Reading Half Marathon
| Reading Half Marathon | |
|---|---|
| Date | March/April |
| Location | Reading, United Kingdom |
| Event type | Road |
| Distance | Half marathon |
| Established | 1984 |
| Official site | www.readinghalfmarathon.com |
The Reading Half Marathon is a half marathon road running event held on the streets of the English town of Reading. The race is normally held on a Sunday in March or early April of each year. It was first run on March 13, 1983, and has been run every year since except for 2001, when it was cancelled as a result of concerns over that year's outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease.[1]
The race is open to everyone from fun runner to elite athletes, and was one of the first town races to include wheelchair athletes. The 2012 race was held on 1 April, and had 16,500 places available.[2]
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's Whiteknights Campus for both the start and finish. Other early courses involved use of the Rivermead Sports Centre, on the banks of the River Thames, as start and/or finish, but recent races have used Green Park Business Park and the adjacent Madejski Stadium, both to the south of Reading, for these purposes.[1][3]
The current course starts in Green Park Business Park. The route initially proceeds eastwards through Whitley Wood to the University of Reading's Whiteknights Campus, where the 4-mile (6.4 km) marker is passed, before heading north. The route then passes close to the ruins of Reading Abbey, before traversing the town centre between miles 6 and 7. Leaving the town centre by Oxford Road and a steep climb up Russell Street, the course then loops around West Reading until mile 10. The course then heads back south to Green Park, which it circuits before finishing in the Madejski Stadium.[2][3]
The 1984 course appears to have been short of the full half marathon distance. In 1992 the course was shortened by approximately 700 metres due to a bomb-scare.[1]
Records
The current male course record is 61 minutes 19 seconds, by Patrick Makau in 2008. The female record is 69 mins 35 seconds, set by Liz Yelling in 2008. The male wheelchair record is 45 minutes 59 seconds, set by David Weir in 2006, while the female wheelchair record is 66 minutes 37 seconds, set by Shelly Woods in 2004.[4][5][6]
Dates and Winners
 |
| Year | Date | Men's Race | Women's Race | Men's Wheelchair | Women's Wheelchair | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | March 17 | Not yet run | [7] | |||
| 2012 | April 1 | Edwin Kipyego
(1:03:08) |
Alice Mogire
(1:11:01) |
Stephen Lightbown
(1:08:59) |
Kate Rowe
(3:15:35) |
[2][8][9] |
| 2011 | March 20 | Simon Kasimili
(1:03:08) |
Edith Chelimo
(1:11:22) |
David Weir
(0:48:18) |
No starters | [10][11][12] |
| 2010 | March 21 | Edwin Kipyego
(1:03:03) |
Susan Partridge
(1:12:47) |
? | ? | [13] |
| 2009 | March 29 | Kiplimo Kimutai
(1:02:46) |
Joyce Kirui
(1:12:49) |
Brian Alldis
(0:54:37) |
No starters | [14] |
| 2008 | March 2 | Patrick Makau
(1:01:19) |
Liz Yelling
(1:09:35) |
Tushar Patel
(0:54:18) |
No starters | [6] |
| 2007 | March 25 | Simon Kasimili
(1:03:36) |
Louise Damen
(1:10:47) |
David Weir
(0:46:06) |
No starters | [5] |
| 2006 | April 9 | Simon Kasimili
(1:04:51) |
Cathy Mutwa
(1:12:10) |
David Weir
(0:45:59) |
? | [4][15] |
| 2005 | March 6 | Julius Kimtai
(1:01:51) |
Cathy Mutwa
(1:13:09) |
? | ? | [16][17] |
| 2004 | March 7 | Julius Kimtai
(1:01:38) |
Galina Ignatieva
(1:14:27) |
Tushar Patel
(0:54:36) |
Shelly Woods
(1:06:37) |
[4][16][18][19] |
| 2003 | March 9 | Carl Warren
(1:06:33) |
Catherine Mutua
(1:16:42) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 2002 | March 10 | Michael Rotich
(1:03:23) |
Andrea Green
(1:16:36) |
Tushar Patel
(0:59:22) |
Paula Craig
(1:35:03) |
[20] |
| 2001 | Not run due to restrictions imposed during the 2001 outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease | [21] | ||||
| 2000 | March 12 | Sammy Bitok
(1:02:56) |
Birhane Dagney
(1:14:23) |
No starters | Carol Hutchins | [22] |
| 1999 | March 14 | Sammy Nyangincha
(1:04:18) |
Lyubov Denisova
(1:15:18) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1998 | March 15 | James Karanja Kuria
(1:03:59) |
Maria Bradley
(1:16:08) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1997 | March 16 | Spencer Duval
(1:04:50) |
Lucia Subano
(1:15:44) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1996 | March 31 | Gary Staines
