The London Marathon has taken over the U.K. capital every year since 1981 and has become one of the biggest events on the runners' calendar. Nearly 60,000 people are set to take part this year, and New Balance, the official apparel and footwear partner, is opening up its London Run House community space for the duration of marathon weekend.
If you’re not familiar with London Run House, you’ll find it located inside Somerset House overlooking the River Thames on the closing mile of the marathon route. Across the weekend, New Balance will use the space to bring together athletes, run crews, marathon runners, spectators, and London’s wider creative community to celebrate all aspects of running.
The brand will be putting on a huge amount of activities and showcases throughout the weekend that are open to the public and runners alike. You can find the full list over at New Balance’s official site, but the centerpiece of the community hub is a documentary and portrait series created with London’s running communities.
The documentary, shot across London boroughs like Greenwich, Battersea and Tower Hamlets, shows how a city and its people come together with routines and rituals as marathon day approaches. The documentary will sit alongside a portrait series from photographer Vivek Vadoliya, celebrating members of various running clubs.
Some of the activities open to attendees include race day nails and hair styling, and medal engraving for those who complete the marathon itself. For anyone interested in getting into running, there will also be treadmill stations to try out New Balance’s latest footwear, like the FuelCell SuperComp Elite v5 and 1080v15.
“At New Balance, our running vision is shaped by the athletes and communities who move the sport forward every day. London represents one of the most diverse and creative running communities in the world, and London Run House is designed as a space where everyone who runs can feel part of that energy, bringing together performance, culture and connection during marathon weekend,” said Kevin Fitzpatrick, New Balance Global Vice President of Running.
The London Run House is open from today, Friday 24th April, starting at 2pm through until 5pm. It will then open again on Saturday from 10am to 6pm and again on race day itself, Sunday, 26th April, from 9am to 5pm.
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