Thousands take part in AJ Bell Great Birmingham Run
Thousands tuned out for the AJ Bell Great Birmingham Run 10k and half marathon at the weekend.
Runners set off from Broad Street and Centenary Square to see the sights of the city centre and south Birmingham.
This year’s Great Birmingham Run featured a new and improved route that celebrated the best of the city, including the historic Jewellery Quarter, the Mailbox, Grand Central, St Martin’s at Bullring, Cannon Hill Park and Edgbaston Stadium.
Runners taking on both distances enjoyed a grandstand finish at Smithfield in Southside – home to 2022 Commonwealth Games beach volleyball and 3×3 basketball.
A new world record was celebrated when 23-year-old Tom Bracey became the first male to complete a half marathon wearing ski boots. The Jewellery Quarter resident’s official finish time of 02:47:11 will now be verified by Guinness World Records.
Pc Jess Davies completed the half marathon in her Birmingham City shirt to honour murdered six-year-old Blues fan Arthur Labinjo-Hughes and to raise funds for the Arthur’s Angels charity.
More than £10m has been raised for good causes at the Great Birmingham Run since 2017 and charities will once again benefit from the efforts of the thousands running for good causes this year.
First male finisher in the 10K distance was Chris Thompson in a time of 00:29:27, with Rachel Gifford the first female finisher in a time of 00:36:30.
First male in the half marathon was Omar Ahmed in a time of 01:05:23. First female in the half marathon was Birmingham runner Hayley Carruthers in a time of 01:21:11.
Charlie Musson, brand and PR director at AJ Bell, said: “Birmingham has been a fantastic host city for our first race as sponsor of the AJ Bell Great Run series. It’s great to see so many runners achieving personal milestones and raising money for good causes and the sunshine has added to the feel good feeling. We’re looking forward to coming back for many years to come.”
Paul Foster, chief executive of the Great Run Company, added: “What a wonderful weekend we’ve had in Birmingham. I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who came out to cheer, support, volunteer and of course, to those who ran, for making this year’s AJ Bell Great Birmingham Run so memorable.”
