Well, Mancs, it’s that time again – time to lace up our running shoes, get our homemade signs at the ready and pray for good weather as the Manchester Marathon is nearly hereand we have tips.
2024 is already shaping up to be a historic year for one of Europe’s most popular races and the UK’s second flattest marathon (good news for those of you taking part) and we genuinely can’t wait to see the city and the rest of Greater Manchester buzzing with excitement as hordes of runners descend on 0161.
But before we come flying out of the traps too fast, you know what they say: fail to prepare, prepare to fail. Luckily, we’re sure all of you wonderful people have been putting the same graft into training as you do any other day. Nevertheless, we’ve still got some extra bits of useful advice for this final week.
And it’s not just from us part-time runners; Team GB Olympic marathon runner and professional adidas athlete, Steph Kessell (née Davis) has been kind enough to share her seven biggest tips to make sure you’re all sorted for when you hear the starting pistol. Let’s hand it over to the expert, shall we?
Pro runner Steph Kessell has given us here top tips for the Manchester Marathon (Credit: adidas Manchester Marathon)
Seven top tips for the 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon
1. Taper
In the final week, your overall training volume and intensity should have dropped to less than 50% so you can get to the start line of the marathon feeling fresh and raring to go.
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Your last higher-intensity session should be four to five days before the marathon and include some marathon-paced intervals, but not many of them! You can find suggested event week sessions in the Manchester Marathon training plans HERE.
2. SLEEP!
Sounds simple but we can’t stress enough how big a step this is as sleep is the most important recovery aid. Hopefully, you have been getting plenty of sleep throughout your training block but during this final week prioritise early nights and aim to get your 8 hours.
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It’s common to not sleep very well the night before the challenge but don’t stress; if you’ve been able to sleep well in the build-up, then this won’t affect your event. If you can’t sleep, try to stay in bed and relax – this is still good rest and recovery time.
3. Hydrate
If there’s even just one of these tips that you take seriously for the Manchester Marathon, make it this. (Credit: Nigel Msipa via Unsplash)
Again, sounds simple but so crucial. You want to go into race day feeling hydrated, as dehydration has a negative effect on performance, even if it’s not that warm outside. Carry a water bottle around with you to remind you to drink regularly aiming for at least 1.5 litres a day right up until the big day.
If you have some electrolyte tabs handy then take one daily as well as one the evening before the event to ensure you are extra hydrated come your start time.
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4. Make sure to prep your kit properly
If you haven’t worn your event day kit for a run yet, then this is your final chance to test it out. You want to feel comfortable, wear the right amount of layers and avoid chafing. Nothing is more annoying than being distracted by an itchy hat or the wrong pair of undies (yeah, we said it).
From sports bras, socks, heart rate monitors, race belts and hydration packs, try absolutely everything that you plan to wear when it’s go-time the night before at the very least, so that way you can feel confident on the start line.
5. Strategise
At the start of event week write out a plan for the event day. What pace will you start at? When will you take on fuel? Where are the water, gels and toilet stops? It all counts and most importantly helps keep you in control. When you’ve planned this out in advance and read over it again and again before the day, it’ll help you feel more relaxed and confident because you already what you’re going to do.
A detailed plan can also be a good distraction from the nerves as it gives you something to focus on. Break it down into five to seven stages or so and take each part as it comes. You can find info on all of this HERE.
Credit: MCR Marathon
6. Plan how you’re getting there
Another one that will help ease your nerves. Don’t leave it until the morning of to decide how you are going to travel there. Plan out your route and leave plenty of time to get there.
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A leisurely start to the day will be more pleasant than a last-minute frantic dash trying to find the bag drop and loos. You can find plenty of useful travel information and more in our full guide to the 2024 Manchester Marathon.
7. Stay warm
We mean this both figuratively and literally. Marathons often require an early start which means it can be cold (and it is Manchester, after all), so as well as warming up, stretching and keeping those limbs loose, bring a top or jumper you want to donate to charity to keep you warm at the start line.
At the Manchester Marathon, you can keep wearing this right up until the end of the start chute where you will see signs to show you where to donate it as you get close to the start gantry — just make sure that you don’t drop it too early! It’s a nice touch that we love.
And that should just about do ya’. We’re strong believers in preparation playing a key part in all walks of life and, in this case, the bits where you’re running too. Cheers for the help, Steph.
At the end of the day, it’s also worth reminding that the Manchester Marathon is also just an incredible day for the city and the region as a whole too, so tips or not just go out there and enjoy it.
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We’re glad to inform you that we’ll have feet on the ground representing The Manc as well, so you’re not this alone – in fact, far from it as there’s a record 32,000 of us taking part this year.
Manchester City sign Beth Mead as European champion Lioness completes major transfer move to WSL title rivals
Danny Jones
In a major move for recently crowned champions Manchester City, two-time Euros winner Beth Mead has completed a switch from title Women’s Super League (WSL) rivals Arsenal.
This one is sure to cause quite the stir, especially given the players that have been transferred between them in the past.
Announcing the signing on Friday, 12 June, Man City Women confirmed the done deal in a social media post that also revealed she will don the number seven shirt.
With City having finally won the first title in over a decade earlier this year – only their second in the modern era – the England Women’s star and WSL heavyweight didn’t mince her words on arrival, telling the club and its fans: “I’m here to win.”
The 31-year-old from Whitby spent the best part of nine years at Arsenal, during which time she has also gone on to become one of the most prolific Lionesses under Sarina Wiegman.
Boasting not only 81 national team caps to her name, but also having scored 40 times in his career thus far (her assists included, guaranteeing at least a goal contribution every other game, on average), she’s been one of the most dangerous female forwards in Europe for some time now.
