The Great Manchester Run (styled as the ''Simplyhealth Great Manchester Run'' for sponsorship purposes from 2017) is an annual run through
Greater Manchester
Greater Manchester is a metropolitan county and combined authority area in North West England, with a population of 2.8 million; comprising ten metropolitan boroughs: Manchester, Salford, Bolton, Bury, Oldham, Rochdale, Stockport, Tam ...
(namely
Manchester
Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
,
Trafford and
Salford). It has consisted of a
10k run since it was established in 2003, and a
half marathon since 2017. The 10k race is the largest of its type in Europe. Usually held in mid-May, it is the third-largest mass participation running event in the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...
, behind the
Great North Run and the
London Marathon. It is part of the
Great Run
Great Run is a series of road running events around the United Kingdom, which includes the Great North Run. Great Run is a part of The Great Run Company, which was launched by retired athlete Brendan Foster. The group specialises in road running ...
series of
road races in the UK. It was formerly sponsored by
Bupa
Bupa , legally British United Provident Association Limited, is an international health insurance and healthcare group with over 38 million customers worldwide.
Bupa's origins and global headquarters are in the United Kingdom. Its main countrie ...
(2003–2014) and
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets, trading as Morrisons, is the fifth largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom. As of 2021, the company had 497 supermarkets across England, Wales and Scotland, as well as one in Gibraltar. The company is headq ...
(2015).
Course
The 10k course starts and finishes in
Manchester city centre. It starts on Portland Street and heads southwest, out of the city centre and down the
Chester Road. After entering
Trafford it leaves this road and passes
Old Trafford stadium. The course loops around
Trafford Park, passing the
''Coronation Street'' set and the
Imperial War Museum North. It then returns to Manchester city centre along the Chester Road, finishing by the
Beetham Tower in
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile ...
.
The half marathon course consists of the 10k course with a 7-mile detour. The detour begins after nearly a mile, when it turns east onto the
Mancunian Way. It heads down the length of the motorway section and continues for another mile along the
Old Ashton Road. It then turns north and heads to the
Etihad Stadium
The City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, England, also known as the Etihad Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is the home of Premier League club Manchester City F.C., with a domestic football capacity of 53,400, making it the 6th-largest ...
, before turning back and heading back to the point where the detour began. It then continues along the remainder of the 10k course.
2007–08
The 2007 race had an estimated 28,000 participants.
Briton
Jo Pavey won the women's event while Kenyan
Micah Kogo won the men's, beating the UK all-comers' record by four seconds with a finishing time of 27:25 minutes. Celebrity participants included
Kelly Holmes,
Amir Khan and members of the cast of ''
Coronation Street''.
The following year saw almost 25,000 runners complete the course. Pavey successfully defended her title at the event while
Rose Cheruiyot
Rose Jelagat Cheruiyot (born 21 July 1976) is a runner from Kenya. She competed in the 5000 metres at the 1996 Summer Olympics and the 2000 Summer Olympics.
She is married to Ismael Kirui. The couple completed an unusual double, when they both won ...
and
Bezunesh Bekele
Bezunesh Bekele Sertsu (born 29 January 1983) is an Ethiopian long-distance runner who specializes in cross-country running and marathons.
Biography
She was born in the Ethiopian capital of Addis Ababa. She took a number of circuit wins on the ...
took second and third place respectively.
Austria
Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...
n
Günther Weidlinger took the title in the men's race. Unusual for a distance dominated by
African runners, the top three finishers in the men's race (which also included
Ukrainian
Ukrainian may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Ukraine
* Something relating to Ukrainians, an East Slavic people from Eastern Europe
* Something relating to demographics of Ukraine in terms of demography and population of Ukraine
* So ...
Serhiy Lebid and
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
's
Mustafa Mohamed
Mustafa Hassan Mohamed ( so, Mustafa Xasan Maxamed, ar, مصطفى حسن محمد) (born 1 March 1979) is a Swedish long-distance runner who mainly competes in the 3000 meter steeplechase.
Personal life
Mohamed was born in 1979 in Mogadishu, ...
) were all European competitors.
