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UK Athletics 10K Road Championships — Great Manchester Run hosts the national title. In 2026, the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run 10K doubles as the UK Athletics 10K Road Championships, giving British athletic talent the platform to compete alongside the world's best in one of the country's biggest city-centre races. Marc Scott, Andy Butchart, Verity Ockenden, Lily Partridge, Clara Evans and Jess Piasecki are among the GB athletes chasing national honours. The first British elite finishers from Manchester will also receive an invitation to compete in the Manchester Road Race in Connecticut, USA in November — part of the pioneering transatlantic twinning programme announced in late 2025.
🏟️ Portland Street · Deansgate · Etihad Stadium · Old Trafford · Imperial War Museum North · Albert Square · Beetham Tower · Spinningfields · Manchester · Greater Manchester · England
Manchester — The North's greatest race weekend
On Sunday 31 May 2026, tens of thousands of runners and spectators fill the streets of Manchester for the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run — the city's signature mass participation event. Two distances race on fully closed city-centre roads: the Half Marathon (13.1 miles, start 8:30am) and the 10K (start 11:30am), both starting on Portland Street and finishing on Deansgate. The half marathon passes two of the UK's most iconic football grounds — the Etihad Stadium (Manchester City) and Old Trafford (Manchester United) — as well as the Imperial War Museum North and Albert Square. The 10K takes in Old Trafford and the IWM before looping back through the city centre. Fully closed roads, wall-to-wall crowd support, live music and entertainment zones at every kilometre — in true Mancunian style, it's a party from start to finish. The Event Village is on Peter Street; the Charity Village on Deansgate.
10s of 1000sRunners — Mass participation
UKA10K Road Championships
BBC TwoLive TV 11am–1pm
🐝Manchester Worker Bee — race icon
The two races
Start 8:30am · Portland Street
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Half Marathon
13.1 miles · 21.1km
Fully closed roads · Min. age 17
Manchester's iconic half marathon course takes in both the Etihad Stadium (Manchester City) and Old Trafford (Manchester United) — two of the world's most famous football grounds, in a single 13.1-mile run. Also passes the Imperial War Museum North, Albert Square and the Beetham Tower. Flat and fast through the heart of the city. Official app tracking with live splits and expected finish times.
Live on BBC Two
Closed roads · Etihad · OT
Start 11:30am · Portland Street
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10K
10 kilometres
UKA Road Championships · Min. age 15
The 10K is this year's host event for the UK Athletics 10K Road Championships — elite athletes competing for national honours alongside the mass field on fully closed city-centre roads. Course passes Old Trafford and IWM before looping back to Deansgate. Elite race broadcast live on BBC Two. World-class field: Barega, Chepkirui, Klosterhalfen, Weir (wheelchair).
UKA Road Championships
Live BBC Two
Elite fields 2026
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Elite Men's 10K
🇪🇹Selemon Barega Defending
27:49 in 2025
🇺🇾Santiago Catrofe
2025 runner-up
🇰🇪Vincent Ngetich
2024 winner
🇬🇧Marc Scott GBR
Former champion
🇬🇧Andy Butchart GBR
2× Olympian
🇺🇸Morgan Beadlescomb
Manchester Road Race
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Elite Women's 10K
🇰🇪Sheila Chepkirui
Great North Run 2025 champion
🇩🇪Konstanze Klosterhalfen
2022 Euro 10K champion
🇰🇪Sharon Lokedi
Road racing stalwart
🇺🇸Weini Kelati
Manchester Road Race winner
🇬🇧Verity Ockenden · Lily Partridge GBR
National honours
🇬🇧Clara Evans · Jess Piasecki GBR
National honours
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Elite Wheelchair
🇬🇧David Weir 6× champion
Defending — returns to defend again
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The course — Portland Street to Deansgate, via Old Trafford and the Etihad.
Start: Portland Street, Manchester M1 (near Oxford Street junction).
Half Marathon: City centre → west past Beetham Tower → Old Trafford (Manchester United) → Imperial War Museum North → east to the Etihad Stadium (Manchester City) → return through city centre → finish on Deansgate.
10K: City centre → Old Trafford → Imperial War Museum North → loop back → finish on Deansgate.
Finish: Deansgate, Manchester. Event Village: Peter Street. Charity Village: Deansgate.
Fully closed roads throughout. Music zones and live entertainment at every kilometre. Some of the loudest crowds of any UK road race. Flat city-centre course.
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The Worker Bee — Manchester's most powerful symbol. The Manchester Worker Bee has been the city's emblem since the Industrial Revolution — a symbol of industry, community and collective hard work that became synonymous with Mancunian identity. After the Manchester Arena bombing in 2017, it became a symbol of resilience, solidarity and defiance. Today, it adorns everything from street mosaics to tattoos, tram tickets and running vests. The Great Manchester Run has adopted the bee as its own icon — because tens of thousands of people running together through a city, side by side, is the purest expression of the bee spirit. The hive is the start line. The honey is on Deansgate.
Official starters
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Dame Kelly Holmes
Elite Women's Race — Olympic 800m & 1500m double champion (Athens 2004)
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Sally Lindsay MBE
Actor, writer, producer & Alzheimer's Society ambassador
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Kevin Sinfield CBE
Elite Men + Masses start — Rugby league legend, MND fundraising icon
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Watch live on BBC Two, 11:00am – 1:00pm. The AJ Bell Great Manchester Run's elite races and mass finish are broadcast live on BBC Two on Sunday 31 May. Live stream from 8:00am on the GreatRunTV YouTube Channel — from the first elite runner to the very last mass participant crossing the finish line on Deansgate. Track runners in real-time via the Official Great Run App — live split intervals, average pace and expected finish times by bib number.
« Manchester's favourite Half Marathon and 10k takes runners of all abilities on a wonderful tour of the city. In true Mancunian style, it's a party from start to finish, with a high-energy soundtrack, live music and entertainment zones at every turn, plus some of the loudest and most enthusiastic local support we've seen anywhere in the UK. » — greatrun.org / Deafblind UK event description
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Start: Portland Street, Manchester M1 (near Oxford Street junction). Finish: Deansgate, Manchester. Event Village: Peter Street. Charity Village: Deansgate. Organiser: Great Run Company · greatrun.org. Title sponsor: AJ Bell. Results: results.greatrun.org/leaderboard. Half Marathon: Start 8:30am · 13.1 miles · Min. age 17 on race day · £55. 10K: Start 11:30am · Min. age 15 on race day · £48 · UK Athletics Road Championships. Junior & Mini Fun Runs: Also available. Age minimums: Half Marathon 17+; 10K 15+. Live TV: BBC Two, 11:00am–1:00pm. Live stream: GreatRunTV YouTube from 8:00am. App: Official Great Run App — real-time tracking, live splits, expected finish time. Manchester–Connecticut twinning: Top American finishers compete in Manchester; top British elite finishers invited to Manchester Road Race, Connecticut, USA (November). Access Manchester: Manchester Piccadilly (rail) → Portland Street 5 min walk · Metrolink tram, multiple stops · M60 junction 17 (M63).
Running shoes & gear — i-Run
Running shoes for the AJ Bell Great Manchester Run — flat city-centre closed roads past the Etihad, Old Trafford and Deansgate, from the 10K to the Half Marathon 13.1 miles. i-Run, running specialist. Worldwide shipping.
Shop i-Run →
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