The date has been announced for this year’s Leicester Marathon, which will take place on Sunday 26th October, with the race starting from Victoria Park at 9:15am.
The annual event combines multiple running opportunities, encompassing a 26.2 mile race, a half-marathon and a series of shorter runs including the Cummins Relay Challenge, the Ted Toft Mile for children, and a one mile fun run that anyone can sign up to. By including the additional races organisers hope that a wide range of people in the community will participate, regardless of their age, previous athletic experience, or ability.
Race Organiser Christian Weikert-Picker said: “We hope this will encourage people who have never engaged with the sport to try it out. Running is a great way to get fit and make friends – I personally see it as a real stress buster”.
The 26.2 mile route will see runners taking in the sights of Leicester and the surrounding area, and get cheered to the finish line by crowds of family, friends and spectators. Mr Weikert-Picker commented on the uniqueness of the route, saying: “Leicester is a greener city than people expect, there are many points of interest and some beautiful countryside.” 2,500 runners took part in 2013 and this figure is expected to increase to at least 3,000 for this year’s race.
Organisers are also hoping that last year’s fundraising total of £75,000 will be beaten, and are actively encouraging people to run as part of a charity team in order to raise money for some excellent causes. The incentives include no running entry fee, runner’s packs and even recovery food at the finish line.
So far, the race partners are LOROS Hospice, St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospital and Bamboozle Theatre Company, but there are still spaces for other charities to get involved.
The people of Leicester can help out by volunteering at the event, as well as showing their support on the day. Christian explained that “Whilst there tends to be a high volume of spectators on the Golden Mile, we are trying to encourage people to come out and cheer all the way along the route. A marathon is really tough and we want the community to come up with great ideas to lift the spirits of the athletes through the most physically demanding points of the race”.
To find out more about the marathon and register to run, visit www.leicestermarathon.org.uk
