Elite info August, 2026

Elite field reveal: McColgan returns as Rowe chases history at the Big Half

Eilish McColgan targets a third title at the Big Half on 6 September, while Jack Rowe aims to make history with a fourth consecutive men's victory and break Sir Mo Farah's event record. Returning wheelchair champions David Weir and Eden Rainbow-Cooper lead a strong line-up featuring many of Britain's top wheelchair athletes.

Eilish McColgan, the British record-holder for the road half marathon, will be aiming to take the win at the Big Half, London's premier half marathon, for the third time in her career, having won in 2022 and 2024.

She also holds the British record on the track for the 5,000m and 10,000m.

McColgan, who suffered a toe injury during the TCS London Marathon in April and crossed the Finish Line with blood seeping through her shoe, was still the first British woman home and finished an impressive seventh overall. However, the Scot had to withdraw from the Commonwealth Games at the end of July, stating she had not had enough time since the injury to get to where she wanted to be to defend her 10,000m title.

David Weir, one of the most successful and celebrated Paralympic athletes in elite wheelchair racing, will return in pursuit of a fifth Big Half title, hoping to break his own record for the greatest number of wins for any elite athlete. He won the event last year in a course record of 46:58 – smashing his previous record by 20 seconds. The women's elite wheelchair field will be led by 2025 winner, Eden Rainbow-Cooper, who returns to the event after her superb performance winning the 2026 Boston Marathon in April.

Also looking to add to his growing list of Big Half wins is Jack Rowe. Rowe could claim a fourth consecutive Big Half elite men’s title, breaking Sir Mo Farah's record. Rowe is currently the fifth fastest Brit of all time over the distance with a PB of 1:00:17 which he set in New York earlier this year.

He will face strong competition for the title with two of the top ten Brits of all time over the half-marathon distance joining him on the Start Line – Jake Smith, who holds the sixth best time, and Zak Mahamed who holds the eighth.

Zak Mahamed, the brother of Mahamed Mahamed, who ran the second fastest marathon by a British athlete of all time at the 2026 TCS London Marathon, will be making his debut at the Big Half following an impressive PB of 1:00:46 in Barcelona earlier this year.

Also in the men's elite field are Phil Sesemann and Weynay Ghebresilasie. Sesemann, who secured a PB at the 2026 Berlin Half Marathon in a time of 1:01:21, will go toe to toe with Ghebresilasie, who was the surprise of the British men’s field at the 2026 TCS London Marathon, where he finished as third Brit ahead of both Sesemann and Rowe.

Ghebresilasie will join the Start Line fresh off his marathon exploits at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham later this month.

Andy Butchart, the current Scottish record holder in the 3,000m, 5,000m and 10,000m, will also be making up the elite men's field. Butchart came 13th in the 10,000m and 18th in the 5,000m at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow last week, in front of a home crowd.

Competing in the elite women's race alongside McColgan are Jess Warner-Judd and Lily Partridge. Warner-Judd, who made her TCS London Marathon debut in April, is the fourth fastest Brit of all time over the half marathon distance with a personal best of 1:07:07. She won the Big Half last year after a challenging 12 months that included being diagnosed with epilepsy and post-traumatic stress disorder after struggling to return to the track after several seizures.

Partridge returns to the event she won in 2020, with a current PB of 1:09:52 over the distance.

In the elite wheelchair races, JohnBoy Smith, Sean Frame, Simon Lawson and Shauna Bocquet will compete alongside Weir and Rainbow-Cooper.

View the full Start Lists below.