Sun shines on half marathon

The sun shined on runners, spectators and charities alike as the Bath Half Marathon returned to the streets of the city in a weekend celebration of sport.

A total of 7,000 runners took part in the event, including a number of world-record attempts, which are to be verified. This year’s race marked the 40th anniversary of the event, first staged in 1982, returning after a twoyear break due to the pandemic.

Race director Andrew Taylor said: “After all the problems in the last couple of years, we are glad to be back.

“This year we introduced a number of changes to the event to reduce congestion, improve the runner experience and enhance the facilities of charity partners, including a new race village in Royal Victoria Park, wave starts and a re-configured course route, which appears to have been positively received.

“The larger venue gave us the opportunity to stage a smaller community event on Saturday, including our Family Fun Run, wheelchair, walking frame races and other taster sessions from local charities and groups, followed by a free-cycle event around the perimeter of the park in the afternoon.

“We’d like to thank our runners, spectators, local community volunteers, medical team, charity partners and all other staff involved for helping deliver this weekend’s events, and we’re grateful for the continuing support of Bath & North East Somerset Council and other key stakeholders.”

The men’s race was won by Kadar Omar in a time of 1hr 5mins and 3secs, while the women’s race was won by Atsede Gidey in a time of 1:11:53.

Organisers reported that over £1million had already been raised on Justgiving before race day, with significant further funds to follow in the next few weeks and on other fundraising platforms.

A total of 71 casualties were treated by the event’s medical team, none were believed to be serious.

Entries for next year’s race, on October 15 2023, are already on sale on the event website: www.bathhalf.co.uk.