London Marathon weekend moves a nation of runners. As the country's biggest race captures the imagination and the Great North Run entries open once again, the most valuable running audience in the UK isn't at the finish line. It's on the motorway. Here's what the data tells us.
+23.1%
Sunday evening return travel uplift in the East of England
+261%
MSA users more likely to love running as a form of exercise
+113%
More likely to plan a full or half marathon
The roads tell the story
On Sunday 26 April 2026, the day of the London Marathon, our network recorded a clear lift in travel concentrated in the southern and eastern regions of the country. Compared with the previous Sunday, journeys originating in the East of England, London, the South East and the South West rose materially across the day and spiked sharply during the marathon return window of 17:00–22:00.
The East of England led the increase, with all-day journeys up +7.2% versus the prior Sunday and a striking +23.1% in the return-evening window - by some distance the largest movement seen anywhere in the network. London itself rose +5.5% across the day and +11.0% on the return. The South West followed the same shape (+3.9% all day, +9.4% return), with the South East lifting +4.0% in the evening peak.
This is exactly the pattern you'd expect when an event of this scale draws an audience into the capital and sends it home again. Movement builds across the day. The return wave does the rest.
Your audience stops here before the start line
For most runners, race day begins hours before the gun goes off. It begins in the car, on the motorway - and almost always at a service area. The pre-race fuel stop, the coffee, the final kit check: they’re all key parts of race day protocol.
i-media's audience data confirms that regular MSA users over-index significantly on running enjoyment, fitness ambition, and connected training behaviours. And they're not casual joggers - these are committed runners with long-term intent. MSA users are 261% more likely to say they love running, and 113% more likely to say they plan to run a full or half marathon.
Meet them in the moment that matters
Contextual relevance is what makes this work. Runners driving to an event are in a heightened, goal-oriented mindset. They are focused, alert, and emotionally invested in what comes next. They're not passive scrollers half-watching a feed; they're people with a clear purpose, hours away from putting it into action.
A brand that meets them in that moment, with messaging that speaks to their ambition rather than interrupting it, secures something far more valuable than an impression. It earns attention from a high-intent, focused, and specific consumer audience at the exact point they're most receptive to it.
Affluent, brand-loyal, and community-connected
Marathon and half-marathon participants consistently outspend the general population on gear, nutrition, travel, and experiences. Once they trust a brand, they stick with it, and they recommend it loudly within their communities. Word of mouth in running circles has a reach and credibility that paid media rarely matches.
Brands that show up at MSAs alongside the Great North Run aren't just buying impressions. They're entering a community at the moment it matters most.
