The atmosphere in Exeter today was absolutely brilliant as runners took to the streets for the Exeter Great West Run 2026 — and considering the extremely hot temperatures, every single participant deserves huge credit.
It was fantastic to get out and watch parts of both the half marathon and the 10K races, and the support from people across the city really helped create a brilliant community feel throughout the day — one of the reasons Exeter is such a great place for things to do during the year.
One thing that stood out straight away was what looked like a slightly updated city centre route. It was great seeing runners coming through different parts of Exeter, especially through Northernhay Gardens, which created a really impressive spectacle as competitors made their way up through the gardens passing the war memorial. From there, they headed out the other side onto Bailey Street near the back of Boots, running parallel with the High Street where the athletes had passed through a little earlier on the course. This section gave spectators a chance to see the runners from different points around the city centre. Continuing along Bailey Street past Exeter Library and onto Queen Street certainly gave the race a different feel and offered both runners and supporters a unique view of Exeter.
For many runners, having the historic Northernhay Gardens featured as part of this year’s Exeter Great West Run must have added a particularly scenic and memorable section to the course, with the route taking in some of Exeter’s best-known landmarks and historic areas along the way.
Later on, I managed to catch some of the 10K runners coming up Longbrook Street towards the back of John Lewis — and some of those front runners were travelling at incredible speed. In that heat as well, it made the performances even more impressive.
After walking further along the route via New North Road in front of Exeter Prison and towards the Clock Tower at the end of Queen Street, there were some fantastic moments that really summed up the spirit of the event, including a group of lads who had set up a hosepipe to give runners a light spray of water as they passed. With temperatures being so high, it quickly became one of the most popular unofficial refreshment points on the course, with plenty of runners moving across to cool down as they went by. In weather like this, even a quick spray of water must have been hugely appreciated by the athletes.
Further down near Exeter College and outside The Imperial, there was another unusual “refreshment station” where somebody appeared to be offering Fireball shots to runners. Whether that is standard race preparation or not is another question entirely — but it certainly added to the entertaining atmosphere around the city.
One runner that definitely caught attention was a competitor dressed as a gorilla wearing a black leather jacket. In those temperatures it looked unbelievably hot, and honestly just finishing the race dressed like that probably deserves a medal on its own.
Overall, the Exeter Great West Run 2026 looked like a huge success once again. The support around the city was excellent, the atmosphere was friendly throughout, and it was great seeing so many people out enjoying one of Exeter’s biggest annual sporting events.
I took plenty of photographs and several videos from around the course, and I’ll be uploading some of the videos to YouTube soon as well.
Very well done to everybody who took part.
Why The Exeter Great West Run Continues To Be One Of Exeter’s Best Events
The Great West Run has become one of the standout Exeter events each year, bringing together serious runners, charity fundraisers, fun runners, local supporters and visitors from across the South West. Events like this are brilliant for the city and create such a positive atmosphere throughout Exeter.
Whether you were competing, supporting friends and family, volunteering, or simply watching from the sidelines like I was, it was another memorable day for the city.
If you’re looking for ideas for Exeter events and what’s happening in the city, the Great West Run is a standout example of how much the city comes alive with major annual occasions like this.