Sunday 1st September marked the seventh edition of the Big Half half marathon in London, with over 16,000 runners taking part.
This year’s event aimed to celebrate London’s diverse communities, focussing on the boroughs that the race route passed through: Tower Hamlets, Lewisham, Southwark and Greenwich.
Here are the key moments you may have missed.
Highlights from the Big Half 2024
Eilish McColgan wins the Big Half 2024
Scottish athlete Eilish McColgan made her half marathon return on Sunday, beating out fellow Brit Calli Hauger-Thackery to take first place. She beat Thackery by 21 seconds with a final finishing time of 69:14.
Eilish won the Big Half in 2022 as well, but hadn’t raced a half marathon since Berlin in April 2023, so fans were thrilled to see her back with a vengeance.
After undergoing knee surgery last September, she started her season by finishing 15th in the 10,000m at the Paris Olympics. She’ll now be working towards the Great North Run on 8th September, Vitality 10,000 on 22nd September and, with any luck, her long-awaited London Marathon debut next year.
“Patience is definitely a word I’m learning this year,” she said. “The fitness isn’t quite where I’d like it to be, but it’s coming.”
