It's time to get serious about your Spring Marathon preparations. And that's where the 'Uber Boat by Thames Clippers' Kingston Breakfest Run on Sunday 9 March 2025 comes in. Handily positioned four weeks before the Brighton Marathon and seven weeks before the Manchester Marathon and TCS London Marathon, the Kingston Breakfest Run could be the perfect test bed for your marathon pace and potential.

Kingston Breakfest Run is the love child of Kingston Spring Raceday and the race name is not misspelt – it's a nod to the heavy involvement of the highly experienced Richmond RUN-FEST team who now operate this event plus the Kingston Half Marathon & 10K on 5 October, River Thames Half Marathon on 26 October and Hampton Court Half Marathon on 15 February 2026 under the River Thames Running banner.

Having cleared that up let's look at what's on offer beside Old Father Thames in two weeks. Much of the well-loved Kingston Spring Raceday format has been preserved. There are three race distances to choose between: the traditional Kingston 8-mile loop is on a single lap course; the 16.1-mile runners complete a second circuit, while the 20-milers follow two laps plus an additional 3.9 miles on the River Thames towpath.

Last year 428 ran the 8 miles; 287 opted for the 16 miles, and 724 went for the full fat 20-miler. The winning times in the longest race were 1:47:36 by Mohamed Hashi (Ealing Southall & Middlesex AC) and 2:03:31 by W50 master Sarah Holt. The final runner returned to Kingston’s historic Market Place after 4:50:40 of hard work through the puddles on the towpath towards Hampton Court Palace.

The 2024 race video gives us a tease of the 2025 medal and Tech Tee on offer to all finishers...

Among the special River Thames Running touches are FREE finisher photos; motivating Pace Makers to help you achieve your goal; flat and fast picturesque course running past Hampton Court Palace; great goody bag including post-race snacks and drinks; a clearly marked course; marshals and sweep marshals, with First Aid in place throughout the course.

To secure your entry visit the official Kingston Breakfest Run website here.

Past results and reports are at the runABC South race listing here.

Photo courtesy River Thames Running website