History has been made following the 2024 Manchester Half Marathon as the annual event had a record-breaking year and reminded us yet again why we love it so much.
Started back in 2016, the Manchester Half isn’t even a decade in yet but it’s already one of the biggest dates on the Manc sporting calendar and draws in huge crowds every year; in fact, this year was the largest ever – at least in terms of runners anyway.
That’s right, this year’s Manchester Half Marathon saw a record 24,000 participants pound the pavement on Sunday, 13 October 2024 and even more spectators line the streets even on a chilly autumn day.
As well as the most runners in the history of the MCR Half, the 13.1-mile race also managed to raise a whopping £1.4 million (including Gift Aid) for charity. Incredible stuff.
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Be it for the official charity partners – Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK and The Christie – or other national and local organisations passionately picked by the participants themselves, they didn’t just give it their all out on the course, they made a huge difference too.
Even better still, as well as some famous faces taking part, the 2024 event also saw three new course records set by three incredible individuals.
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Sean Frame smashed the best-ever time in the Elite Wheelchair category, finishing in just 48:24; meanwhile, PUMA athletes Jack Rowe and Lucy Reid both ran personal bests of 1:02:12 and 01:09:13, respectively.
Unreal times and there were plenty more unreal people out there too.
5 people who blew us away at yesterday's #MCRHalf 🔥
Everyone took on the Manchester Half for a reason, and we couldn’t be prouder of the amazing stories we saw yesterday.
With an increase of approximately 45% more sign-ups this year, it’s safe to say that the 2024 Manchester Half Marathon was a bumper year for the race and we expect similar scenes in 2025.
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Andrew Smith, CEO of Manchester Half event organiser, Human Race, commented: “We’ve just delivered the largest half marathon Manchester has ever seen, and I couldn’t be prouder of everybody involved, including our amazing volunteers.
“I’ve spoken to as many finishers as possible, and the feedback has been amazing. It’s a massive credit to Trafford, and the whole of Greater Manchester, that people are travelling from all over the UK to experience this atmosphere.
“Over a million pounds for charity and rising is particularly special for me and the team, but all the credit for that must go to our incredible participants who have been training and fundraising for months. Today has set a very high bar for next year, but we’re already planning how we can top it.”
Well done to everyone who took part; we’re all super proud of you and we hope the legs have recovered by now. You can sign up for 2025 HERE – see you next year!
Details released of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners while Mayor
Emily Sergeant
Details of Andy Burnham’s meetings with Manchester City owners during his tenure as Mayor of Greater Manchester have been released.
In case you need bringing up to speed on the situation a little first, Manchester City was found guilty back in September all of its charges related to the Premier League’s financial rules over a nine-season period, and on top of that, was also found guilty of the majority of charges in relation to its failure to co-operate with the League’s investigation.
According to the Premier League, the independent Commission found that Manchester City had arranged so-called ‘sham’ commercial deals with a number of its sponsors.
These were part of a disguised funding scheme – with those sponsors only required to pay a portion of the relevant sponsorship fees.
The remainder was then funded by Abu Dhabi United Group Investment & Development Ltd (ADUG), which owned the club.
The Commission also concluded, as quoted by the Premier League, that the club had ‘made concerted efforts to stop and frustrate the Premier League investigation’.
Within the past week or so, it has since come to light that now-Prime Minister Andy Burnham had dealings with Manchester City during his tenure as Greater Manchester Mayor, and Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA) has now issued a public statement, giving details on the matter and what these ‘dealings’ entailed.
A spokesperson for GMCA confirmed that Burnham had a ‘formal meeting’ with Man City Chairman, Khaldoon Al Mubarak, back in October 2021.
The statement reads in full: “In October 2021, Andy Burnham, in his role as Mayor of Greater Manchester, had a formal meeting with Khaldoon Al Mubarak at the UK Government’s Global Investment Summit arranged by the Department for International Trade.
“In his capacity as Mayor, he was a guest of Manchester City FC at home matches on a small number of occasions, including attending Vincent Kompany’s testimonial match in September 2019, where he met the Chairman informally in the stands. These have been declared in the usual way.
“Also during his time as Mayor, representatives of Greater Manchester sporting clubs would routinely join business delegations as part of Mayoral international visits.
“This included representatives from Manchester United travelling to Austin and Dublin, Lancashire Cricket Club joining a delegation to India, and Manchester City FC staff supporting visits to China and Japan.”
Featured Image – Lauren Hurley / Number 10 Downing Street (Press Image via Flickr)
Sport
Multiple arrests made for ‘tragedy chanting’ and police officer assault as Man City defeated Liverpool
Emily Sergeant
Multiple people were arrested over the weekend as Manchester City defeated Liverpool in a Premier League clash.
Merseyside Police have confirmed that a total of 10 people were arrested during the policing operation at Liverpool’s home ground of Anfield as they hosted Manchester City on Sunday 11 October.
One man was arrested on suspicion of assaulting a police constable, five were on suspicion of tragedy chanting, one on suspicion of being drunk and disorderly, two for affray, and one on suspicion of throwing items onto the pitch.
Police are now appealing to the public, and are particularly looking to speak to witnesses of the assault of the officer.
At around 6:35pm, as fans left the stadium, a police officer sustained a ‘serious facial injury’ during the arrest of a man on Anfield Road, and was subsequently taken to hospital for treatment but is now recovering at home.
Investigating officers are now conducting enquiries, speaking to witnesses, and analysing CCTV and camera phone footage.
Chief Inspector Leanne Hobin said it’s ‘extremely disappointing’ that an officer has sustained a serious injury while carrying out their duty.
“I hope the arrests send a clear message and act as a deterrent to others,” Chief Inspector Hobin continued. “Anyone who engages in this abhorrent behaviour risks ending up in custody and getting a criminal record.
“Despite the actions of a few, the overwhelming majority of the 60,000 fans in attendance behaved well and I want to thank them for their co-operation.”
Manchester City ended up defeated Liverpool 3-0 during the Premier League clash at Anfield.
Danny Jones -
16th October 2024 
