The Reading Half Marathon (currently known as the Sage Reading Half Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is a

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

road running Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road. This differs from track and field on a regular track and cross country running over natural terrain. These events are usually classified as long-distance ac ...

event held on the streets of the English town of

Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of Letter (alphabet), letters, symbols, etc., especially by Visual perception, sight or Somatosensory system, touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process invo ...

, first held in 1983. The race is normally held on a Sunday in March or early April of each year. The race is open to everyone from fun runner to elite athlete, and was one of the first town races to include wheelchair athletes. Due to the

coronavirus pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identified ...

, the race was cancelled in 2020, and the 2021 race was held in November. The 2022 race will be held on 3 April.

History

The race was first run on 13 March 1983, and has been run every year since, with the exceptions of 2001, 2018, and 2020. From 2003 to 2018 the race was organised by

Sweatshop A sweatshop or sweat factory is a crowded workplace with very poor, socially unacceptable or illegal working conditions. Some illegal working conditions include poor ventilation, little to no breaks, inadequate work space, insufficient lighting, o ...

, the chain of running equipment shops founded by

Chris Brasher Christopher William Brasher CBE (21 August 1928 – 28 February 2003) was a British track and field athlete, sports journalist and co-founder of the London Marathon. Early life and education Born in Georgetown, British Guiana, Brasher went to ...

in 1971. From 2019 the race was organised by Goldline Events, who also organise the Ikano Bank Robin Hood Marathon Events and goGIRL (Brighton & Hove). Since 2018, the race has been sponsored by

Sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

, the publishers of accountancy software. Previously headline sponsors have included

Digital Digital usually refers to something using discrete digits, often binary digits. Technology and computing Hardware *Digital electronics, electronic circuits which operate using digital signals **Digital camera, which captures and stores digital i ...

, Asics,

Mizuno () is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company, founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno. Today, Mizuno is a global corporation which makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear for badminton, baseball, boxing, cycling ...

and

Vitality Vitality (, , ) is the capacity to live, grow, or develop. More simply it is the property of having life. The perception of vitality is regarded as a basic psychological drive and, in philosophy, a component to the will to live. As such, peopl ...

. The 2019 race was held on Sunday 17 March, with more than 14,000 runners taking part. The 2020 edition of the race was cancelled due to the

, with all entries automatically transferred to 2021 and all registrants given the option of transferring their entry to another runner or to 2022.

Course

The Reading Half Marathon has had several courses over its life. The inaugural race in 1983, and several subsequent races, used

University of Reading The University of Reading is a public university in Reading, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1892 as University College, Reading, a University of Oxford extension college. The institution received the power to grant its own degrees in 192 ...

Whiteknights Campus Whiteknights Park, or the Whiteknights Campus of the University of Reading, is the principal campus of that university. The park covers the area of the manor of Earley Whiteknights, also known as Earley St Nicholas and Earley Regis. Whit ...

for both the start and finish. Other early courses involved use of the South Reading Leisure Centre and the Rivermead Sports Centre, on the banks of the

River Thames The River Thames ( ), known alternatively in parts as the The Isis, River Isis, is a river that flows through southern England including London. At , it is the longest river entirely in England and the Longest rivers of the United Kingdom, se ...

, as start and/or finish, but recent races have used

Green Park Business Park Green Park is a business park near junction 11 of the M4 motorway on the outskirts of the English town of Reading. The park opened in 1999, and is currently owned by Mapletree. It covers and comprises 19 office buildings arranged around the ...

and the adjacent

Madejski Stadium The Madejski Stadium (currently known as the Select Car Leasing Stadium for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Reading. It is the home of Reading Football Club, who play in the EFL Championship. It also provides the finish for the Rea ...

, both to the south of Reading, for these purposes. The current course starts in Green Park Business Park, which it loops before proceeding eastwards through

Whitley Wood Whitley Wood is a suburb to the south of Reading in the English county of Berkshire. Geography Whitley Wood is bounded to the north by an ill-defined boundary with the suburb of Whitley, to the east by a ridge of high ground carrying the roa ...

to the Whiteknights Campus, which lies between the and markers. The route then heads north, passing close to the ruins of

Reading Abbey Reading Abbey is a large, ruined abbey in the centre of the town of Reading, in the English county of Berkshire. It was founded by Henry I in 1121 "for the salvation of my soul, and the souls of King William, my father, and of King William, m ...

and through the Abbey Gateway, before traversing the town centre between the and markers. Leaving the town centre by Oxford Road and a steep climb up Russell Street, the course then loops around West Reading until the marker. The course then heads back south to the Madejski Stadium, where it finishes within the stadium.

Records

The current male course record is 61 minutes 19 seconds, by

Patrick Makau Patrick Makau Musyoki (born 2 March 1985) is a runner from Kenya. He is a former world record holder in the marathon—His time of 2:03:38, run at the 2011 Berlin Marathon, was the world record for two years, until it was beaten by Wilson Kipsa ...

in 2008. The female record is 69 mins 35 seconds, set by

Liz Yelling Elizabeth Anne Yelling (née Talbot; born 5 December 1974, Welwyn Garden City, Hertfordshire) is a British long-distance runner currently based in Poole, Dorset. She is the sister-in-law of fellow British runner Hayley Yelling through her marri ...

in 2008. The male wheelchair record is 45 minutes 59 seconds, set by David Weir in 2006, while the female wheelchair record is 65 minutes 17 seconds, set by Mel Nicholls in 2015.

Winners

Notes

References

External links

Reading Half Marathon official websiteReading Half Marathon Forums
at realbuzz.com
Interactive Map of Reading Half MarathonVideo report on the 2011 half-marathon
{{European half marathons Half marathons in the United Kingdom

Half Marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

Athletics competitions in England 1983 establishments in England Recurring sporting events established in 1983