FROME’S award-winning half marathon is returning in July after its pandemic hiatus – and its organisers are hoping it will be the biggest yet!
“The appetite for the event has not been suppressed by the pandemic,” said one of the organisers, Richard Parr, speaking to Frome Times. “With last year’s postponed entrants, alongside new entries this year, we’d expect to make this year’s half marathon the biggest ever!
“There is boundless energy behind the scenes, we can’t wait to come back! And we know that the pent-up energy from the runners, fundraisers and the local community is there.
“We’ve even had volunteers calling us to check if they can stock up on jelly babies for their impromptu front garden aid-stations – it feels like everybody is super excited to be back.
“Frome might be a little town, but we describe this event as having the feel of a really big city event, but with a small town community atmosphere. And community is key to our event – that’s what makes the Frome Half Marathon so special.”
This year, the event’s charity partners are local charities Active and In Touch Frome and the Frome Activities & Sports Trust (FAST).
And similar to plans made for last year’s cancelled event, there will be Covid measures in place to ensure participants feel safe.
Richard said, “We’re working with that the assumption that some restrictions will still be in place, so people will see a few changes.
“We’ll be starting and finishing from Selwood Academy using their playing field as a ‘race village’, rather than our previous home at Frome Town Football Club.
“These are changes forced on us by Covid, but they could be for the better for the event. It allows us to have a much bigger race – we’re hoping that it will feel bigger, feel more exciting – and there will be plenty of space to keep people safe.”
First launched in 2012, Richard says that the half marathon has continued to grow in popularity year on year, with its last event in 2019 voted one of the best events in the UK by runners in the independent Racecheck Awards.
“The event is growing,” said Richard, “the event has always gotten bigger year on year, it’s never had a year where it has dipped lower than the year before in terms of number of entries and number of finishers.
“And 2019 was our best yet – it was an award-winning race, and our most successful in terms of numbers and in feedback. Here’s hoping 2021 will be our biggest yet!”
For more information about the half marathon, and details on how to enter, visit the website: https://fromehalfmarathon.co.uk
