ABP Southampton Marathon today announced new routes for this year’s ABP Marathon and Half Marathon, taking place on Sunday 24th April to help improve traffic flow around the city during the event.
Organisers have been working Southampton City Council to ensure the route is still an exciting showcase of the city, whilst also allowing better flow of traffic whilst the event takes place.
First launched in2015, the event has grown a reputation for being one of the most inclusive and fun community highlights in the running calendar. It is also one of the most varied with routes passing through urban city landmarks, coastal views, and Southampton parks.
Since its early beginnings, the event has seen over 58,000 participants, with a grand total of approximately 750,000 miles covered across the ABP Marathon, Half Marathon, 10KRace and Fun Run. The event has raised over £2 million for local charities and over £1.3 million is brought into the city each year to help boost the local economy.
The route changes have been made to keep Thomas Lewis Way open an important arterial road into the city which for the last 3 years has been closed during the event.
Race Director Chris Rees explained reasons for the changes, “ABP Southampton Marathon has become such a celebrated milestone in the City’s calendar. It is areal moment for the people of Southampton, our communities, and brings new people to the city to experience what a vibrant and amazing place Southampton is. We appreciate that not everyone wants to run so it is important we maintain good flow of traffic around the city.”
Alastair Welch, Director of ABP Southampton, says: “There is a real buzz in the air about this year’s event, and, as always, we really appreciate the fantastic support and enthusiasm of local residents. We are very excited to see so many people signing up, including those running for the first time, on what is a really positive occasion for our city.”
This year’s event is back in its traditional spring location in April and organisers are looking forward welcoming 10,000 runners including lots of first timers to this exciting regional event.
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