Organisers Happy With First Newcastle Marathon

16 DEC2009

Organisers of the inaugural Newcastle Marathon are delighted with feedback after the event which was held in the city last month. The marathon was run over five laps of a course most of which was on paths on the open land of the Town Moor. The race was limited to 100 and was staged with the support of the runners, and other members from local clubs plus family and friends.

Race organiser George Routledge told www.northernrunningguide.com: "Firstly I would like to thank all of the supporters, marshals and time keepers that were kept very busy on the day but made the event run extremely smoothly and without a hitch. The event went very, very well and better than our expectations. The response from the competitors, their family members and fellow runners from their running clubs was exceptional on the day. Many members of local running clubs were very eager to offer their help on the day to marshal and hand out water and orange juice to competitors.

"The course was very well marked early in the morning with wooden posts and red and white tapes at every turn and corner, making it easier for the runners to know exactly were to run - although by the third lap I am sure they knew the route! The UK Athletics officials coped very easily with recording each runners race number for each of the five laps.

"The timekeepers even had sufficient time to record the numbers and times of most of the leading runners at the 5, 10, 15 and 20 mile points before returning to the finish area to time every finisher."

Spectators outnumbered the runners about two to one and were well spread out around the course to cheer on the runners from many vantage points as they watched the race unfold. This support was greatly appreciated by the participants. The event took 13 months to plan and this was evident with the changing, baggage and toilet arrangements all going smoothly.

When asked what made this event special, George Routledge identified five key points:
1 It is an event organised by marathon runners from the runner's point of view;
2 A low key runner-friendly course, good for both beginner and seasoned club runner;
3 It's a city centre location but still free of traffic;
4 It is the only UK Athletics marathon within the North East of England;
5 Low cost entry fee and the only marathon to reward finishers with a voucher for a free drink or food, as well as a quality race memento to each finisher.

When asked about plans for a repeat of the event in 2010, George said it was too early to release exact plans, but did add that going on the success of this year, a 2010 race is very probable. He did stress that once a decision was made to go ahead it would be essential to enter early as it is sure to be oversubscribed again even if there are more than the 100 places available in 2009.

www.northernrunningguide.com will let you know of plans for the Newcastle Marathon 2010 as soon as they are made available.