More than 3,500 runners filled the streets of Middlesbrough town centre yesterday (Sunday 1st March) to take part in the annual half marathon.
Middlesbrough Half Marathon’s charity of the year, the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS), has raised £7,500 so far through the donations of the running community during this event.
The half marathon course started in the Centre Square, outside the Town Hall and MIMA gallery. The course then headed through Albert Park, past the Riverside Stadium, home of Middlesbrough FC, and then back to the Centre Square.
During the event, main roads were closed to ensure a safe and enjoyable running space for all taking part. Sections of roads such as, Albert Road, Linthorpe Road and Corporation Road were reopened at 1pm on Sunday.
The winner was Ryan Mcleod who finished in a time of 1hr 7min for Morpeth club.
In addition, 132 children completed the Junior RunThrough race which consisted of a 0.67km course.
Many charities raised funds through the runners on the day, making it an important event for everyone there.
This year, GNAAS had around 50 runners there to raise money for the charity.
Jordan, the events officer for the GNAAS said: “It’s absolutely amazing that we have reached out to new people who have never previously supported us before.”
The service is 100% charity funded and do not rely on the NHS to deliver the service. This means that events such as the Middlesbrough Half Marathon are very important to them to keep the service running.
Jordan said: “So far, we are sitting on about £7,500 which is amazing, but we do usually see a spike on race day.
“I would love to see us hit £10,000 which I’m sure with the number of runners that we have is doable.”
