Wokingham Half Marathon

Sunday, 24th May 2009

£500 for a new course record ( Men 1.04.50, Women 1.11.09)

Provisional Date for Next Year 21st February 2010

Spurred on by the £500 prize money Dave Webb from Leeds AC broke the course and event record in a time of 1.04.50, incredibly in his first half.

Regular at Wokingham, Sarah Gee (V40) of Reading Road Runners won in a time of 1.18.10

A Hot Wokingham Half

In contrast to the usual weather in February for the re-scheduled Wokingham Half Marathon was run in scorching conditions and won at a scorching pace. David Webb from City of Leeds AC not only broke the course record, but also the event record in a time of 64.50, to walk away with a cheque for £500. This was even more remarkable as it was Dave’s first half marathon.

Having had to cancel the race in February due to snow and ice it was very pleasing to see so many athletes able to make the re-run. On talking to many runners at the finish the majority will be pleased to hear that we will be returning to the February date again next year. The marshals and spectators seemed to be disappointed that we would not be continuing with the May date.

Can I on behalf of the organising committee not only congratulate all the runners for finishing the race on such a hot day, but also our helpers, marshals and contractors for all the hard work they put in to make the re-scheduled race happen at all. With having to cancel it originally in February the amount of work was almost double what it is normally.

A big thanks also to our sponsors Mizuno, Titcheners Accountants, Zone Securities, Mitsubishi Motors and Virgin active, and also to the Wokingham Borough Council for the continued support and also to Mayor Barrie Patman for starting the race and presenting the awards. 

Peter Evans - Chairman 

The Event

We have chip to chip timing this year so please can runners line up in their correct position at the start, your time will start as you cross the line. This will help the faster runners and you will get the time you ran the race. The wands/Table tennis bats at the finish are purely as backup and for our own piece of mind. The race this year is our most competitive ever as you can see from the link above. Unfortunately, last years Lady winner Liz Yelling can’t run this year, but we did receive a nice e-mail and hopefully we can tempt her back for our 25th, along with a few of her club mates.....Paula?

This is a well established and well organised event. The course is fast and generally flat, all roads are closed to traffic. The British Association of Road Races (BARR) has given us a Gold rating for the second time. Due to the large number of runners, we are not able to accept entries on the day. For 2008 we decided to change the course slightly, so that runners will leave Cantley Park from the front entrance avoiding the bottle neck and returning back the same way for the finish. We are restricting this 2009 race to 2,750. The new course has now been measured and verified. Chip Timing was an experiment last year and was very successful, we are introducing Start to Finish chip timing for 2009. All profits go to charities

Exchanging Numbers

Please do not pass your number on to another runner if you are unable to run. UK Athletics States: Rule 216 Entries(3) ‘Numbers are issued to the individual athlete completing the application form and are non-transferable except with the specific authority of the Race Secretary’. This is particularly relevant in a medical emergency, where  the person running is not that shown on the race listing. Can you please return your number so we can issue it to someone on our large waiting list as soon as possible.

Corporate Sponsorship

The race which is supported by Wokingham District Council, has continued to attract sponsorship from local companies, Accountants Titcheners formally Raphael Vive and Co, Mitsubishi Motors, Virgin Active and sports goods manufacturers Mizuno with Apex Sports. Flowtech Fluid Handling are also providing support. Technical database support, web site administration and race entry administration is being provided by local company Chrian Solutions.

• Why not become one of our sponsors and support this local event, with a place on our dedicated sponsors page, press coverage and race presence. All profits raised go to local charities.
• Perhaps you are a local company who would benefit from association with the Number 1 local event!
• e-mail: wokingham.half@ntlworld.com
• fax: 0118 901 9382 or
• Write to: Wokingham Half Marathon, PO Box 54, Wokingham, RG40 2JW

The Committee

The Wokingham Half Marathon is organised by volunteers with the intent of raising as much money for local charities.

• Peter Evans - Chairman
• Barbara Evans - Race Administration
• Adrian Evans
• Brian Bacon
• Stella Bacon
• Katharine Bean
• John Giles
• June Roach
• Graham Clements - Race Day Clerk of Course
• Chris Evans - Database & Website Administration (non committee member)

Berkshire Championships

Wokingham has been selected to host the Berkshire County AA Half Marathon  Championships for 2009 after a successful event last year. We regret that the organisers of the Wokingham Half are unable to enter into any correspondence regarding these championships. For details please follow the link below:

http://www.berkshireathletics.org.uk/

Email: rr@berkshireathletics.org.uk

Sportcam will have a free certificate to download with a jpeg and your time to download

Chip Timing by:

Web Design by Chrian Soltions