Trot Down To The UK's Oldest Half Marathon

17 JUN2010

The oldest half marathon in the UK gets underway this weekend, in the small town of Freckleton in Lancashire. This year's race has received a record number of entries and Sunday's race looks to be better than eve with the sun forecast to be shining.

The race first took place on June 19 1965, inspired by Ron Hill's running of the 1964 Olympic marathon. The inaugural race had just 53 entrants, but most exciting for the local runners was the inclusion of Ron Hill in the race, who won with a time of 65:44. Ron holds the course record to this day, with a time of 64:45, set four years later.

The half marathon was an addition to the Freckleton Club Sports Day and was held at the same time as these other activities until 1982, where the race was so popular that it got moved to the following day. The race has grown in popularity since then and has, this year, attracted a record 750 entrants.

The day will also include a two mile family fun run, which will follow part of the half marathon course.