City News

Birmingham City Council, organisers of the first ever EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon have announced that just under 9,000 people have signed up to take part in the event which will be held in the city centre on Sunday 26 October, smashing the target number of entries that they set for the event.

A total of 8,927 people have signed up for the 13.1 mile road race which is also known as the Race Against Climate Change and which will start on the A34 near the Birmingham Alexander Stadium and will finish on Broad Street near Centenary Square.

Two thirds of the people that have registered for the event  are from the West Midlands region, however runners from across the country have also signed up and the event has even attracted entries from as far a field as America, Canada, Australia and Brazil.

70% of those people taking part are male and 140 people over the age of 60 have signed up with the oldest entrant aged 79 and the youngest aged 17. More than 1,000 of the runners are members of athletics clubs which are affiliated to UK Athletics.

Councillor Ray Hassall, Cabinet Member for Leisure Sport and Culture, who has himself entered the event, is delighted with the number of entries and said: “It is great news that the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon has attracted nearly 9,000 entries. We are delighted that so many people from the city and region have signed up as we have introduced this event in order to inspire local people to be more active but we are also pleased that we have attracted runners from not just across the country but also across the globe. Staging an event such as this is a great way of raising the profile of Birmingham and I hope that people from across the city will give these visitors a warm welcome.”

Ray Wiltshire from EDF Energy said:

"To reach almost 9,000 runners is a massive landmark and far exceeds our expectations for the inaugural EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon. The response has been staggering and displays a real commitment, from both the city of Birmingham and all of the individual entrants, to the Race Against Climate Change.

This is the first year of a five-year sponsorship programme so now Birmingham has been established on the UK running map, we can only see the event going from strength to strength."

More details about events for families and young people which are being staged in conjunction with the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon have been announced and details regarding traffic restrictions and diversions that will be in place on Sunday 26 October.

The EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon is organised by Birmingham City Council, sponsored by EDF Energy and supported by 100.7 heart fm, the Birmingham Mail, Aston Villa FC, Birmingham City FC and the Heart of Birmingham Teaching Primary Care Trust.