REFLECTIONS ON THE GROWTH AND SUCCESS OF THE BRISTOL HALF MARATHON
by UK Athletics coach for endurance Bud Baldaro
19 years old and going from strength to strength…...
Established in 1989 the Bristol Half Marathon has well and truly come of age. From humble beginnings starting and finishing on Clifton Down the event is now established at the heart of the city and indeed British road running. It is clearly destined to belong to the “Best of British”.
Its 19 year history has seen it grow from a relatively minor event to the third largest road race in the United Kingdom. Indeed its development has reflected world trends in road running i.e. from races dominated by local club runners to a near overwhelming monopoly of victory by runners from the great East African nations of Kenya and Ethiopia.
Along the way Bristol has welcomed the world when in 2001 it staged the wonderful IAAF World Championships. A day when the great Gebreselassie failed by a mere 3 seconds to better 1 hour for the 13.1 mile distance. Those of us who were fortunate to be there will long remember the excitement generated by Paula Radcliffe’s world championship record run as she stormed round in 66m 47sec – much to the delight of the magnificent Bristol crowd.
That year proved the pivotal point in the race’s development!
The council’s bold decision to stage a mass race in conjunction with the IAAF World champs was well rewarded with an entry of 4,500 (progress indeed from its initial year when less than 2,000 had entered).
Within 2 years the numbers had gone into five figures as runners sought a coveted Bristol place. Three years later the numbers had increased by a further 50% as 15,000 entered in a matter of weeks causing the organisers to close the doors early. A necessary tactic also this year, as once again a full complement has been achieved in a very short time.
The only question now is what can Race Director, Georgette Van Hoof and Technical Director, Ray Jaeckels do to push numbers to giddy heights to rival the Great North Run? Certainly they are well on their way.
Recognition of Bristol’s progress has been granted in the decision of UK Athletics to use Bristol as the trial race to select the Great Britain and Northern Ireland team to compete in the 2007 World Road Championships in Italy.
Progress indeed since Steve Brace travelled over the bridge from Wales to win the inaugural Bristol Half Marathon in 1989 in a time of 68m 36sec. That day he was joined by fellow Welsh international Bronwen Cardy-Wise who took the women’s race in a shade outside 80 minutes.
The next two years saw local victories by Wayne Buxton and in 1991 by Bristol’s great Olympian, Nick Rose who ran a course record of 67m 51sec.
The Women’s event saw gradual and distinct improvement as times tumbled. Zina Marchant running 78m 47sec; which was then improved by a further 30sec by Exeter’s Cath Newman. The following year the flying kiwi, Lesley Morton wearing the colours of Westbury, took over 2 min off the record to win in 76m 05sec. Further progress as Karen Macleod ran exactly 75min before GB international Danielle Sanderson improved to 74m 47sec in 1994.
And in the men’s sector Bristol had truly arrived on the world scene as the years 1992 – 94 were dominated by Kenyans running intimidatingly quick times each year. Charles Tangus’s 62m.45sec in 1994 remains the fastest time ever achieved in the Bristol half; helping to put in perspective the staggering achievement of Ethiopia’s Gebreselassie in the World Champs where he ran almost 3 minutes quicker !!.
British runners claimed the title in the next 5 out of 6 years with Basildon’s Nick Wetheridge the quickest in 64m.09sec but the time of the Kenyan domination was just around the corner. Seven out of eight victories since 1999 and seven of the leading ten times is testimony to their stranglehold on the event.
A near mirror image is shown in the women’s races with Kenyans winning four times in the past five years and Miriam Wangari’s time of 72min 22sec, run in 2003, remains the quickest on the course. Interestingly that year she won by just 11sec from Britain’s Mara Yamauchi who has since gone on to take the Commonwealth 10,000m bronze (Melbourne 2006). Mara is but one of thousands of females to have gained from the pioneering spirit of the Bristol race organisers.
The increasing numbers of women has been a key mark in the evolution of the competition. From days of male domination it is wonderful to see a situation developing where it is almost 50:50% so Bristol could well become the trail blazer in this area too.
Certainly the city has responded magnificently to the issue of involving both the business sector and local charities. With the significant amount of money raised each year the event can fully claim to serve aspects of the whole community and last year no less than £1mill was raised.
The Osborne Clarke Business Challenge that was launched in 2004 has done wonders to involve effectively and healthily the business community and offer an additional dimension to the race. Last year no less than 92 company teams participated
A more recent pioneering trend has seen the inception of the Reebok Workshops aiming to give everyone the chance to be as well prepared as they can in their quest for full fitness. Bristol has welcomed both current GB internationals and coaches and the likes of former World record holder, now better known as a TV presenter, Steve Cram.
These workshops will be continued this year commencing on May 2 at Great Weston Runners club. This perfectly encapsulates the policy of showing to first timers that clubs are welcoming and not intimidating.
In its desire to become “Best of British” and support UK athletes at all levels Bristol was one the very first to offer British only prize money – a move welcomed by the athletes who make numerous sacrifices in their quest to reach international levels. Yet Bristol was keen to recognise that it was first and foremost a community competition and maintained its structure of first local prizes plus age category awards as well as team prizes. Not surprising that the Bristol half has maintained its popularity. From humble beginnings as its entry this year demonstrates; the Bristol half has become a truly international event that serves the community wonderfully.
“Run Bristol” is a catch phrase that will resound round runners lips for years to come as it moves towards its twentieth year.
