With coronavirus putting a temporary pause on all mass participation sporting events worldwide, we were delighted to finally welcome back our runners to the Therme Manchester Marathon, which took place on Sunday 10^th October. For the first time, both the Manchester Half and the Therme Manchester Marathon took place on the same day with over 40,000 runners crossing the start line. And what a sight it was!

We saw runners of all ability and ages (spanning from age 18 up to 75), all with different personal reasons for wanting to tackle the course. We welcomed over 14,000 runners challenging themselves to their first marathon, as well as thousands of runners chasing a new PB and others fundraising for vital charitable courses. In fact, a tremendous £6.1million was raised for hundreds of charities across the UK.

As we followed our runners embark upon their intense training plans, and witnessed their sheer determination to cross over the finish line, we started thinking…What is the story behind their marathon? Is it to tick a marathon off their list? Is it to beat their time? Is it to raise money for charity? Or is it a preparation for something much bigger?

Having spoken to a number of our runners both on race day and after, a lot of you gave the same reasons: it is a way for you to challenge yourself both physically and mentally, push past your limits, meet new people, gain a great medal, run with either friends or family, or to help charities through fundraising.

Some of you reached out to us with your stories and they really made us smile, so we wanted to share them with you all. Remember, we always love to hear from you so get in touch with us on social media or by email if you also want to share your story! #ManchesterMarathon

Heather Sellars places as 2^nd Female Finisher in her first marathon!

“Tough times don’t last, but tough people do”. The last sentence Heather heard from her husband as the starting gun went off at the Therme Manchester Marathon start line. Living locally in Manchester, Heather lives with her husband and twin sons (aged 2), having recently retired from being an elite triathlete so she could start her family. As the boys started to grow older, Heather was looking to get back into exercise, and find a sport where she could balance training around her home and family life. Deciding returning to triathlon might be too time-consuming, Heather turned her sights to a new challenge – the Therme Manchester Marathon.

With the race being so local, her family were out in force to cheer her on and with such a spectacular atmosphere propelling her forward, Heather stormed across the finish line to take 2^nd Female Finisher position in a time of 02:45. What a rewarding and emotional victory for your first marathon! There’s no rest for Heather though, as she is already looking ahead to her next marathon and the challenge of beating her PB to reach under 02:40.

The Tedosaurus team were pure dino-mite

The Tedosaurus Group are an inspirational team of 5 friends – Gavin Sisson, Owen Tomlin, Colin Davis, Ste Mitchell and Alan White – who have committed themselves to the challenge of completing multiple marathons dressed as dinosaurs and a unicorn, all for a very important reason. The team are raising money for Ted, who at age 4 months old became extremely sick and struggled to ingest proper food. After a number of tests, Ted was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour at just 7 months old.

Now 5 years old, Ted has undergone 14 operations to try shrink the tumour, and has since been registered as blind and with affected hearing due to the tumour’s side effects. Despite this, Ted continues to push through every day with a smile on his face.

To date, the roarsome Tedosaurus team have run 32 marathons, both in the UK and abroad, but all agreed that nothing compared to the atmosphere of the Therme Manchester Marathon. Describing it as a ‘truly magical day’, the team said the support received from our local Mancunians was unrivalled with people cheering them, asking for selfies and highs 5’s, and singing dinosaur songs at them. Riding on such a high wave of support has meant that the team have already signed up to the Therme Manchester Marathon on Sunday 3^rd April 2022.

A truly memorable proposal!

Rhianna Bird and Aral Jamalfar are two truly incredible people. Both health professionals, the couple Rhianna and Aral use their extensive experience and passion for helping people to volunteer in hospitals in Gambia, Africa. Sadly, they had to put their work abroad to a temporary halt due to the pandemic, so they decided to train instead for the Therme Manchester Marathon in order to fundraise for the charity ‘Give For Gambia’, where the money will be used to buy vital medical equipment for hospitals.

Not only did they cross over the finish line together in a fantastic time of 04:29, but Aral made the achievement taste even sweeter when he got down on one knee at the finish line to ask Rhianna to be his wife. With a resounding YES! Rhianna and Aral gave us one of our greatest highlights of the day.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

No matter what the reason is, your stories are our stories, your achievements are our achievements, and your passion is the reason we continue to hold our events!