Great Manchester Run event biggest in Europe
SOME 35,000 runners took part in the Great Manchester Run, Europe’s biggest 10K mass participation running event.
Thousands of spectators lined the route yesterday as a carnival atmosphere took hold of the city during the race.
The run, shown live on BBC Two, produced the 300,000th finisher in the race which has become a traditional fixture in in the city’s calendar since the first one 14 years ago.
Ethiopian stars Kenenisa Bekele and Tirunesh Dibaba won the men’s and women’s events, respectively.
Bekele came home in 28.08 ahead of Wilson Kipsang in 28.15, with David McNeill third in 28.39 after the hotly-tipped Zane Robertson fell away to finish fourth.
Bekele, aged 33, said: “It’s great to be here in Manchester, it’s a great place with great people. Everything was fantastic and I’m happy to be here. It was a great race and I’m happy with the win.”
Dibaba, meanwhile, picked up where she left off after taking time off to have a baby – her victory from Edna Kiplagat coming in her first race since 2014.
The 30-year-old’s winning time of 31.16 could not be bettered by Kenyan Kiplagat nine seconds behind, with Diane Nukuri third in 31.49.
Dibaba said: “I felt a bit nervous [before the race] but I’m happy with my result.
“I did not expect this time; I just wanted to win. I didn’t know what was going to happen so I had no clue about the time.”
Runners were entertained by bands situated along a route which took in famous sights such as Manchester United’s Old Trafford stadium, the famous cobbles of Coronation Street’s set and the 47-storey Beetham Tower skyscraper.
World boxing champion Anthony Crolla led home his ‘Crolla’s Army’ – a specially selected group of runners who all benefited from training and guidance provided by Crolla.
There were also a host of celebrities on the route, including former New Order star Peter Hook, Sunderland and England defender Michael Gray, and Coronation Street stars Jack P Shepherd and Tina O’Brien.
England manager Roy Hodgson was the honorary starter of the event, ahead of England’s friendly with Turkey at the Etihad Stadium later that day.
The Great Manchester Run completed a memorable weekend of sport which began with the Co-operative Bank Great CityGames Manchester on Friday and continued with the junior and mini Great Manchester Run on Saturday morning.
