Welcome to the Gloucester City Marathon and Half Marathon, two fantastic events that run side by side in the beautiful and historic city of Gloucester, in the South West of England.
The Gloucester City Marathon is a new marathon, having had its inaugural year in 2016, and is a city marathon with a difference. Firstly, the Gloucester City Marathon is put together by athletes, Andy and Andrea Maxted through their company, Trimax Events, so you know this has been organised with the runner in mind.
The real beauty of this challenge is that although it is a city marathon, beginning and ending at Gloucester Quays, it is partially run on flat, rural lanes and alongside the river Severn. This way it gives participants the chance to try for a personal best whilst enjoying a spectacular sightseeing tour.
Taking place in the summer, Gloucester City Marathon gives the perfect excuse for friends and family to cheer runners on whilst making a visit to the historic cathedral, the pop-up events at the expo village, or simply enjoying some refreshments in a cafe or bar at the regenerated waterfront area.
The Gloucester City Half Marathon
For those runners who love the idea of running at the event, but who a either not yet ready to tackle the full distance or simply want a shorter run, we would like to announce the introduction of the Gloucester City Half Marathon; a brand new event for 2017.
Like its sister event, the half marathon starts and ends at Gloucester Quays and follows much of the same route as the longer race but takes a shorter route across the rural lanes between Staverton and Sandhurst. The shorter race will officially begin at the same time as the marathon but starts may be staggered to accommodate numbers.
The Route
From the Gloucester Quays start, runners make their way through the town centre at Southgate, Westgate, and Northgate Streets where they will make their way around Gloucester Cathedral before heading north towards Kingsholm, home of Gloucester Rugby. They then make their along Escourt Road and north towards Cheltenham passing through Churchdown at the five mile mark.
After passing the Jet Age Museum and Gloucestershire Airport, the runners move through Staverton and out onto the beautiful, quiet, flat country lanes.
This is where the route becomes truly perfect, allowing runners to take in the sights as they pass through Boddington and Hardwicke before looping round towards Wainlode and the stunning tranquility of the river Severn.
Runners will follow the Severn’s course back into Gloucester emerging from Sandhurst Lane into busy, urban streets and back through to the Gloucester Quays where the historic, Victorian, industrial architecture has been regenerated into a fabulous modern centre for shops, cafes, and restaurants.
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