RBC Race for the Kids FAQs

RBC Race for the Kids is Great Ormond Street Hospital Children’s Charity's (GOSH Charity) annual flagship mass participation event, which raises money for Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH). RBC Race for the Kids is a family festival and 5k family fun run, taking place in London’s Hyde Park on Saturday 7 October 2023. Thousands of people of all abilities and ages will join the race to help beat childhood cancer by walking, wheeling, jogging or running their way to the finish line. It will be a fun-filled day of music, entertainment, great food, games, face painting and much more.

The course is five kilometres, which is approximately three miles. Participants can walk, run, jog, wheel or push a pushchair around the course whilst taking in views of London's iconic Hyde Park.

Yes, you can take part as a team or individually. Entering as a team is a fun way to get involved. Why not get some friendly competition going? Please make sure that all children are registered.

The event will see people of all ages and abilities take part. From babies in pushchairs to grandparents and wheelchair users, everyone is welcome to walk, run, jog or wheel their way around the course. You need to be 16 years or over on event day to register as an individual or a team. Children aged 15 or under must take part with an adult and can only be added to a team by a registered adult and will require consent from a parent or guardian.

Adult registration to the race ranges from £18– £25 depending on when you sign up. Children under 16 go free, but ALL children must be registered to take part on the day.

Included in your registration fee is your race pack (including a t-shirt, if requested), a special RBC Race for the Kids wooden medal and all the fun entertainment and activities in the festival village. However, any donations for the activities are very welcome!

Yes, even though kids go free, all children taking part in the event must be registered so we can send them a t-shirt and race number, which is a health and safety requirement for them to take part in the event.

Registration fees are non-refundable.

If the event is delayed or cancelled due to any situation beyond our control, e.g., adverse weather conditions, we will try to arrange for the event to take place at a later date but cannot guarantee this will happen. No registration fees are refundable under these circumstances.

If the event is cancelled by GOSH Charity due to concerns, or due to restrictions being imposed by the Government, regarding COVID-19 or its variants, which means the event is unable to take place as originally envisaged, we will try to arrange for the event to take place at a later date, but cannot guarantee this will happen. If we are unable to rearrange another date, there are two options available for you:

1. Gift your registration fee – we would be incredibly grateful if you would consider your registration fee as a donation to GOSH Charity.
2. Request a refund – if the above option does not work for you, we would offer the opportunity to request a refund of your registration fee.

If GOSH Charity is able to rearrange a date and you are unable to attend, the above two options are also available for you.

The event village opens at 8.30am. Registration and race pack collection will be open between 8.30am and 9.30am. The race starts at 10am with all the exciting entertainment until 2pm.

We work closely with the Metropolitan Police and other organisations and have a range of measures in place to ensure your safety and security.

We work with London Marathon Events (LME) to deliver the event. LME’s highly trained teams work alongside police officers, the emergency services and event organisers. LME’s teams include highly trained stewards and security dogs, with very experienced handlers, who patrol the crowds, but please be assured the dogs are friendly – and welcome a pat!

Every steward on and around the route can communicate with the Event Control Room, where we work closely with the police and other emergency services via radio and other channels should they need support.

Unless the forecast shows extreme weather conditions, this year's RBC Race for the Kids will still take place come rain or shine! We will ensure it is as accessible as possible and take all the necessary steps to ensure it is safe and enjoyable – whatever the weather. Please do dress appropriately; wearing layers under your race t-shirts if you think you will be cold. Water taps will be supplied to fill up your water bottles, as well as first aiders along the route to ensure the race is safe, accessible and enjoyable for all.

Yes, your pet pooches are very welcome to come along to the event!

No, bikes are unfortunately not allowed. Scooters or balance bikes are fine, provided the rider is accompanied by a parent or guardian at all times. Any bikes that are needed for accessibility are also fine.

Yes, there will be first aiders, including paramedics, as well as security staff. Water will also be provided. The event is designed to be fun and open to all abilities, so we encourage people to stay at their own pace and enjoy the day. We also ask runners to provide emergency contact details for family and friends on the back of their running number in case of an emergency and that all children have a wristband (provided in the race pack) with parent or guardian contact details.

We will provide baggage storage for our participants in the festival village. Please note all items are left at the owner’s own risk.

There are no changing facilities so please come ready to race! Baby change facilities are available in the accessible toilets.

The route has been specially designed to be accessible to all and will take you through London’s iconic Hyde Park on its paved pathways. Please note that some of the post-race entertainment will take place on the grass areas of the park.

