Welcome to the Rasselbock Marathon and Half Marathon 2026
Sunday 12th July 2026 – Sherwood Pines Forest, Nottinghamshire
Join us in the Summer of 2026 as we return to the stunning Sherwood Pines for the Rasselbock Marathon and Half Marathon. It’s sure to be an incredible day in the forest as we welcome runners from all walks of life to hit their goals. Be it your first-ever Marathon, trying for a new PB, or just wanting to be in the forest with friends, we have you covered.
Next year we will be introducing a new distance, that ever so popular and well-known distance, the 50.6km Rasselbock Ultra! This will take you on a loop of the mini circuit, followed by two loops of the half marathon route!
£67.95
£51.95
£41.95
£21.95
We have four options for you on the day, the ultra, the full marathon, the half marathon and the ‘mini’ 8.5km. The half marathon will be a beautiful 13.1-mile loop around the Sherwood Pines forest and the full marathon will have you complete the loop twice. For the 8.5km you will take on the same route as the other events but cut out the whole south side of the forest by taking a diversion just after 3km mark. The trails and fire roads will take you around all areas of the forest, from those teaming with life to areas of blissful quiet. The official route will be announced closer to the event but you can expect roughly 250m of elevation on each loop. (see the 2025 route here)
Both events will have very generous cutoff times, being over 7 hours for the half marathon and 8 hours for the marathon and 2.5 hours for the 8.5km. The Ultra is the only one where the cut of may be tough for all abilities sittingf at 8 hours. We do want to encourage people of all abilities to complete the challenge they want to complete.
The Event Village
The start and finish line will be located in the area of the forest called the arena, and in the center will be the event village. When you return to the arena at the end of your run (and halfway through if you are taking on the marathon), you will run a loop around the full event village where you can expect support from everyone watching and waiting, as well as the event MC and DJ.
Within the event village, we will have the usual bag drop, information tent, and medic area for those who are running. Alongside this, you will find a selection of local food vendors and a bar, alongside small and local running businesses for you to visit. Expect an area full of games and pastimes near the stage where you can relax whilst you wait for your friends and family members to finish their run!
Below you will find some of the general questions and information about the event. You can find more information specific for the distances on the signup pages.
Official Charity Partner
Alcohol is a part of many of our lives. We use it for celebration, for comfort, to socialise, to wind down, to cope. We treat it differently to other drugs; it’s legal, socially acceptable, and even encouraged.
Yet in the UK one person every hour dies as a result of alcohol. Alcohol harm – mental health problems, liver disease, one of seven forms of cancer, economic difficulties, and so much more – can affect any one of us, from any walk of life.
The harm doesn’t end with the individual; each of us who drinks too much is part of a family and a community who feel the effects too, whether through frequent use of emergency services, drink driving, violence or neglect.
We are Alcohol Change UK. We work for a society that is free from the harm caused by alcohol.
We are not anti-alcohol; we are for alcohol change. We are for a future in which people drink as a conscious choice, not a default; where the issues which lead to alcohol problems – like poverty, mental health issues, and homelessness – are addressed; where those of us who drink too much, and our loved ones, have access to high-quality support whenever we need it, without shame or stigma.
Join the Alcohol Change UK team for the 2026 Rasselbock Marathon and Half Marathon with your own place or with our charity places. To find out more contact the team at fundraising@alcoholchange.org.uk.
Our trophy blocks
Unlike our other events, we don’t offer a traditional medal for the Marathon events. Instead, we hand make over 700 custom wooden blocks. The design for 2025 incorperated two pieces of stained glass set into the wood, themed for your distance and laser engraving on two edged.
We also offered on the day custom lasering to personalise your block with your finishers time.
For the 2026 edition, we will be building upon this idea and hand crafting something a little … greener.
General FAQs
Sherwood Pines is located just east of Mansfield in Nottinghamshire. It is a stunning 3,300-acre forest with multiple activities to keep families and adrenaline junkies entertained. The full address for the venue is;
Sherwood Pines, Edwinstowe, Mansfield NG21 9JL
If you are using a SatNav for directions then please make sure it is taking you to the main center of the forest and not to an entrance on the south side of the forest.
There is ample parking available in the forests car parking area which is located just a few minutes walk from the event village. Parking is charged at £12 for the day, but runners will receive a half-price discount code in the event booklet that will be emailed out to you prior to event day. You will need to pay for parking at a kiosk just before you leave.
At the event village, we will have an array of portable toilets for runners and spectators to use before and during the event. We will have a bag drop marquee for you to leave your items (at your own discretion), during your time running.
