is 48% women, one of the most balanced of any major race.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The catch: 2027 is already sold out<\/strong>. Entries went within days of opening at the 2026 race \u2014 the earliest sell-out in the event’s history. Your options are the official waiting list, where registered runners can transfer places, or a charity entry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Best for:<\/strong> A late-spring half with an extraordinary atmosphere \u2014 if you can get a place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Many runners on these start lines aren’t racing for a half PB at all \u2014 they’re using the half to check fitness before a spring marathon. Done well, it’s the most valuable race of the build. A few principles:<\/p>\n\n\n\n A spring half means a winter build, which brings its own challenges:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Several of these races now run lotteries or sell out months in advance. The entry window, not the race date, is often the real deadline:<\/p>\n\n\n\n \n \ud83c\udfc5 Half as a tune-up, marathon as the goal?<\/strong>\n <\/p>\n \n RunningLog lets you plan both races in one calendar, tag the marathon as your A-race and the half as a B-race, and compare the result against every half you’ve run before \u2014 so you know what your spring half is really telling you.\n <\/p>\n Start Your Free Race Log \u2192<\/a>\n <\/p><\/div>\n\n\n\n For a spring PB, look at Stramilano, Warsaw and Nice \u2014 flat courses, cool conditions, and far less hype than the headline races. For atmosphere, it’s Bath, Madrid, Brooklyn and G\u00f6teborgsvarvet. For a marathon tune-up, pick a race four to six weeks before your goal; Paris, Bath and Stramilano all fit an April marathon well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Whatever you choose, watch the entry windows. Paris closes this week, Brooklyn’s drawing comes in January, and G\u00f6teborgsvarvet has already gone. Choose your spring half now, get your entry sorted, and you’ll start your winter build with a date in the calendar and a reason to get out the door.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Which spring half is on your 2027 calendar? Share your plans on Instagram<\/a> or Threads<\/a>!<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Spring is the half marathon’s best season. After a winter of base building, March to May is when fitness comes good, temperatures sit in the ideal 8-15\u00b0C range, and the calendar fills with city races across Europe and North America. It’s also when thousands of runners use a half as the key tune-up for a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-308","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-races"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=308"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":317,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/308\/revisions\/317"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=308"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=308"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/runninglog.app\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=308"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}1. Paris Half Marathon \u2014 France<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n Entry:<\/strong> Lottery, \u20ac79<\/p>\n\n\n\n2. Bath Half \u2014 UK<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
3. Stramilano \u2014 Italy<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
4. Madrid Half Marathon \u2014 Spain<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n Entry:<\/strong> Open now, tiered pricing up to \u20ac95 (plus a \u20ac4 day licence for non-federated runners)<\/p>\n\n\n\n5. Warsaw Half Marathon \u2014 Poland<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
6. Nice Half Marathon \u2014 France<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
7. Istanbul Half Marathon \u2014 T\u00fcrkiye<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
8. Toronto Marathon Half \u2014 Canada<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
9. Brooklyn Half \u2014 USA<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n Entry:<\/strong> Drawing, time qualifiers, charity and travel packages<\/p>\n\n\n\n10. G\u00f6teborgsvarvet \u2014 Sweden<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\n Entry:<\/strong> Sold out \u2014 waiting list and charity places only<\/p>\n\n\n\nHonourable Mentions<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Using a Spring Half as a Marathon Tune-Up<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Training Through Winter for a Spring Half<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Entry Windows to Watch<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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The Bottom Line<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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