More running pedigree beckons for 0161 as this year’s Adidas Manchester Marathon has been officially selected as the host of the 2025 English Championships.
Set to take place on Sunday, 27 April, which is now the UK’s largest day of running in recent history with the London Marathon taking place simultaneously down the other end of the country, Greater Manchester is once again set to transform into one of the most popular races in Europe.
Known as favourite personal bests given its ‘fantastically flat’ nature, an estimated 36,000 runners are set to descend on the city centre and beyond, with countless more expected to spectate.
With the Manchester Marathon officially being selected for this year’s national championships by England Athletics, there’s even more reason to line the streets.
We are delighted to announce that England Athletics have selected us to host the English Championships 2025! 🏆We’ll be welcoming some of the best endurance athletes to the iconic 26.2-mile course in April.
As per an official update on the race website, the elite competition is due to see more than 50 athletes compete for titles, including 22 participants currently in the Men’s Category and 29 in the Women’s.
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The line-up at present includes 2024 Men’s winner Adam Clarke, who finished the event in a ridiculous 02:16:29 last April and, fingers crossed, Women’s champion Charlie Arnell is expected to defend her title this year too.
Arnell, who won on her marathon debut, completed the Women’s race last year in a stunning 02:37:12 – a feat she trained for all whilst full-time for the NHS clinical systems team.
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Simply staggering stuff.
The fierce competition between the elite waves will begin first thing on event day before the hordes of runners eventually follow in their wake, and we’re sure it’s going to be an absolute blockbuster.
As well as hosting the English Championships, this year will also mark the first new finish line in some time as the 2025 Manchester Marathon as the home stretch has been changed from the familiar tarmac of Talbot Road.
Last year’s Manchester Marathon was one of the biggest ever, not only seeing record numbers of participants but nearly £30 million raised for the local economy and £3.7m for charities alone.
A member of The Manc or two may or may not also be taking part again this year – by which we mean they definitely are – so watch this space and we hope to see you cheering on the sidelines.
Public places for this year’s marathon have well and truly sold out but you can still register your interest for 2026 HERE.
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 -
20th January 2025 
