On Sunday 7 September 2025, thousands of people came together to take part in the Big Half, a vibrant celebration of movement, community and inclusion.
Organised by our events company, London Marathon Events (LME), this much-loved festival of running winds through four London boroughs – Lewisham, Greenwich, Southwark, and Tower Hamlets. Since launching our Active Spaces Fund in 2022, we’ve been supporting communities across the capital to lead active and healthy lives. We’ve awarded more than £1.7 million to more than 40 projects in these four boroughs alone, helping to keep the community spirit and celebration of movement going all year round. Below, we tell you more about some of these projects and how the funding has helped.
Empowering young people through martial arts in Tower Hamlets
With funding of £25,000, Ocean Youth Connexions has expanded its taekwondo and mixed martial arts activities. These inclusive sessions, designed for young people aged five to 19 – including those with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND) – help participants build physical literacy, develop confidence, and learn self-defence skills.
The funding has weekly sessions at two centres in Tower Hamlets (Tarling East Centre and Mulberry Leisure Centre), which are still ongoing today. During the year-long funding period (July 2023 – July 2024), the club engaged 74 young people from different communities across the borough, including from Bangladeshi, Chinese, Vietnamese, and African communities. The funding also enabled the introduction of a new female-only class – Tigress Taekwondo – creating a vital space for girls to train and grow in confidence.
Expanding access to after-school sport in Lewisham
Sporting Way CIC was awarded £47,480 to expand its free after-school sports and games club in Lewisham. What began in 2022 with just six young people has grown to more than 400 regular participants, half of whom have SEND or Social, Emotional, and Mental Health needs.
Our funding allowed Sporting Way to improve its facilities, hire local coaches, run more consistent sessions during term time, and even offer a school pick-up service to the sessions – easing the burden for working families. Sporting Way was also able to hire more staff, who all live locally, and offer work experience to more than 40 young people during the funding period.
A representative for Sporting Way CIC said: “We have built such strong connections with families in our community; children have had swimming lessons, gone wall climbing, and learnt new sports like roller skating and skateboarding and table tennis; and previously inactive children are now into sports like athletics and dodgeball – all things that we are very proud of.”
Building inclusive spaces in Greenwich
Creating accessible and inclusive environments is vital for lasting community impact. AFC Lewisham, based at Gresham Athletics Sports Ground in Greenwich, used funding of £19,850 to install accessible toilets, baby changing facilities, and a disabled access ramp, to make the clubhouse more welcoming for young families and people with disabilities.
These improvements have opened up the space for wider participation – including disability football sessions for children, table tennis for girls, and new events that have helped connect the community and create a sense of belonging.
Creating safe, empowering fitness spaces in Tower Hamlets
Tower Hamlets-based Bender Defenders CIC was awarded £9,000 to support its martial arts and fitness programme for LGBTQ+ people. Beginning in January 2024, the group used the funding to deliver 86 martial arts and fitness classes, reaching 393 individuals and providing a safe and empowering space for people from LGBTQ+ communities to take part in physical activity. A free ticket scheme was also introduced for those who find it hard to afford access to traditional fitness spaces.
The impact has been overwhelmingly positive:
- 88% said the classes are extremely inclusive
- 75% reported improved physical and mental health
- 88% of those who had previously exercised once a month or less said they now exercise once per week or more
- 77% felt more connected to their community
A participant said: “It’s the first sport-related environment I attended that was healthy, supportive and not focused on competition. The team is very helpful and understanding, and it’s really good that even I, as someone who cannot afford to pay for the classes, get the chance to attend.”
Committing to new facilities in Southwark
As well as funding activities that are taking place today, we’ve also provided significant funding to invest in future facilities to support activity for years to come. This includes Bankside Open Spaces Trust, which has been awarded £250,000 towards the planned redevelopment of Marlborough Sports Garden in Southwark. An outdoor space valued by the local community for the role it plays in promoting the health and wellbeing of residents, the redevelopment will include a new running track and community hub to grow the Trust’s programme of activities and increase its positive impact on people’s lives.
A lasting legacy
Each year, the surplus generated by LME is donated to the London Marathon Foundation, enabling us to fund projects that inspire communities to get active. Taking part in the Big Half creates an impact that lasts far beyond Event Day – it powers our work to support healthier, more active communities across London.