2007 RESULTS: -
THE DATE FOR THE LEICESTER
MARATHON
IS OCTOBER 19TH 2008.
The launch of the 2008 Leicester Marathon is on Wednesday 11th June at the Town Hall Square Leicester at lunch time.
Come along and see
the new improved route.
Entry form out soon but online entries available on Runners World.
THE LEICESTER MARATHON - THE LEICESTER MERCURY SPORTS EVENT OF THE YEAR
Organisers of the Leicester Marathon said they were "over the moon" to win the Event of the Year honour at the Leicester Mercury Sports Awards. The race returned to the city last October for the first time in nearly 20 years, and was a huge success. Around 1,600 runners tackled the 13-mile half-marathon and the gruelling 26.2-mile course, and crowds flocked to various parts of the course on a glorious Sunday morning to cheer on the athletes. Race director Christian Weikert-Picker was delighted with how the day went, and is thrilled the event gained recognition at the ceremony at De Montfort Hall earlier this month. He said: "We were over the moon to win the award. We were delighted to get the invitation to the ceremony, but were naive to the fact we had won it." Weikert-Picker has big plans for the race this year, and outlined his hopes to the Mercury earlier this month. He said gaining the Event of the Year honour, which was sponsored by the Fire Station, has already given organisers "energy" towards the goal of making this year's event even better. He said: "It gives us a lot of energy looking to this year's marathon. It has already provided us with a big boost. "Being the sports event of the year means everything to us, and people are already showing interest in helping us this year. It is a win-win situation for us." Among plans for the race on Sunday, October 19, is an increase in the number of runners to 5,000, and a city-centre finish. Weikert-Picker said: "We want to treble the number of runners (to 5,000), and we're busy looking at a brand-new route which would accommodate the numbers we can foresee. "Some parts of the course last year weaved a little too much, and we need to look at that, but also we'd like a city-centre finish. "We're definitely looking to start in Victoria Park again as it lends itself to a mass start, but a city-centre finish would be great, and would also do away with the uphill mile to last year's finish." To stage the race on this scale, Weikert-Picker thinks it may cost double the £30,000 lay-out from this year. If anyone is interested in sponsorship, Weikert-Picker can be contacted on 0116 231 8431.
PHOTO AND WRITE UP COURTESY OF THE LEICESTER MERCURY.
Provisional
results now available, see side bar.
Visit Alan Worths Website
for some great pictures.
Also visit BBC
Leicester for the video of the start.
Rather
than write our own report, here is one from the Leicester Mercury:-
Organisers
of the Leicester Marathon and Half-Marathon hope to make it even bigger
and better next year. The event returned to the city's streets on Sunday
after a gap of 19 years, and first-class organisation and back-up, allied
to perfect weather, made it a memorable day, with a total of nearly 1,600
finishers crossing the line on Memorial Walk, in front of Victoria Park's
Cenotaph, in both events. "Overall, it was great for the city," said race
director Christian Weikert-Picker. "We had super weather, great energy,
an excellent start and finish area - it really did feel the part. "And
having the County Championship races for both events added to it." Weikert-Picker
said a meeting was planned in about a week's time to consider every aspect
of the event as plans are begun for next year's races. "It's really a
matter of ironing out the creases," said Weikert-Picker. "For a start,
2,000 runners was manageable. If we'd had 5,000 or 10,000, it would have
been over the top. But, yes, we'd like more than 2,000 next year." Weikert-Picker
said the "long-awaited return" of the event to the city would help to
put the city back on the map as the country's sporting capital, and was
delighted that the majority of feedback had been positive. "I had one
text from someone who called themselves 'a very happy competitor' which
just said they really enjoyed it, and that the support and marshalling
was excellent," said Weikert-Picker.
"And that was the type of comments we were getting."
Here are some more Quotes:-
What a fantastic route - brilliant. I really loved it.
Loved it so much in fact I was sight-seeing instead of beating my PB!
Big thankyou to you and all the organisers for a great race today.
Terrific organisation and support.
Just wanted to say a big well done and thank you for the Leicester City
Marathon and Half marathon on Sunday. I can honestly say that the organisation
was excellent. I ran in the half marathon and it was one of the most interesting
and enjoyable half's that I have run. The route and marshalling were excellent
and you even arranged for perfect weather! I am sure that the event will
grow and grow and from talking to fellow runners after the event it's
likely to be a sell out next year as everyone I spoke to will be entering
in 2008. Once again a very big well done and thanks for a brilliant half
marathon.
I would like to say that I took part in my first half marathon on sunday
in leicester. it was superb. the marshalling was well organised. the traffic
control was excellent. the route was really well planned out that my family
were able to support at 3 different places. it was an absolutely fantastic
experience and i look forward to entering many more in the future.
In summary, an excellent event - many congratulations to everyone involved.
The full marathon course was challenging without being overpowering. The
mix of scenery in the city and out in the villages worked very well and
the road sections in Leicester itself worked out fine. Marshalls first
class and well done on the water stations. The overwhelming message is
that people were impressed and wish/expect the race to succeed.