Bristol Half Marathon
Encyclopedia
The Bristol Half Marathon is an annual road running
event held on the streets of Bristol
, UK
. The route is at sea level
and winds through the city centre
, along the Avon Gorge
and under the Clifton Suspension Bridge
. The 2009 event took place on Sunday 6 September.
the previous year. The Bristol route was held in July and ran from the exhibition centre along the Portway to Severn Beach
, returning via the Avonmouth trading estate. The Portway return, though scenic, was hot and shared with traffic, so a modified route was devised for the following years. The Kingswood run was shortened to a half marathon in 1984/5.
was held in 1989, with just 1000 runners competing. The event has grown every year since with 12,000 competitors in 2005 and 15,000 in the 2006 edition of the race.
Notable editions of the race include 1997, when the event was titled 'The Cabot 500 Run Through History' to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Cabot
's first voyage to Newfoundland in 1497 and 2001, when the Bristol Half Marathon was also the 10th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
, and attracted competitors such as Haile Gebrselassie
and Paula Radcliffe
.
Since 2005, a sponsorship deal means that the race is now officially called the Reebok
Bristol Half Marathon. Prior to this, it was known as the BUPA
Bristol Half Marathon.
In 2007 the race incorporated the UK Athletics
team selection trial for the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
, as well as the Amateur Athletic Association championship half marathon.
Road running
Road running is the sport of running on a measured course over an established road . These events would be classified as long distance according to athletics terminology, with distances typically ranging from 5 kilometers to 42.2 kilometers in the marathon. They may involve large numbers of runners...
event held on the streets of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
, UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
. The route is at sea level
Sea level
Mean sea level is a measure of the average height of the ocean's surface ; used as a standard in reckoning land elevation...
and winds through the city centre
Bristol city centre
Bristol city centre is the commercial, cultural and business centre of Bristol, England. It is the area south of the central ring road and north of the Floating Harbour, bounded north by St Pauls and Easton, east by Temple Meads and Redcliffe, and west by Clifton and Canon's Marsh...
, along the Avon Gorge
Avon Gorge
The Avon Gorge is a 1.5-mile long gorge on the River Avon in Bristol, England. The gorge runs south to north through a limestone ridge west of Bristol city centre, and about 3 miles from the mouth of the river at Avonmouth. The gorge forms the boundary between the unitary authorities of...
and under the Clifton Suspension Bridge
Clifton Suspension Bridge
Brunel died in 1859, without seeing the completion of the bridge. Brunel's colleagues in the Institution of Civil Engineers felt that completion of the Bridge would be a fitting memorial, and started to raise new funds...
. The 2009 event took place on Sunday 6 September.
Bristol Marathon
The half-marathon had been preceded locally by the Bristol Marathon, first run in 1982; another full marathon in the Bristol area had been started by KingswoodKingswood, South Gloucestershire
Kingswood is an urban area in South Gloucestershire, England, bordering the City of Bristol to the west. It is located on both sides of the A420 road, which connects Bristol and Chippenham and which forms the high street through the principal retail zone...
the previous year. The Bristol route was held in July and ran from the exhibition centre along the Portway to Severn Beach
Severn Beach
Severn Beach is a village on the mouth of the river Severn in South Gloucestershire, England. A riverside footpath, which is part of the Severn Way, leads beneath the Second Severn Crossing bridge...
, returning via the Avonmouth trading estate. The Portway return, though scenic, was hot and shared with traffic, so a modified route was devised for the following years. The Kingswood run was shortened to a half marathon in 1984/5.
Bristol Half-Marathon
The first Bristol Half MarathonHalf marathon
A half marathon is a road running event of . It is half the distance of a marathon and usually run on roads. Participation in half marathons has grown steadily recently. One of the main reasons for this is that it is a challenging distance, but does not require the same level of training that a...
was held in 1989, with just 1000 runners competing. The event has grown every year since with 12,000 competitors in 2005 and 15,000 in the 2006 edition of the race.
Notable editions of the race include 1997, when the event was titled 'The Cabot 500 Run Through History' to celebrate the 500th anniversary of John Cabot
John Cabot
John Cabot was an Italian navigator and explorer whose 1497 discovery of parts of North America is commonly held to have been the first European encounter with the continent of North America since the Norse Vikings in the eleventh century...
