The Bath Half marathon, the city’s largest charity fundraising event postponed for a second time running.

The Bath Half marathon gets 16/17 thousand entrants each with over a thousand volunteers and 30-40 thousand spectators. It’s the largest charity fundraising event in the South-West region, raising around 2.5 million pounds a year for approximately 135 charities. The team behind the Bath Half marathon are here to make a difference to the heart of bath and improve the public’s overall fitness as you’re more at risk to COVID-19 if you’re unfit.

Running is the nation’s favourite sport with over 7.5 million people who run on a regular basis, which equates to 25 thousand people in the Bath area. Events like the Bath Half marathon provide a gateway for new runners. People get inspired by the race and see it as a lifestyle challenge. For many, the marathon becomes a focus of people’s yearly fitness.

For running as a sport to grow, the races need to continue. The Bath Half marathon was postponed last autumn to September in light of a second lockdown seeming likely and has now been postponed again. Before the race can go ahead, decisions need to be made around social distancing and whether runners will need to have proof of negative COVID tests or vaccinations. Decisions like these probably won’t be made by the government until the end of June which doesn’t give them enough time to plan the event. Without certainty, they can’t proceed. 

Data says that outdoor sports activities are low to minimal risk so it’s a big shame the Bath Half marathon have to postpone again. However, they will definitely be returning to their usual March date next year where they’ll be celebrating their 40th year.

Words by Lauren Forester