Sunderland City Runs

Sunderland City Runs is a city-centre road race weekend on the banks of the River Wear, launched in 2011 as the Sunderland City 10K with roughly 1,500 runners and now drawing more than 5,000 across three distances. The Sunday morning 10K remains the event's founding race: a fast, flat out-and-back loop starting and finishing at Keel Square, the plaza built in 2015 that replaced the original Stadium of Light start. A half marathon was added later, sending runners along both banks of the River Wear and through the city centre before returning to Keel Square, and a Saturday evening 5K crosses the new Keel Crossing footbridge. The race is organised by Events of the North in partnership with Sunderland City Council and Active Sunderland, with half marathon race direction from Sunderland-born Olympic medallist Steve Cram. Current title sponsor is SG Petch. The 2026 edition moved from its usual early-May slot by one week to avoid clashing with a Sunderland AFC Premier League home fixture, underscoring how central the race has become to the city's calendar. The 2027 weekend runs Saturday 8 May (5K) into Sunday 9 May (10K and half marathon).