Miles Ahead, Fully Covered: Travel Insurance for Marathon & Ultra Runners
From the buzz of international city marathons to the challenge of ultra-distance mountain races, running events abroad are unforgettable experiences. But unlike shorter-distance events, not all travel insurance policies will cover you for marathon or ultra marathon running.
That’s where Yellow Jersey steps in. Our marathon travel insurance is built specifically for endurance runners. We understand what it takes to train, travel, and race—and we’re here to protect your plans every step of the way.
Many generic travel policies exclude races over a certain distance or fail to include cover for race-related medical treatment and cancellation. That’s why travel insurance for marathon runners needs to be as tough as your training plan.
Ask yourself two questions about your current travel insurance –
Does your travel insurance exclude cover for marathon or ultra marathon running?
Does it include cancellation cover if you’re unable to run due to illness or injury?
Travel Insurance for Marathon Running & Ultra Events—Protection That Goes the Distance
Just like you wouldn’t enter a race unprepared, you shouldn’t travel without the right cover. From city marathons to 100km trail ultras, Yellow Jersey’s marathon running travel insurance is designed to support runners taking part in events of all distances.
We’ve made it simple: our policies clearly state what’s covered. No confusing exclusions or assumptions.
Whether you’re chasing a PB in Berlin, running for charity in New York, or tackling a 100 mile trail race in the Alps, we’ll keep you protected before, during, and after your event.
MARATHON TRAVEL INSURANCE VS GENERIC TRAVEL INSURANCE
Standard travel insurance often excludes marathon and ultra marathon events, particularly if they’re timed, competitive, or exceed a certain distance. This can leave you exposed to significant costs if you’re injured, fall ill, or need to cancel your trip.
Here’s why our ultra marathon travel insurance goes further:
Race Participation Cover: Entered a marathon or ultra? We include cover for taking part in organised running events. Races over 10k are typically excluded in travel insurance, especially the basic options on price comparison sites.
Emergency Medical Care: If you’re injured during your race, we cover emergency treatment, hospital stays, and repatriation. This includes the cost of mountain rescue if you are competing in a mountainous region such as the Alpes.
Trip Cancellation: Can’t travel or take part due to illness or injury? Our cover helps recover your costs including race entry fees.
Travel Delay & Disruption: Delays happen. We offer protection against the knock-on costs of missing your race due to travel issues.
Running Kit Cover: Expensive running watch? Cover it with us as a valuable for your trip.
Peace of Mind for Support Crews: Travelling with a partner or family? We offer options to cover them too.
With Yellow Jersey, you’re covered from your front door to the finish line—no matter how far you run.
Annual or Short Term
A Travel lots, pay less
By spreading the risk over 12 months, we can reduce the rates for you while still providing cover for every weekend trip or week-long golfing holiday you enjoy abroad.
Our annual policies can also include winter sports coverage, so purchasing annual travel insurance before your summer golf trip could save you the hassle of finding another insurer before your winter skiing trip.
B No commitment
For those who don’t travel so frequently or don’t want the commitment, we also offer short-term, single-trip policies. Whilst these are obviously more expensive pro-rata, they offer great flexibility and the same cover afforded to regular travellers.
Discounts
With discounts available for Families and Couples, there is no need to purchase separate annual travel insurance if you’re not all going to be golfing. If you travel with your partner, we offer them a 50% discount.
For a family policy with two adults, your first child will be added for half the price, and any more will be added for free. The same discount is available for single-parent families where you pay for one adult.
If you are organising a trip with your cycling club, our group discount allows parties of 5 – 10 people to travel on one policy with a 5% discount.
Since active people rarely confine themselves to a single discipline, our annual policies also include free winter sports cover.
Marathon running travel INsurance Cover summary
Marathon running travel INsurance Covers
This table shows the most we will pay for each insured person, per incident, per section and the policy excess payable unless we have agreed to something different.