's first voyage to Newfoundland in 1497 and 2001, when the Bristol Half Marathon was also the 10th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
2001 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships
The 10th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships was held on October 7, 2001 in the city of Bristol, UK, and was run simultaneously with that year's Bristol Half Marathon. A total of 200 athletes, 125 men and 75 women, from 52 countries took part.-Individual:...
, and attracted competitors such as Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie
Haile Gebrselassie is an Ethiopian long-distance track and road running athlete. He won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 metres and four World Championship titles in the event. He won the Berlin Marathon four times consecutively and also had three straight wins at the Dubai Marathon...
and Paula Radcliffe
Paula Radcliffe
Paula Jane Radcliffe, MBE is an English long-distance runner. She is the current women's world record holder in the marathon with her time of 2:15:25 hours...
.
Since 2005, a sponsorship deal means that the race is now officially called the Reebok
Reebok
Reebok International Limited, a subsidiary of the German sportswear company Adidas since 2005, is a producer of Athletic shoes, apparel, and accessories. The name comes from the Afrikaans spelling of rhebok, a type of African antelope or gazelle...
Bristol Half Marathon. Prior to this, it was known as the BUPA
Bupa
Bupa is a large British healthcare organisation, with bases on three continents and more than ten million customers in over 200 countries. It is a private healthcare company, in direct contrast to the UK's National Health Services, which are tax-funded healthcare systems and do not require private...
Bristol Half Marathon.
In 2007 the race incorporated the UK Athletics
UK Athletics
UK Athletics is the governing body for the sport of athletics in the United Kingdom. It is responsible for overseeing the governance of athletics events in the UK as well as athletes, their development, and athletics officials....
team selection trial for the 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships
The 2007 IAAF World Road Running Championships were held in Udine, Italy on 14 October 2007.-Individual:-Team:-Individual:-Team:...
, as well as the Amateur Athletic Association championship half marathon.
Past winners
Key:| Edition | Year | Men's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
Women's winner | Time (h Hour The hour is a unit of measurement of time. In modern usage, an hour comprises 60 minutes, or 3,600 seconds... :m Minute A minute is a unit of measurement of time or of angle. The minute is a unit of time equal to 1/60th of an hour or 60 seconds. In the UTC time scale, a minute on rare occasions has 59 or 61 seconds; see leap second. The minute is not an SI unit; however, it is accepted for use with SI units... :s Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... ) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1st | 1989 | 1:08:36 | 1:20:05 | ||
| 2nd | 1990 | 1:11:22 | 1:18:47 | ||
| 3rd | 1991 | 1:07:51 | 1:18:14 | ||
| 4th | 1992 | 1:04:08 | 1:16:05 | ||
| 5th | 1993 | 1:02:45 | 1:15:00 | ||
| 6th | 1994 | 1:06:12 | 1:14:47 | ||
| 7th | 1995 | 1:06:12 | 1:22:40 | ||
| 8th | 1996 | 1:04:16 | 1:13:56 | ||
| 9th | 1997 | 1:04:52 | 1:18:36 | ||
| 10th | 1998 | 1:06:36 | 1:20:08 | ||
| 11th | 1999 | 1:05:44 | 1:17:37 | ||
| 12th | 2000 | 1:04:09 | 1:13:28 | ||
| 13th | 2001 | 1:05:09 | 1:14:56 | ||
| 14th | 2002 | 1:05:29 | 1:16:42 | ||
| 15th | 2003 | 1:02:51 | 1:12:20 | ||
| 16th | 2004 | 1:04:18 | 1:13:40 | ||
| 17th | 2005 | 1:03:30 | 1:12:53 | ||
| 18th | 2006 | 1:03:38 | 1:12:35 | ||
| 19th | 2007 | 1:03:01 | 1:10:35 | ||
| 20th | 2008 | 1:05:48 | 1:14:18 | ||
| 21st | 2009 | 1:03:25 | 1:12:02 | ||
| 22nd | 2010 | 1:03:08 | 1:12:02 | ||
| 23rd | 2011 | 1:03:20 | 1:13:32 |
- All information taken from This is Bristol
External links
- Official Website
- BBC race coverage
- bristolhalfmarathon.co.uk (unofficial Bristol Half Marathon website, Internet ArchiveInternet ArchiveThe Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
)