2009 and Great City Games
The race was upgraded to IAAF Gold Label Road Race status and the 2009 edition was expanded to include the
Great City Games. Around 33,000 runners signed up for the 10 kilometres race and both events were contested on 17 May.
Previous 10 km winner
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie ( am, ኀይሌ ገብረ ሥላሴ, ''haylē gebre silassē''; born 18 April 1973) is an Ethiopian retired long-distance track, road running athlete, and businessman. He won two Olympic gold medals and four World Champions ...
stated that he wanted to regain his UK All-Comers' record, which was broken by Micah Kogo's event winning run in 2007. Despite a strong first half of the race, Gebrselassie failed to break the record after he was impeded by wet and windy conditions.
Vivian Cheruiyot won the women's race in 32:01 minutes but conditions also slowed her time, much to her dissatisfaction.
Brian Alldis and
Shelly Woods
Rochelle "Shelly" Woods (born 4 June 1986) is an elite British Paralympic athlete from the suburb of Layton in Blackpool, Lancashire. Woods is a T54 athlete who competes as a wheelchair racer in medium and long-distance events. She has compe ...
won their respective men's and women's wheelchair races.
The addition of The Great City Games brought much attention to the Great Run event. Comprising a number of
150 metres
150 metres is a sprint event in track and field. It is a very rarely contested non-championship and not an IAAF-recognised event. Given the proportion of standard running tracks, the event typically incorporates a bend when held in a track and f ...
races to be run on the streets near Manchester's
Deansgate
Deansgate is a main road (part of the A56) through Manchester City Centre, England. It runs roughly north–south in a near straight route through the western part of the city centre and is the longest road in the city centre at over one mile ...
, Olympic Champions
Usain Bolt
Usain St. Leo Bolt, , (; born 21 August 1986) is a retired Jamaican sprinter, widely considered to be the greatest sprinter of all time. He is the world record holder in the 100 metres, 200 metres, and 4 × 100 metres relay.
An eight-ti ...
and
Christine Ohuruogu
Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu , MBE (born 17 May 1984) is a British former track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres, the event for which she is a former Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion.
The Olympic champion in 2008, and ...
accepted invitations to compete.
Other competitors included
Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie,
Ivory Williams
Ivory Williams (born May 2, 1985) is an American sprint athlete who specializes in the 100 meters.
Born in Jefferson County, Texas, Williams attended Central High School in Beaumont, where he was a two-sport athlete. As a wide receiver and ...
, British Olympians
Marlon Devonish and
Donna Fraser, and a number of other British and Jamaican athletes. Bolt suffered minor leg injuries after crashing his car near
Kingston, Jamaica
Kingston is the capital and largest city of Jamaica, located on the southeastern coast of the island. It faces a natural harbour protected by the Palisadoes, a long sand spit which connects the town of Port Royal and the Norman Manley Inte ...
, but after cancelling a track meet and resuming training he stated that he would be fit to compete. Bolt completed the distance in a world best time of 14.35 seconds while Ferguson-McKenzie won the women's race in 16.54 seconds.
Bolt runs 14.35 sec for 150m; covers 50m-150m in 8.70 sec!
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
(2009-05-17). Retrieved on 2009-05-17.
Past winners (10K)
Key:
References
;General
Tergat and Adere win inaugural Great Manchester Run
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
(2003-05-26). Retrieved on 2009-10-26.
*Powell, David (2004-05-24)
O'Sullivan underlines her Olympic claims
''The Times
''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' ( ...
''. Retrieved on 2009-10-26.
Tadesse and Adere win, as numerous national 10km records fall in Manchester
IAAF
World Athletics, formerly known as the International Amateur Athletic Federation (from 1912 to 2001) and International Association of Athletics Federations (from 2001 to 2019, both abbreviated as the IAAF) is the international governing body fo ...
(2006-05-21). Retrieved on 2009-10-26.
;Specific
External links
Great Manchester Run website
{{Athletics in the UK
10K runs
Sports competitions in Manchester
Athletics competitions in England
Recurring sporting events established in 2003
Athletics in Greater Manchester
2003 establishments in England
Annual sporting events in the United Kingdom
Annual events in England