(1:03:31) |
Carolyn Horne
(1:19:08) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1995 | April 30 | Baha Tulumba
(1:04:49) |
Kathryn Bailey
(1:15:31) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1994 | April 10 | Andrew Leach
(1:06:46) |
Tanya Maria Ball
(1:24:40) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1993 | March 28 | Paul Evans
(1:01:38) |
Alison Fletcher
(1:16:49) |
Ian Thompson
(0:59:23) |
Tanni Grey | [19] [1] |
| 1992 | April 26 | Steve Brace
(1:02:20) |
Scholasica Ndigingi
(1:11:36) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1991 | April 7 | Steve Brace
(1:04:28) |
Celia Duncan
(1:18:59 ) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1990 | April 1 | Steve Brace & Nick Trainer
(1:03:32) |
Angela Hulley
(1:12:21) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1989 | April 2 | Paul Cuskin
(1:04:11) |
Marina Sammy
(1:13:43) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1988 | April 10 | Paul Cuskin
(1:03:16) |
Karen Macleod
(1:14:09) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1987 | April 5 | Kevin Forster
(1:02:07) |
Paula Fudge
(1:12:45) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1986 | April 6 | Paul Davies-Hale
(1:02:39) |
Ann Ford
(1:12:09) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1985 | March 24 | Kingston Mills
(1:03:55) |
Véronique Marot
(1:12:56) |
Mike Bishop
(1:16:31) |
? | [23][1] |
| 1984 | March 25 | Michael Hurd
(1:04:39) |
Karen Holdsworth
(1:13:56) |
? | ? | [1] |
| 1983 | March 13 | Mark Cursons
(1:07:45) |
Sarah Rowell
(1:16:00) |
? | ? | [24][1] |
References
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Stan Eldon. "Reading Half Marathon". Association of Road Racing Statisticians. Retrieved 17 December 2012.
- ^ a b c "Mizuno Reading Half Marathon - Race Info". Retrieved 2011-08-22.
- ^ a b "Reading Half Marathon 2011 Course Map" (PDF). Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ a b c "Course Records". Asics Reading Half Marathon. Archived from the original on 2006-12-17. Retrieved 2007-01-24.
- ^ a b "2007 Results". Asics Reading Half Marathon. Archived from the original on 2008-04-30. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ a b "Search 2008 Results". Asics Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2008-07-09.
- ^ "Date set for Reading Half Marathon". Reading Chronicle. 2012-07-30. Retrieved 2012-07-30.
- ^ "2012 Provisional Race Results - Complete" (PDF). Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ^ "2012 Provisional Race Results - Wheelchair" (PDF). Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2012-04-22.
- ^ "Reading Half Marathon 2011" (PDF). Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ "Thousands take part in Reading half marathon". BBC News website. BBC. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2011-03-20.
- ^ "Crowds turn out to cheer Reading Half Marathon". www.getreading.co.uk. S&B media. 2011-03-20. Retrieved 2011-03-21.
- ^ "Reading Half Marathon 2010" (PDF). Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2010-03-22.
- ^ "Search 2009 Results". Reading Half Marathon. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
- ^ "Reading Half Marathon 2006 Results" (PDF). Asics Reading Half Marathon (via Internet Archive). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2006-06-13. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ a b "Julius Kimtai". Running Team Simba. Retrieved 2008-10-13. [dead link]
- ^ "Reading Half Marathon 2005 Results" (PDF). Asics Reading Half Marathon (via Internet Archive). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2005-12-26. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ "Half marathon sees troubled start". BBC News website. BBC. 2004-04-07. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ a b "28 year of the Reading Half Marathon". Reading Post. Surrey & Berkshire Media Ltd. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
- ^ Reading Evening Post, 2002-03-13, pages 23-42
- ^ "RW's Top 100 UK Races of the Year". Runners World. February 2002. Retrieved 2008-10-13.
- ^ Reading Evening Post, 2000-03-15, pages 21-36
- ^ Douglas Henning, Alan Porton, ed. (1985). Digital Reading Half Marathon Pictorial Souvenir. The Reading & Berkshire Newspaper Group. p. 24.
- ^ Eldon, Stan (2002). Life on the Run. Arthur H Stockwell. ISBN 0722334095.
External links
