The UK’s Top Running Cities & Toilet-Friendly Routes

The UK’s running boom meets an urgent toilet problem.

The UK is in the midst of a running boom. 

More than half a million more Brits are running this year than last[1], and the 2026 London Marathon ballot hit a record 1,133,813 entries[2], proving more people than ever are keen to lace up and join the running hype.

But there’s an awkward truth every runner knows: sometimes, the run runs you.

Runner’s trot affects over 1 in 3 runners[3], yet it’s rarely planned for — namely when it comes to toilet access on route. So, we set out to find how trot-friendly some of the UK’s most popular running routes really are, discovering that in 90% of cases, toilets are few and far between.

How far to be from a loo on a long run 

With 7.1 million adults running in the UK[1], that’s an estimated 566,667 that may get caught short, as runner’s trot affects one in three people. That’s some risky running. 

To understand how far runners should be from a toilet if they do experience runner’s trot, we spoke to Conor Duncan, Senior Physiologist at the Manchester Institute of Health and Performance. He advises:

“For longer runs, I’d keep the first 20 to 30 minutes ‘safe’ by being close to a toilet. If you’re heading out for runs beyond 60–90 minutes or know you will be using gels, it’s still a good idea to plan routes where you know there are toilets available along the way, just in case.”

“If you are someone who experiences runner’s trot, I’d always think about how long it would take you to reach a toilet rather than how far away you are. Staying within five to ten minutes, particularly at the start of a run, is a good rule of thumb. That’s why looped routes past home, cafés, or pubs tend to work best.”

Conor stresses that preparation is key: “Have a consistent pre-run setup, give yourself time to go beforehand, and stick to foods you know agree with you. Race day isn’t the time to experiment.”

The UK’s top running cities & their loo-less loops

Using Google search data for a range of relevant running phrases, we’ve uncovered the cities with the highest estimated percentage of runners. 

Bristol tops the list with the highest level of running-related searches, closely followed by Leeds and then London.

The UK’s top-ranking running cities are:

1. Bristol

2. Leeds

3. London

4. Edinburgh

5. Reading

6. Derby

7. Stone-on-Trent

8. Swansea

9. Newcastle upon Tyne

10. Coventry 

We analysed the top Strava routes across the UK’s top running cities, according to our data. Based on expert advice that runners should stay within a 5–10 minute reach of a toilet and running at roughly a 2km per hour running pace, we defined a “trot-safe” radius.

On that basis, our analysis found that 90% of routes fall short, with no toilet within every 2km per hour.

Collectively, these routes have been run by around 141,404 runners, meaning an estimated 47,130 may have been caught short mid-run. That’s thousands of runners potentially in a hurry… and not for the finish line.

Victorian Plumbing’s Trot-Safe Runs

To help runners plan without the mid-run panic, we’ve created a set of Strava routes with a toilet stop roughly every 10 minutes across the UK’s top five running cities: Bristol, Leeds, London, Edinburgh, Derby, Newcastle and Coventry.

You can view the routes and give them a whirl with peace of mind on the Strava app here. 

Happy trotting! 

Methodology:
To understand which UK cities are most actively engaging with running, we analysed search behaviour across the 30 most populous cities in the UK.

We looked at a range of running-related search queries, including: “run clubs near me”, “running routes near me”, “parkrun near me”, “how to get into running”, “how to run 5k”, and “running routes near a public toilet”.

We then gathered search volume data for each query and city, before calculating per capita search interest to account for population size. This allowed us to fairly compare enthusiasm for running across locations of different scales.

Finally, we ranked each city from most to least engaged with running-related activity, based on overall search intensity relative to population.

Sources:

[1] Sport England

[2] London Marathon Events

[3] WebMD

[4] Mirafit