Suspicious vehicle – and not floods – behind safety move

‘Security fears’ were reason for Run switch

THE organisers of the Great Birmingham Run have explained why suspicions were raised about a vehicle which caused the event to be cut short.

The Cannon Hill Park and Edgbaston stretches of the course were ditched on Sunday morning – before 11,000 runners began pounding the streets.

Organisers originally cited flooding following heavy rain as the reason, but later confirmed that security concerns led to the decision.

They reduced the route to 11.07 miles, which meant the run was no longer a half-marathon.

The vehicle at the centre alert was later declared safe.

Paul Foster, chief executive at The Great Run Company, said in a statement to runners: “The route was cut short because of a suspicious vehicle parked in a restricted area near Cannon Hill Park.

“The vehicle was identified only a short time before the start of the race. This was because it was on a stretch of road that didn’t close until

of

the later in the morning. The van looked suspicious, was from out of town and efforts to trace the driver were unsuccessful. This happened while you were on the start line.

“When a vehicle is flagged like this a strict procedure is followed, involving us, as event organisers, and the police teams assigned to the event. For obvious reasons, I can’t give any details of police procedure.

“We delayed the start to try and sort the situation, and we said on the start line that delays were due to flooding.

“We were still trying to confirm the details, and, for several reasons, we don’t draw attention to a security issue unless we absolutely have to. At this point we decided to close a stretch of the route of approximately one mile.

“However, as more details came through, it became clear we had to avoid the whole of the Cannon Hill Park and Edgbaston area and so the route was shortened by approximately two miles.”

Mr Foster apologised for poor communication to runners on the day.

He

added

This

was

not

clearly communicated to the start line and we appreciate that this caused some confusion.

“We’ve measured the course since, and the actual distance you ran was 11.07 miles.”

Some runners had asked why organisers could not re-route the course and make up the lost distance at short notice.

But Mr Foster said: “Our road closure management plan is very complicated and it’s just not possible to close more roads at a moment’s notice.

“Contingency planning for this sort of incident does take place – that’s why we were able to get the race off despite the very late developing situation. That planning meant we could shut down part of the route quickly and also ascertain that the rest of the course was secure. What’s not possible is for us to have miles of roads closed just in case for what is a very rare occurrence.

“Every decision was made in consultation with our brilliant colleagues at West Midlands Police.

“Clearly for many it meant a day you’d been training for, and looking forward to, didn’t turn out as planned.

“We understand some people may be disappointed, but we will always put the safety of our participants, spectators and everyone associated with the event as our top priority.”