The adidas Manchester Marathon is back for 2024 and the region is already getting set for thousands of Mancs to take on the annual challenge.
Not only the second-largest race of its kind in the UK but the fourth most popular in all of Europe, the Manchester Marathon welcomes more than 30,000 runners every year and even more spectators from all over the continent. We’re talking around 125,000 people lining the 26.2-mile route. Yowza.
With an unprecedented demand for places at this year’s event, which has been running rather unbelievably since 1908 (no pun intended), this year’s Manchester Marathon on Sunday, 14 April 2024 is genuinely set to be the biggest yet.
So if you’re taking part or just cheering the competitors on from the sidelines, here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon.
Manchester Marathon Route, waves and timings
The 2024 Manchester Marathon map.The start line.Along the way, runners can expect to take in some of Manc’s most iconic landmarks, from Bridgewater Hall and the Beetham Tower to the Theatre of Dreams itself and many more
As with previous years, the route will start and end over in Trafford. Participants will set off underneath Trafford Arch at White City Circle, making their way past Old Trafford before heading back towards the city centre via Chorlton and Hulme.
After reaching the city centre, runners will then head towards Stretford, passing through Sale before turning off as they approach Timperley and eventually reach Altrincham around the 16-mile mark.
The final leg of the route will take runners through Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, with Talbot Road leading you back to the finish line. For those feeling any nerves (like the runner currently writing this), you’ll be glad to know the Manchester Marathon is one of the flattest in the country.
You can see the full breakdown of timings and coloured waves down below. You can also watch the full virtual run-through of the running route HERE.
Event Village – entry points, bag drop, toilets and more
Event Village will once again be based around the Emirates Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club, where participants will also be able to find entry points to the start line.
Info points, bag drops and toilet facilities will also be available around the pre and post-race complex, along with first aid tents and dedicated access routes from nearby parking spots and local transport.
Event Village will be strictly open to runnersbetween 7:30–10:30am, operating on a one-way system, before being opened up to the thousands of supporters expected to line the streets.
You can see a full map of the area down below, including where to drop your bags and nip to the loo before you set off on your race – and don’t worry, there will be places to stop for the toilet along the route if nature is annoying enough to calls.
To help you familiarise yourself with your surroundings.
Road closures for the Manchester Marathon
The road closures for this year’s marathon include the A56 (Northbound and Southbound), with the officials set to start closing roads at 3am and begin re-opening roads from 2pm onwards after the course begins to clear.
The last closed road is expected to re-open around 8pm through Chorlton and Old Trafford towards the end of the course.
You can find further details on road closure and what other parts of Greater Manchester are set to be impacted HERE.
Travel advice
As mentioned, road closure will obviously impact people coming in and out of the city as well as to various spots along the marathon route, so whether you’re a local or travelling in from elsewhere, it’s worth knowing where to be and where’s best to avoid too.
In a nutshell, it’s expected that public transport will be very busy before, during and after the race, but the Metrolink trams still remain the best way to get around. Bus routes will be being diverted.
People have been asked to leave their cars at home or use park and rides where possible due to all the road closures, displaced traffic and expected congestion.
It goes without saying that there will also be a significant number of road closures throughout Sunday as well. However, once again, the wonderful organisers have you covered; you can see the full list of closures HERE and they have even put together an interactive map for you to check what’s shut when:
Public transport
People are also being advised to leave their cars at home where possible to avoid the busy roads, or to at least use the free park-and-ride services on the way into Manchester and travel to their destinations via our city’s wonderful tram network.
Metrolink will be operating a six-minute frequency on the Altrincham line with more double trams and increased capacity along various other lines too. That being said, services are expected to be extremely busy throughout the day, so if you can travel flexibly, the predicted quietest time to travel is around 4pm.
Once you’ve tapped on and tapped off, most fan corners, cheer zones and regular spots for supporters to gather together should only be a short walk away from your chosen tram stop.
New mascots, event shirts and the 2024 finisher’s medals picked by the public
This year, the adidas Manchester Marathon also welcomes on board a brand new mascot, Chester the Bee, who will join the event’s much-loved existing mascot, Manny the Bee to help bring extra cheer to the festivities on the day.
As we all know and love, Manchester has a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and, as the organisers said in a press release, “introducing mascots that celebrate this diversity allows the marathon to reflect these identities within Greater Manchester. It’s a way to honour the unique contributions and experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals and showcase their pride within the larger community.”