Section 1
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Cancellation or Curtailment Charges | £2,500 to £10,000 | £90 |
| Race/Entry Fees | £750 | NIL |
| Sports activity interruption benefit | £50 per day up to £500 | NIL |
Section 2
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Emergency Medical & Other Expenses | £10 million | £90 |
| Dental | £250 | NIL |
| Sports equipment repatriation | £250 | NIL |
Section 3
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Hospital Benefit | £50 per day up to £500 | NIL |
Section 4
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Loss of limbs or sight | £20,000 | NIL |
| Permanent total disablement | £20,000 | NIL |
| Death benefit (age 18 or over) | £10,000 | NIL |
| Death benefit (under age 18) | £5,000 | NIL |
Section 5
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Departure Delay (after 12 hours) | £50 per 12 hours up to £250 | NIL |
Section 6
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Trip Abandonment (after 24 hours) | £2,500 to £10,000 | £90 |
Section 7
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Missed Departure / Missed Connections | £1,000 | £90 |
Section 8
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Baggage (excluding sports equipment) | £2,500 | £90 |
| Single item, pair or set limit | £500 | NIL |
| Valuables limit | £250 | NIL |
| Spectacles, sunglasses limit | £150 | NIL |
| Delayed Baggage (after 12 hours) | £250 | NIL |
| Sports Equipment Hire (after damage or 12-hour delay) | £500 | NIL |
Section 9
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Sports Equipment - Owned or Hired (formal rentals only) | £500 | £90 |
| Sports Equipment Upgrade (optional) | £1,000 to £5,000 | £90 |
Section 10
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Gadget Cover (max 5 items) | £2,000 | £90 |
| Laptop single item limit (incl. MacBooks) | £2,000 | NIL |
| Other single gadget limit | £1,000 | NIL |
Section 11
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Lost/Replaced Documents (e.g. passport, lift pass) | £500 | £90 |
| Personal Money | £250 | NIL |
Section 12
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Personal Liability | £2 million | £250 |
| Rented Accommodation Limit | £100,000 | £250 |
Section 14
| Section/Benefit | Insured up to | Excess |
|---|---|---|
| Car Hire Excess Cover When Abroad (optional) This cover reimburses the excess you’re charged if your rental car is damaged or stolen. This can include damage to bodywork, interiors, tyres, windscreens, or keys. For clarity, if your rental agreement doesn’t cover it, neither do we — we only cover the excess. |
£5,000 | £90 |
Welcome to our marathon and ultra running TRAVEL insurance FAQs
We can answer all your questions related to our travel insurance. If you can’t find the answer you are looking for after looking through the FAQs, you can call us Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. We typically answer the phone in under 30 seconds
When buying your holiday insurance from us, add marathon running, ultra running, or whatever your sport as an activity, and we’ll automatically add the correct sports pack to your cover. Each sports pack contains cover for lots of different sports, so make sure to have a read through and see all of the activities you are covered for. Any standard travel insurance policies exclude organised running events, especially those over 10km. Marathons and ultra marathons are often categorised as high-risk or endurance sports, so you need a policy that explicitly includes them – like ours.
Yes, our policy includes cover for ultra marathon events, including trail ultras, mountain ultras, and multi-day endurance events, provided they are non-professional and non-sponsored. You just need to let us know what activity you will be doing on your holiday, and we’ll apply the correct sports pack.
We cover officially organised running events of all distances. Running the 300k La Petite Trotte à Léon in the Alpes? Rather you than me, but we’ll cover you.
Yes, cover is available for multi-day events.
We cover all ultra and fell running up to 4000 meters. If you are entering an event that will take you higher than this get in touch, and we will see what we can do for you.
Yes, If you’re training while abroad, even if not taking part in a race, you’re still covered for recreational running. Just add your activity when taking out your policy. If you have a few training trips booked ahead of a race, you can take out an annual travel and cover all of your trips for the whole year.
If you fall ill or are injured before you travel and are medically certified as unfit to participate, we’ll cost of your trip and race entry fees, provided your condition was not pre-existing and undisclosed.
We offer disruption cover which can help if a travel delay or cancellation causes you to miss the start of your holiday, and our policies include event entry fee protection if something prevents you from taking part in your event, including travel disruption.
Yes. Our policies can be extended to include non-participating travel companions, so everyone travelling with you is protected.
Absolutely. Whether you’re heading to an Abbott World Marathon Major or a small local trail event, we’ve got you covered as long as you’re participating as an amateur.
This policy is for amateur runners only, but if you need cover as a professional our business team can help. We have been providing professional athlete insurance to cyclists for ten years so know our stuff. Use our contact info at the top of this page to get in touch