Speaking in a club statement, she said: “City have always played beautiful football, but I think this season they’ve been very cutthroat in front of goal, [found] different ways of scoring, different ways of creating goalscoring opportunities.
“I think that’s been the difference: they’ve found ways to score and win games when it’s been cagey, or whether it’s felt easy and you become complacent. I think that’s been the difference this season for City winning.”
Having already linked up with fellow England star Alex Greenwood upon making her first appearance at Man City’s brand new women’s football facility, she went on to add: “I’ve played with a lot of the players in the team, I’ve watched a lot of players in the team over the years and in the season gone [by], and I think that’s what created a lot of excitement.
They’ve aimed to set a new industry standard for the women’s game.
Penning a first MCWFC contract this week, she has signed a deal until the summer of 2029; both she and City supporters will no doubt be hoping she can add at least one more piece of silverware by the end of the 2026/27 campaign.
With head coach Andrée Jeglertz now looking to mount a title defence over at the Etihad Campus, and the Women’s World Cup in Brazil getting underway this time next year, Mead will obviously be looking to hit the ground running ahead of her first season in sky blue.
There is undoubtedly an element of curiosity to see who will have the better overall performance this upcoming term between her and national teammate Chloe Kelly, with the latter ex-City player having left the club for the red side of north London instead.
Speaking of cities split into two halves, football-wise, elsewhere in transfer news, Manchester United have also been linked to a new attacker of their own – it remains to be seen how strong the interest is going both ways…
2026 World Cup fans in North America are being mocked already – and this could be just the beginning
Danny Jones
The 2026 FIFA World Cup has only just kicked off over in North America, and while the opening match between Mexico and South Africa had lots of drama, the spotlight was already on supporters even prior to the tournament starting, with certain fans being mocked over their presence – or lack thereof, in some cases.
Plenty of people were fully expecting a fair bit of being poked at the USA as one of the joint host nations and the country holding the most fixtures out of the three after Mexico and Canada, in which football remains the biggest sport throughout both.
While the days of claiming that Americans will “never embrace soccer” – a joke even made by The Simpsons back in 2007 – do look to have been a bit hyperbolic and tongue-in-cheek, it goes without saying that the perceived Americanisation of European/association football (which, ironically, we dubbed soccer first) is a growing concern among followers of ‘the beautiful game’ all over the globe.
Especially in situations when you see the likes of so-called fans literally perched pitchside whilst sat eating their dinner in raised posh seats located right next to the corner flag.
One of the weirdest scenes you’ll see in football… people casually eating dinner at tables set up right next to the corner flag 🤔pic.twitter.com/gTtdRlD19v
— No Context World Cup (@NoContextEPL) June 11, 2026
For context, in case anyone missed it, this now-viral clip on social media took place before the World Cup proper actually kicked off, as the puzzling sight was captured in England’s final friendly against Costa Rica at the Inter&Co Stadium in Orlando, Florida.
Thankfully, the Three Lions looked to head into their opening fixture of the 2026 World Cup in good shape following the 3-0 win, but we won’t pretend to ignore the fact that lots of the discussion surrounded the scenes up in the stands.
Now, obviously, VIP and hospitality, not to mention the fact that most US sporting arenas are designed quite differently from most football stadiums, often favouring taller structures, with large open bowls that regularly exceed the capacity of, say, Wembley.
However, when you’re trying to create an atmosphere where those who could afford to buy a ticket have made the effort to travel over to the admittedly controversial tournament to immerse themselves in the sheer passion of following a national team around the world and dreaming of bringing home, arguably, the single biggest prize, it doesn’t make for great visuals seeing ‘fans’ having a casual sit-down meal.
To many, images like these kind of gave the impression that the game itself was secondary and a bit of background entertainment, rather than, you know, the other way round – you’ve only paid THOUSANDS to be there, let alone spitting distance from the turf itself…
We’re not trying to sound like gatekeepers on how someone should enjoy the sport they like watching, but it does feel less like you’re actively supporting the players out there in moments like these, and the English, in particular, have already made their feelings known on some behaviour and what they deem as ‘proper’ footy fandom:
That being said, crowd interactions like this have proved just as divisive, too, with some accusing the Brits abroad of supporter snobbery, almost, and refusing to get in the light-hearted spirit as others have.
Once again, by the way, most of these instances took place before the first matches had even been played, or at the very least before their country had kicked a ball yet.
Besides the obvious political backdrop to the entire month ahead, jibes at the overall vibe of the tournament also haven’t been helped by the fact that some companies have instead paid fans to come and watch the football not inside the grounds but from a premium viewing zone inside a glass box on a big telly right in the heart of Times Square. People are now even watching them watching it.
And that’s not all; far from it.
There were swathes of empty seats at the Akron Stadium that were particularly concentrated towards the pitchside VIP section at the centre of the east stand, but patches of red seats could be seen throughout — leaving what looked like thousands of empty seats in total.
— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) June 12, 2026
Several stadiums are already having to come to terms with the very likely prospect of not only failing to sell out but also settling for being some way off packed out enough to mirror the kind of energy to match the best World Cups in history.
The Mexican home crowd at the Estadio Azteca – the largest in all of Latin America, boasting a max cap of more than 83,000 – was always going to be a sell-out, but with games being played at all manner of times in an effort to try and beat the heat and manage conditions across various challenging climates, empty seats are bound to be spotted.
Thousands of Koreans and Czechs were there to be seen for this year’s second official clash, but it was evident that there were noticeable gaps around the venue, and don’t be surprised if you see more before the final. It’s certainly going to be an edition with just as many narratives off the pitch as on it, if not maybe even more, if this is a sign of things to come.
What are your early impressions of the 2026 World Cup so far?
Danny Jones -
7th April 2024 