Better still, the organisers donate £1 for every participant taking on the marathon straight to the Trafford Active Fund, which offers local groups the chance to receive a special allocation of funding to build a long-lasting sport and physical activity legacy in Greater Manchester. Money from the marathon also goes towards planting trees across the region through the Green Runner scheme.
You can also see what this year’s general public selected as the design for this year’s Manchester Marathon finisher’s medal design down below. It’s a pretty one.
Thousands of you voted on the colour of the 2024 medal. We can now reveal the official 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon medal is… GOLD! 🥇
A big thank you to Marv, Abbie, Alex and Andrew from Manchester Run Club and Chorlton Runners for revealing our 2024 medal. pic.twitter.com/yYancbt4Lr
With a record 32,000+ runners set to hit the streets of 0161 this year, we cannot wait for people all over the ten boroughs to get soaked up in the spirit of the day.
It’s genuinely one of the most wholesome dates on the calendar and we’re just praying for a sunny day to make it perfect.
It’s also estimated that the event will raise around £3.5 million for hundreds of charities, with nearly 2,000 places allocated to representatives from Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie. You absolutely love to see it.
Good luck to everyone taking part on the day — you’re all going to absolutely smash it.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms, a swimming pool and more near Greater Manchester
Thomas Melia
There’s a million-pound Victorian-style mansion that has 10 bedrooms and its own personal swimming pool just outside of Greater Manchester.
Just like the childhood nursery rhyme, “There were three in the bed and the little one said… there’s another seven beds, roll over!” or at least that’s how they remember it in this character property.
Located in Warrington, less than an hour away from Manchester city centre, this property is a semi-detached Victorian property built in 1860, with 10 bedrooms and its own private swimming pool, all spread across four floors.
As soon as you enter the foyer, your eyes are drawn to the sleek silver chandelier before you notice the grand staircase, which feels like a piece of living history.
Inside this Victorian mansion with 10 bedrooms and a swimming pool near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market)
The ground floor hosts two of a whopping 10 bedrooms alongside a teal-toned farmhouse-style kitchen and that extremely impressive swimming pool with its own built-in projector.
In the kitchen, the focal point is the large wrap-around kitchen unit, which is accompanied by a variety of hanging lights and a big central island.
On the way to the swimming pool, there are a handful of lockers identical to those found in a leisure and as you enter the room, your eyes are drawn to the island-inspired feature wall.
Venture upstairs to the first floor and you’re greeted by five spacious bedrooms with one having its own en-suite while the rest share a main bathroom.
Each of these bedrooms follows a completely different design style, with the largest following a muted grey palette with pops of yellow thanks to the artwork and bed accessories.
The grand staircase and one of ten bedrooms inside this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
As you go upstairs again, you’ll find (you guessed it) even more bedrooms, three to be exact, with the standout
The stand-out of this second floor is the navy-walled bedroom with a vintage vanity unit, patterned floor-to-ceiling curtains and a similarly dark-blue rug to match its four walls.
Another flight of stairs and you’ve finally reached the top of this property, and there’s an LED-lined ceiling and a neutral bedroom colour scheme of greys, whites and everything in between.
There are various amenities nearby, including three schools and three train stations… for if you get fed up of strolling around your four-floored ten-bed, swimming pool-owning mansion.
Two contrasting bedrooms found within this Victorian mansion near Greater Manchester / Credit: On The Market
We know this property may not be in the price range and might not be affordable for a lot of readers, ourselves included, but we can dream, right?
You can check out this Victorian mansion and flick through even more pictures of this property – Snooping never hurt anybody? Official site HERE.
As always, make sure to check out The Manc‘s property page to check all the other stunning structures currently on sale/in progress across Greater Manchester and in the nearby North West.
Beat-Herder Festival 2025 – a magical weekend of music, madness, miniature worlds and more
Emily Johnson
Some festivals give you good music. Some give you great crowds. And a very rare few create a world so immersive, you forget you’re even at a festival; the cult favourite Beat-Herder Festival does it all – and then some.
Tucked into the Ribble Valley countryside in the Lancashire town of Clitheroe, The Beat-Herder Festival isn’t your average weekend of tents and tunes.
It’s a handcrafted, mind-bending wonderland built by a small crew of dreamers who clearly love what they do and want you to feel the same.
Whether it’s your first time or your fifteenth, the moment you step through the gates, you know you’re in for something special
Then there’s Hotel California, not just an Eagles reference but a site where you could catch a full-on rave in a wild west saloon, as well as The Parish Church: a gothic fairytale where choirs turn into choons and the altar doubles as a DJ booth.
