| Race Date: | 14th September 2008 |
|---|---|
| Location: | Bristol City Centre |
| Distance: | 13.1 Miles |
Race history
History of the Bristol Half Marathon
The race is now an established national event with a growing international reputation. It is seen as one of Bristol’s most prestigious sporting events with the 2008 Reebok Bristol Half Marathon marking the 20th occasion on which it has been staged.
The race was first held in 1989 when it attracted 1,000 runners, by 2006 this had grown to 15,000 entries.
In 2001 the City of Bristol hosted the 10th IAAF World Half Marathon Championships alongside the Bristol Half Marathon and runners taking part were able to follow in the footsteps of British legend Paula Radcliffe and Haile Gebrselassie of Ethiopia. Thousands of people turned out to watch Paula cross the finish line in the record-breaking time of 66 minutes 47 seconds and Gebrselassie take first place in the men’s race with an impressive time of 60 minutes 3 seconds.
In 2003, local veteran Nick Rose won the ‘Legends Challenge’ – a race within a race that saw top British Olympians Steve Cram, Tim Hutchings, Hugh Jones, Steve Jones and Mike McLeod compete against each other for the first time in nearly twenty years. It is worth mentioning that Steve Cram and Tim Hutchings have continued to run in the event – when their busy schedules allow ! and Hugh Jones has also kept in touch as the official course measurer.
The race took a major step forward in 2005 when Reebok became title sponsors and established the excellent working relationship between race organisers Bristol City Council and one of the world’s leading athletics and sportswear companies.
Results from previous years
Click here to view the results of the 2006 race
Click here to view the results of the 2007 race
