These days, no Londoner is surprised by the sight of a running club. Leave your home on a weekend morning and no doubt you’ll soon spot a herd of sweaty joggers pounding the pavement, whooping as they approach their destination, or chatting over coffee.
But yesterday (Sunday November 1), anyone out in Shoreditch would’ve witnessed something a little more surprising. Uber Eats launched its world-first Morsel Marathon – a 11km running route across London dedicated to culinary exploration. Instead of regular checkpoints, runners stopped by 26 of the capital’s best-loved restaurants, bakeries and eateries. And while the event might be over, there’s a way Londoners can still participate – and potentially win £262 of Uber Eats credit – keep reading to find out how.
The course was created in collaboration with Charlie Dark, DJ, poet, youth mentor and founder of Run Dem Crew, the London-based running collective which champions community, wellbeing and street exploration. “Running has never just been about putting one foot in front of the other – it’s about culture, discovery and seeing your city through a different lens,” Dark said in a statement. “The Morsel Marathon takes that ethos and dials it up to 11.”
On the route? Run Dem Crew will join a host of other London running clubs including Scrambled Legs Runners, Athene, Rep Runners and even Defected – an offshoot of house music label Defected Records which merges fitness and dance music culture.
The route began at Protein Studios in Shoreditch. From there, runners completed 26 different restaurant checkpoints, each offering free sampling bites. The restaurants offered just a taste of the huge breadth of restaurants available on Uber Eats, and spanned high street mainstays like Gail’s, Wagamama and Ole & Steen, as well as cult favourites like Tofu Vegan, Gunpowder, Sanjugo, Roti King and Elevate.
Sampling food along the way isn’t the only unique thing about the Morsel Marathon. As part of it, Uber Eats has teamed up with food redistribution charity City Harvest, and will be donating 150,000 meals to vulnerable Londoners as winter approaches.
At the end of the run, participants entered the finisher village, where they were able to enjoy DJ sets, have a celebratory drink and meet runners from other clubs.
Want to be involved? Right now, the first 100 people to complete the route and tag their Strava activity to @ubereats_uk on Instagram or @uberuk on Tiktok will win £262 in Uber Eats credit. Not only that, but from now until November 8, customers can get 26 per cent off orders over £26 at the 26 participating restaurants.
For the full route and list of 26 restaurants, visit @ubereats_uk on Instagram or @uberuk on Tiktok. Good luck!
Created in partnership with Uber Eats