Mayor joins ‘record number’ of runners for Hackney Half

Hackney mayor Caroline Woodley (centre, in white T-shirt) running the Hackney Half. Photograph: Sean Pollock
Mayor Caroline Woodley took part in the annual Hackney Half on Sunday, raising money for charities chosen by the borough’s former Speaker.
A “record number” of more than 25,000 runners signed up for the half-marathon, including the borough’s leader, her health and social care chief Cllr Chris Kennedy, and former cabinet member for transport Mete Coban.
The Labour politicians fundraised for two charities, Rising Tide Trust and the Hackney Migrant Centre, nominated by outgoing speaker Cllr Sheila Suso-Runge.
Organisers Motiv Sports said the event raised a “staggering” £4 million for official charity partners, including Alzheimer’s Society, Macmillan Cancer Support and Shelter, alongside a number of local causes.
The 13.1-mile race was hosted as part of the Hackney Moves weekend sports festival, which welcomed 60,000 spectators and led to “London’s largest and most popular half-marathon”.
Ian Allerton, managing director of Motiv Sports, hailed the Hackney Half as an “incredible effort by all”.
“We’re already looking forward to doing it all again next year,” he said.
In another record, places for next year’s event sold out in just two days, with the only remaining spots available through charities.
Sunday’s race was sponsored by Hungarian airline carrier Wizz Air, which has been the headline partner for the borough’s half-marathon since 2023.
Ahead of the event, Hackney’s Green councillors told the Citizen they “appreciated the effort going into raising vital funds for good causes, especially as the Labour council has cut just the community and voluntary sector budget by £820,000”.
However, they were “concerned” by the airline’s sponsorship of the race.
“As part of a high-carbon industry, it flies in the face of the borough’s net-zero commitments,” they said.
“Following our lobbying around ethical sponsorship, we’re glad to see the Run Shoreditch 10k event sponsored by a footwear company rather than an airline.”
You can donate to the local politicians’ fundraiser for the Hackney Migrant Centre and the Rising Tide Trust on givestar.io.