Manchester Marathon

was: April 5 now: October 11

With many large city marathons, it is quite often the case that the halfmarathon option is something of an afterthought, amounting to not much more than the main event cut in half. Not so with this race. The Manchester Half Marathon has its very own route, and while this may mean a lot more work for the event organisers, it certainly makes the half a far more enjoyable event. As for the marathon itself, it claims to be the flattest major 42.2km in the UK and also offers a relay option for teams of two or four.