One of the weekend’s highlights came tucked inside The Beat-Herder Working Men’s Club, where The Clone Roses had the entire crowd bouncing with their uncanny tribute to The Stones.
When ‘I Am the Resurrection’ dropped, it was hands-in-the-air euphoria; a true pinch-me moment. Ian Brown might as we have been on the stage, the way the crowd were going wild.
And it wasn’t just music. The Working Men’s also hosted ‘Beat-Herder’s Got Talent’, which is a chaotic and charming mix of poetry, dragon dancing, comedy sketches and more. Heartfelt, hilarious and very Beat-Herder.
Truly immersive worlds
Venture deeper into the wonderful world of Beat-Herder and you’ll find entire miniature towns within the festival. There’s a literal high street, complete with its own tattoo parlour, barbers, a swap shop and even a secret swimming pool.
We’re not going to disclose its location, but let’s just say if you find a dodgy-looking wooden gate and hear splashing on the other side – knock twice and bring a towel…
Late-night mayhem
As the sun went down, the party really came to life. The Beyond Tunnel was your portal to new dimensions, opening out into a maze of secret stages and psychedelic visuals.
From psytrance at The Sunrise Stage, to bassline chaos at The Laundrette and candy-coloured chaos at Bubba Gumma, it was a rabbit hole of sound you never wanted to leave.
Then there was The Temple – a fire-breathing stage that became a haven for breakbeats, jungle, techno and house. Tim Reaper’s set here was a standout for us – fast, furious, and euphoric.
And just when we thought the night was over, we found ourselves at a secret 3am b2b set with Tim Reaper and Samurai Breaks that blew us away – two talented DJs that had the crowd wanting even more despite the sun quite literally rising on the next day.
Another hidden gem was The Ring, an intimate open-air arena where we caught Jungle pioneer Goldie, alongside Sheffield’s own Silva Bumpa and Soul Mass Transit System for a bass-heavy b2b set that rattled your bones and lit up the crowd.
Then there’s The Factory – a steel-clad rave bunker pumping out electro, acid and heavy techno deep into the night. Dancing inside while the rain pelted the tin roof added a layer of gritty industrial magic – proper spine-tingling stuff if you’re into that sweaty, underground energy.
And just when you think you’ve seen it all, along comes Fowler’s Garage: a chaotic, petrolhead fever dream of a stage where you can literally dance on top of cars. DJs spin sets from inside the vehicles, cooking up a storm from the front seat while the crowd parties on the roof.
It’s unhinged in the best way possible and one of the most unique spaces you’ll ever rave in.
Power and the people
What really makes Beat-Herder feel different is the people. There’s an unspoken code of friendliness here – everyone’s up for a chat, a laugh, or a spontaneous dance. You could spill your pint and end up making a friend for life. That kind of energy is rare, and Beat-Herder wears it like a badge of honour.
The merch stand has that signature hand-crafted feel. All of the merch is hand-printed, with designs that feel like proper collector’s items rather than throwaway souvenirs. We spotted punters proudly repping Beat-Herder tees from as far back as 2012 – testament to how deep the community pride runs here.
Even on the way out, with vans and cars getting stuck in the mud, everyone mucked in to help push – proof that the Beat-Herder spirit sticks with you long after you’ve left the gates. Just a bunch of lovely people all getting together to have a good time and make memories for life.
Credit: Andrew Whitton
Fantastic fancy dress
Saturday brought the iconic fancy dress theme – this year, the letter G. And wow, did people go for it. Giraffes towered above the crowd, Gnomes danced in groups, Gardeners handed out seed packets, and one hero turned up as ‘Garbage’, wearing an actual dustbin with a lid strapped to his head. We laughed for a full five minutes.
Final thoughts from the fields
Even though Beat-Herder was slightly scaled down this year due to budget cuts, it never once felt like anything was missing. If anything, it brought a tighter, even more magic-filled experience. The attention to detail, the creativity, and the atmosphere are still unmatched – a reminder that this isn’t just a festival. It’s a fully fledged world of its own.
If you’re looking for something different – stick this one at the very top of your list. But be warned: once you’ve been, you’ll never stop going back.
Tickets for next year go on sale on Thursday, 31 July, and you can be ready to grab your tickets HERE.
You can guarantee you’ll see us at back-to-back Beat-Herder Festivals again in 2026.
Danny Jones -
10th April 2024 
