More than 12,000 people to take to the streets as new chapter begins for GetPRO Bath Half
· 2025 edition of prestigious event is being organised by London Marathon Events for the first time
· Top British distance runners to compete as event is also the official British Athletics trial race for World Road Running Championships Half Marathon
· Inaugural GetPRO Bath Miles presented by Bath College to welcome families in a series of one-mile events around Royal Victoria Park
A new chapter for the GetPRO Bath Half – the city’s largest sporting and community event – begins on Sunday (16 March) when more than 12,000 people will take part in the 2025 edition.
The prestigious event, the largest charity fundraising event in south-west England, is being organised for the first time in 2025 by new owners London Marathon Events (LME), the UK’s leading mass participation events organiser.
New to the event in 2025 is the inclusion of British Athletics trial races for the World Road Running Championships Half Marathon, which has attracted some of the country’s best endurance athletes to Bath.
Among the talent taking part is triathlon superstar Jonny Brownlee and Olympic track runner Jess Warner-Judd.
In total, 12,500 people are predicted to participate in the sold-out event, with the first participants setting off at 10:30 from Royal Victoria Park. The two-lap route heads west along the north of the River Avon, hugging the river on the south side and looping back towards the city at Great Pulteney Street. Participants will run back past Royal Victoria Park for the second lap, before finishing on Royal Avenue just past the historic Royal Crescent. Visit the event website for full details of the route, and for information on road closures in the city on Sunday.
The Official Starter of the event will be Karolina Pakenaite, a student at the University of Bath, who will also take on the 13.1 miles. Karolina, who was born with Usher syndrome – a rare degenerative genetic condition affecting sight, hearing, and sometimes balance – will attempt next year to become the first deaf-blind person to climb Mount Everest.
Also new for this year is a family-friendly curtain-raiser to the main event – the GetPRO Bath Miles presented by Bath College. On Saturday 15 March, people of all ages and abilities will enjoy running, walking, jogging or wheeling around a one-mile route in the grounds of Royal Victoria Park. Groups of under-11 and under-14 girls will get the event underway at 10:45, followed by under 11 and under-14 boys. Concluding the day are two family waves, at 11:30 and 12:00. There will be activities on offer throughout the day on Middle Common in the park, provided by Bath College. These include face painting, circus skills and other free family-friendly activities. The Event Village opens at 9:30 and closes at 15:00.
Hugh Brasher, Event Director for London Marathon Events, said: “The GetPRO Bath Half is one of the UK’s best mass participation events. It has a long history of inspiring people to be active, raising millions of pounds for charity and showcasing the incredible city of Bath. We’re proud to be the new organisers of the event and are looking forward to welcoming more than 12,000 participants, many of whom will be raising vital funds for charities in the Bath and North Somerset area and across the UK.
“New for this year are the GetPRO Bath Miles presented by Bath College, offering events for all ages and abilities while the British Athletics trial race will provide spectators around the city the chance to see some of the best distance athletes in the country and one of our great Olympic triathlon gold medallists in Jonny Brownlee.”
Here more from Hugh here:
In addition to Brownlee, the elite men’s race also features the Welsh duo Jake Smith and Dewi Griffiths, who have both represented Great Britain at past World Half Marathon Championships, and in the elite women’s race Abbie Donnelly, sixth in the 2024 European Championships Half Marathon, and Lily Partridge, the UK’s eighth-fastest female marathoner of all time, are among those who will line up with Warner-Judd.
The top two male and top two female athletes at the GetPRO Bath Half will be selected to represent Great Britain in the half marathon at the 2025 World Athletics Road Running Championships (date and location TBC) provided they are eligible for selection and have achieved the UK Athletics qualifying time.
The 2025 GetPRO Bath Half is being organised by London Marathon Events in conjunction with Run 4 Wales.