There will be plenty of free family friendly activities and entertainment on the day including a bubble artist, arts and crafts, bungee trampolines, face painting and a climbing wall! We will also have performances from the Butlin's Skyline Gang and Spirit Young Performers Company.

Refreshments will be available to purchase throughout the day on the event site. Water will also be provided at the finish line.

Want to be more environmentally friendly? All water at the finish line is provided in cans, to avoid single-use plastic. But you can also play a part by bringing your own refillable water bottles. There will be water points within the festival village where you can refill your bottles.

We are trying to make this year’s RBC Race for the Kids event our greenest one yet and are introducing various changes to help us achieve this.

When crossing the finish line, participants will be rewarded with wooden medals, which have been sourced sustainably and can be recycled afterwards. We have no plastic bottles on site and will be encouraging people to bring refillable water bottles and to use the water stations on site.

To prevent unnecessary waste, we will not be printing any event information. This will be sent to participants electronically instead. We are also providing virtual goody bags at the end of the race, instead of handing out physical ones.

For more information about what we are doing to make the event the greenest one yet, please email us at raceforthekids@gosh.org.

Yes, as you cross the finish line, you’ll be given a wooden medal.

You should receive your race pack approximately 1 – 2 weeks ahead of the event depending on when you signed up.

• If you registered before Tuesday 29th August your pack will be sent second class on Tuesday 5th September and should arrive 2-3 working days after this.
• If you register between Tuesday 29th August and Sunday 10th September your pack will be sent second class on Monday 18th September and should arrive 2-3 working days after this.
• If you register between Monday 11th September and Wednesday 27th September October your pack will be sent first class on Wednesday 4th October so should arrive 1-2 working days after this.
• If you register between Thursday 28th September and Thursday 5th October your race pack will be available for collection from the event site and we will send more information regarding this closer to the event date.

To prevent waste at this year’s event, an official RBC Race for the Kids t-shirt will not automatically be included in your race entry packs. For anyone who has taken part in RBC Race for the Kids before, we would love to see as many people as possible re-using their old t-shirts. However, you can still request a new t-shirt for this year’s event if you would like one.

If you have already registered and did not request a t-shirt, but have changed your mind, please email raceforthekids@gosh.org.

Yes. You might find that you'll be able to raise a lot more money if you wear your company's t-shirt or even fancy dress. If it helps to raise more funds, and it's safe to run in it, then please feel free.

If you would like to change your t-shirt size, please bring your unworn t-shirt to the race pack collection tent on the morning of the event, where we will exchange it for a different size. Please note that the race pack collection tent will be very busy on event day so please allow extra time to do this.

Our children's t-shirt sizes start at age 3 –4 years old. Children under 3 will therefore not receive a t-shirt. All children over 3 years old will receive a t-shirt provided you requested one at the point of registration.

If you were expecting to receive a race pack in the post and it has not yet arrived, please email us at raceforthekids@gosh.org. Depending on when you registered, we will either get another one sent out to you or we will arrange a new pack for you to collect on the day.

We do not set any minimum fundraising targets, but we would love you to raise as much as you can. Your registration fee contributes towards the cost of holding the event, but by fundraising on top, you will be joining the race to help beat childhood cancer.

Over the last 13 years, RBC Race for the Kids has raised more than £9 million for the children and families at Great Ormond Street Hospital. This year, we are hoping to raise over £1 million.

We are dedicated to building a better future for the seriously ill children who arrive at Great Ormond Street Hospital every day from across the UK and the world. All the funds raised from RBC Race for the Kids 2023 will go towards the development of new cancer care facilities at Great Ormond Street Hospital. In the event that costs change, or the needs of the hospital or patients change, we reserve the right to redirect funds for use against the hospital’s most urgent needs.

If the event is cancelled by GOSH Charity due to concerns, or due to restrictions being imposed by the Government, regarding COVID-19 or its variants, which means the event is unable to take place as originally envisaged, we will try to arrange for the event to take place at a later date, but cannot guarantee this will happen. If we are unable to rearrange another date, there are two options available for you:
1. Gift your registration fee – we would be incredibly grateful if you would consider gifting your registration fee as a donation to GOSH Charity.
2. Request a refund – if the above option does not work for you, we would offer the opportunity to request a refund of your registration fee.

If GOSH Charity is able to rearrange a date and you are unable to attend, the above two options are also available for you.