A Dad from West Didsbury ended up completing the Manchester Marathon in under five hours this past weekend after making a “stupid mistake”.
As mad as it may initially sound, Mat Wheelhouse hadn’t actually planned to run 26 miles when he arrived in Manchester city centre last Sunday clutching a bottle of water and hoping his AirPods wouldn’t run out of charge.
The 38-year-old was unprepared for the challenge he had ahead of him that day, and a big part of that was due to the fact he only had is name down to run half the distance.
Like many people across the globe, Mat had got himself hooked on running during the several COVID-19 lockdowns, and so he signed up for the Manchester Half Marathon with the idea of testing himself and raising worthy funds The Christie in memory of his late father.
But due to what he said was a “stupid mistake”, Mat realised that he’d missed the Half Marathon by hours, and had found himself in a queue full of runners preparing for the full marathon.
Mat said that although he was mortified by his error, he still wanted to keep his commitment to those that had sponsored him on his JustGiving page, so he went to the information centre to see if anything could be done and one of the volunteers then told him that the only option would be to upgrade to the full marathon – which she said she was happy to do for no extra fee.
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Here’s everything you need to know.
The Manchester Marathon and Half Marathon took place on Sunday 10 October / Credit: Manchester Marathon
Prior to the race day, Mat had only been running 5k-10k, with the furthest distance he’d ever run being just 17km.
But, with his determination to complete some sort of marathon, Mat decided to take on the challenge – and surprisingly, he managed to complete the 26.2 miles in an incredible four hours and 47 minutes.
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Mat explained that when he joined his mates on the tram, he noticed that they all had proper rucksacks full of drinks and snacks, while he just had a bottle of water, and it was only when he got into the queue that he realised that he was the only person with a Half Marathon sticker on his top.
“I thought something didn’t seem quite right,” he told the MEN.
“Then I started seeing streams of people coming in who had just finished the half marathon [and] I was so embarrassed because lots of people had sponsored me and I didn’t want to let them down, so I went to the information desk and told them what had happened.
“The woman said she could try and change my number and let me run in the marathon and then just dip out half way through – but I wanted to make sure I got the medal.
“I thought if I don’t finish I won’t get it, so I just decided to carry on running.”
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Mat managed to complete the 26.2-mile Manchester Marathon in an incredible four hours and 47 minutes / Credit: Manchester Marathon
While admitting that it was “very painful towards the end” and that the last five miles in particular were “incredibly hard”, Mat said that the Manchester public were amazing and that he’s never seen that amount of people out on the streets.
He comically added: “I think I might try and do a marathon again next year.
“But knowing me, I will probably end up signing up to the wrong thing and doing a triathlon or something.”
Manchester City Council green-light new venue at Medlock Square, with Mamma Mia! The Party to open the immersive space
Danny Jones
The smash-hit ‘Mamma Mia: The Party’ is set to land in Manchester next year as the maiden event of another brand-new space set to open as part of the upcoming Medlock Square development.
Etihad Campus has seen a lot of moving pieces over the past few years, be it the building of Co-op Live, the ongoing expansion of Man City’s home ground, the soon-to-launch hotel attached to the stadium and now Medlock.
But those in control of the land are content with stopping there; this looks to be just the start of a whole new evolution for the East Manchester area, with an as yet untitled new immersive arts, experience and events venue also set to join the new slate of projects.
You see another glimpse of the purpose-built mini arena, of sorts, down below.
With plans having now been approved by the City Council, the ‘immersive’ space will be situated between the Etihad, Co-op Live and Medlock Square itself, holding up to 600 guests per performance.
Currently set to open in late 2027, following the rest of the square’s launch window being fully rolled out, we still don’t know the name of this next addition, but the structure itself will dovetail with the surrounding buildings and areas as part of seasonal activations, live shows and sports screenings, as well as pop-ups, brand collaborations and more.
Looping back, the interactive, multimedia extravaganza that is ‘Mamma Mia! The Party’ will finally be making its Manc debut as part of the 10th anniversary of the all-singing, all-dancing and even all-dining in-demand production.
As per an official press release from the Medlock Square media team, the show will combine “live music, theatre, food and storytelling” and “offer visitors an unforgettable night out.”
The original UK production at The O2 in London has now surpassed more than 1,500 performances, with a total of 700k guests attending these shows in 110 countries across the globe. Safe to say it’s rather popular.
As for Medlock Square and the surrounding Etihad Campus, Manchester City supporters have also been given another look at the soon-to-open, immersive hotel tie-in experience.
With a skywalk, rooftop bar, a new MCFC shop and various other bits set to spill out onto Medlock Square, it all feels like a period of wholesale changes over in the blue half of the city – especially with the football club bidding farewell to their manager Pep Guardiola after more than a decade.
Following the new and improved North Stand being named after him in the first of many tributes, the City Football Group (CFG) are also set to commission a statue in his honour over the coming months.
Meanwhile, Medlock Square is also due to open later this year, although an official completion date has not been confirmed.
You can stay up to date with all the latest on Mamma Mia! The Part’s Manchester shows right HERE.
Not forgetting a brand-new women’s football facility, too, there is so much stuff going on over at the Etihad that it can be hard to keep track, but here’s the latest look at some of the rooms set to feature in the hotel of the same name.
Featured Images — Publicity pictures (CGIs via Medlock Square)
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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…
Emily Sergeant -
13th October 2021 