There will be a first aid station and a missing children’s point if needed. Showers and changing facilities will not be available onsite.
There will be an array of food and drink options for you to purchase throughout the day as well as a bar to grab a celebratory drink once you have finished running. There will be music playing throughout the day and an MC calling in the runners over the line.
You’ll also be able to find lots of local vendors and small businesses on-site if you’re on the lookout for new or different running gear.
- Full chip timing
- A fully unique and bespoke finishers trophy (or medal TBD) designed just for this event.
- Aid stations on the route, ranging from water, sports drink, fruit, sweets, and other goodies. (9 for the Marathon and 4 for the Half)
- Dedicated first aiders on site for the full event in the village and on the route.
- Transfer back to the event village from certain points on the route if you cannot continue.
- 1kg of ocean-bound plastic recycled, and your CO2 emissions for the day offset.
- Amazing support from the Rasselbock Family throughout the whole day!
Not at all. Entry into the event village is free for everyone as we want to make it as buzzing with life as we possibly can! The only thing you’ll need to pay for is your car parking if you’re driving to the forest.
In 2025 we welcomed 640 runners to the forest. In 2026 we are hoping 900 will join us across the three distances.
YES! We use chip timing to determine your event finish time. The chips will come pre-attached to the back of your running bib so please do not remove or bend them. Once you step over the timing mat at the start and finish line the system will record your times. Results will be available live online almost instantly
For the ultra and the marathon, you will need to be 18 or older on race day and for the half marathon, you will need to be 17 or older on race day. For the mini Rasselbock, you will need to be 14 or older on race day.
Unfortunately, there can be no exceptions to this rule.
8am – Event Village opens to the public
9:45am – Half Marathon warm-up begins
10am – Half Marathon Begins
10:15am – Marathon and Ultra warm-up begins
10:30am – Marathon and Ultra Begin
10:35am – Mini Rasselbock warm-up begins
10:45am – Mini Rasselbock Begins
Midday – First finishers expected
1pm-3pm – Large groups of finishers expected
2pm onwards – Runners continue to finish
6:30pm – Cut off for final runner
6:45pm – Close of food and drinks service
7pm – All members of the public offsite
We have some of the friendliest pacers around from the What The Fartlek Podcast community. They will be pacing fro both the full and half marathon and you can see the pacers times below.
Half Marathon
1:30, 1:40, 1:50, 2:00, 2:10, 2:20, 2:30, 2:40, 2:50, 3:00, 3:15, 3:30, 3:45, 4:00
Marathon
3:30, 4:00, 4:30, 5:00, 5:30, 6:00
We have very generous cut-off times of over 7 hours for the half marathon, 8 hours for the full marathon and 2.5 hours for the Mini Rasselbock.
Unfortunately due to the nature of the route, the number of runners who are running, and our insurance policy, we cannot allow you to run with your dog.
Although we do not recommend them, headphones, personal stereos, etc can be used during the events. We ask that if you choose to use them that you are fully aware of your surroundings, other runners, and members of the public, and we cannot accept liability for anything that happens whilst you’re using them.
We strongly recommend that you do not wear in-ear headphones for this reason, for your own safety, and that of others. We would recommend the use of aftershocks and bone-conducting headphones as they allow you to still be fully aware of your surroundings.
We do not have a ban on running with poles but as with headphones, you do need to be fully aware of those around you so as not to harm yourself or other runners.
We try to avoid producing finishers’ tees that not everyone will need or use. We will have an official event tee for pre-sale in the coming weeks that you can collect on event day, but this is an optional extra.
Unfortunately, neither the half or full marathon routes are suitable for wheelchairs due to it taking part in a forest, through trails and firetracks. The event village is accessible during dry periods but please be aware that it is based on a large grassed area which can become muddy in bad weather
We rely on our amazing volunteers and marshalls for all of our events as they just would not be possible without them. From driving the pickup bus to working the water stations, handing out medals to cheering on runners around the course, we need you!
If you’re interested in helping out then we can offer you entry into a future edition of the event, supply you with a packed lunch for the day as well as an event tee shirt and a medal as a thank you.
We would love to hear from you! If you could drop us an email at jonathan@rasselbock.co.uk and I will send you more details about how you can get involved.
We would love to hear from you! If you could drop us an email at eric@rasselbock.co.uk and let us know how much you’d like to be involved with sponsorship and we’ll get back to you ASAP!
The Terms and Conditions for the event can be found here.
Thanks to our partners and sponsors
