Bell Street, New Street, Thames Side and the bridge close from about 9.20am to 10am on Sunday 18 October. Entry is £40, and parking shuts at 9am.

The Henley Half Marathon is on Sunday 18 October 2026, and the town centre closes to traffic from about 9.20am to 10am. Oxfordshire County Council has published the notice for the special event order, reference S26-032, and says it proposes to make the order on 12 October, six days before the race. The race starts and finishes at Henley Rugby Club, Dry Leas, Marlow Road, RG9 2JA, and the organisers say the car park gates shut at 9am.

This is the 42nd edition of the race, and there are four distances on the same morning: the half marathon, a 10K, a 5K and a family fun run.

The roads that close, and when

The county council’s order prohibits vehicles from these roads between approximately 9.20am and 10am on 18 October:

  • A4155 Marlow Road, both lanes, from the entrance to Toad Hall Garden Centre to the A4130 junction
  • A4155 southbound, between the A4130 and Kings Road
  • A4155 Bell Street, both lanes, between Kings Road and New Street, plus the one-way section between New Street and Hart Street
  • A4130 New Street
  • A4130 Thames Side, between New Street and Hart Street
  • A4130 eastbound over the River Bridge to the Oxfordshire boundary

Exemptions cover emergency services, safety support vehicles and emergency works to services in or next to the closed roads. The notice says diversion routes will be signed locally, which is a change from the 2025 order, when the council said the closure was too brief to sign alternatives at all.

Part of the route runs into Buckinghamshire and Wokingham, and the notice says the organiser will seek any restrictions needed there from those authorities separately. The promoter is Craig Thornton of Kronosports Ltd, and the county’s Network Coordination Team takes queries on 0345 310 1111. (Oxfordshire County Council: Henley Marathon 18 October)

Forty minutes is short, but it lands mid-morning on a Sunday and it takes in the bridge, so anyone crossing from the Berkshire side should either go early or wait it out.

Entry prices

  • Half marathon: £40
  • 10K: £30
  • 5K: £20
  • Fun run: £10

Entries on the day are available as long as the event has not sold out in advance. (Henley Half Marathon)

Start times: two versions on the same website

The organisers’ own pages do not agree, so check yours before race morning.

  • The event listings on the home page put the half marathon, 10K and 5K all at 9.30am, with the fun run at 9.35am.
  • The Runners’ Info page says the half and the 5K start at 9.30am, the 10K “almost immediately afterwards at 9.35”, and the fun run at 9.40am.

The Runners’ Info page still carries last year’s race pack posting dates, so parts of it have not been updated for 2026. Treat the 9.30am figure as the one to plan around and confirm the rest when the pre-race email arrives. (Henley Half Marathon: Runners’ Info)

Parking, and the 9am cut-off

The event village and main car park are at Henley Rugby Club. Car parks open at 7.15am and you must be parked before 9am, because the road closures start then and you will not get in afterwards. When the main car park fills, there is overflow parking at Fawley Meadows, roughly a 20-minute walk. Miss the cut-off and you are parking in Henley and walking, which on a Sunday means paying: our parking in Henley page has the charges and the three-hour limits.

The course

The route leaves the rugby club, goes through the town and over Henley Bridge, out into the countryside past the Leander Club and along Remenham Lane and the Thames towpath, then back through the town centre and out to Heartbreak Hill, a mile-long climb, before a flat finish back at Dry Leas.

Practical points from the organisers:

  • Four water stations on the half marathon route, three of which the 10K passes; 5K runners get water at the finish
  • No toilets on the course. They are in the event village only
  • Changing rooms and showers are at Henley Rugby Club
  • Bag drop uses the tear-off strip on your race number
  • Buggies, pushchairs and strollers are allowed in the family fun run only
  • The event is not suited to wheelchair users, and anyone wanting to run with specialised equipment is asked to contact the organisers before entering
  • Spectators are welcome

Other closures that week

The county council’s special event orders for this autumn also cover Thame Fair, which shuts Thame High Street from 4pm on 16 September, and the October fair there from 7 to 11 October. Both are on our Henley roadworks and travel page along with everything else Oxfordshire has published.

All details verified on 5 September 2026 against the organisers’ site and Oxfordshire County Council’s published special event order. The closure times are the county council’s own approximation and can move on the day.