The Bath Half Marathon has again been postponed due to questions over Cleveland Bridge safety. Runners will now have to wait until October 16, 2022 according to a statement released by the organizers.
A combination of Covid-19, the loss of major vendors and the closure of the Cleveland Bridge are to blame, organizers say, for postponing the popular event originally scheduled to take place on March 13, 2022.
Billed as the largest one-day fundraising event in the South West, the two-round event straddles both sides of the River Avon to avoid hills and had previously been rescheduled for May 29, 2022.
Read more: Cleveland Bridge ‘could fail’ if fully reopened due to severe corrosion
But severe corrosion was found on the main trusses supporting Bath’s historic Cleveland Bridge which crosses the river. It was due to reopen in November after a 12-month renovation project, but earlier this month the council said it could not give a timeframe because the corrosion is severe enough to risk structural failure of the bridge.
This was one of the factors in the postponement of the half-marathon, according to a press release from the organizers. “The events sector has been particularly disrupted by Covid-19 and we have had to overcome many challenges over the past two years,” the statement said.
“Despite our best efforts, this disruption, including the recent absence of staff due to Covid, the loss of some key contractors and suppliers, and issues resulting from the closure of the Cleveland Bridge, has had a cumulative impact on our small team, who we are struggling to accommodate at this late stage in our event planning, so we have reluctantly decided that it would be reasonable and responsible to postpone the event to the fall.
Apologizing to runners for the inconvenience, organizers said they understood how hard everyone was training for the event and were sincerely sorry for the disappointment caused. Attendees should receive an email next week with details of rescheduling and refund options.
But some have complained that the new date is clashing with the Great South Run and one described it as a “mess”.
Thomas Saunders of the Ben Saunder Foundation replied: “I’m sorry, but it’s a mess. I personally spent hundreds of thousands of hours on this event. Everything is voluntary and that’s something. @Wera_Hobhouse must step in and sort out now. If this is your constituency, please sort it out.”
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The organizers asked them to support the charities chosen for the half-marathon which was originally scheduled for March 13. as he plays a major role in raising invaluable funds for charities facing difficult times.
“After two years of coping with the impact of the pandemic, this was absolutely not what we wanted to happen.
“We know you missed the Bath Half and so did we. We have loved planning and running the event since 2000. We all want to get back to normal and the Bath Half Marathon reminds us of so many things that are good about the city and the people who live there and we are now looking forward to returning on October 16.”
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Source: www.somersetlive.co.uk
This notice was published: 2022-03-24 15:35:18
