Surrey’s runners and joggers have been left kicking their heels after the Surrey Half Marathon, due to take place on Sunday 17 March, was postponed until September 8th. The postponement is due to the ongoing major National Highways project at Junction 10 of the M25 which, over the weekend of 16/17 March, will require the closure of that Junction. This in turn will impact the area’s roads, including those close to the route of the Surrey Half Marathon.
Organisers, Run Through UK, told runners that they had been working with both Woking Borough Council and the Highways Agency to see if there was any prospect of the Surrey Half Marathon taking place on 17 March. However, despite the best efforts of all concerned, they were unable to find a way to hold the race on the original date with all the planned road closures in the area – not only the M25 Junction with the A3 but also the 13 mile half marathon route to the south of Woking.
Runners who had already entered the race received the disappointing news in mid-January from Run Through UK who offered an entry to the re-arranged race on Sunday 8 September plus a free place to any of the 240 races it organises across the UK in 2024. They also offered runners the opportunity to run a half marathon amongst the dinosaurs at the Crystal Palace Park, South London, which is due to take place on the same date as the now cancelled Surrey Half Marathon. For those who use the Surrey Half Marathon as a training run for the London Marathon or those who just like dinosaurs, that is a welcome offer.
One local runner spoke of her disappointment at the cancellation but appreciated the reasons why. She was also grateful that the organisers, Run Through, had given entrants plenty of notice of the cancellation and had offered entry to other races. ‘Unfortunately, I can’t make the re-arranged race in September’ she said, ‘but hopefully I’ll be able to run in one of the other events Run Through offer.’
The Surrey Half Marathon has been a fixture of road running and charity fundraising in Surrey since 2014. The first race took place on a scorching Sunday morning in March 2014 and followed a route between Guildford and Woking, starting and finishing at the Guildford Spectrum Athletics Track. But since 2015, it has started and finished in Woking Park, even taking place in 2020, just 3 weeks before the UK entered the Covid lockdowns.
Like many other distance races across the UK, the Surrey Half Marathon is also an important charity fundraiser. Organisers estimate that its participants raise an estimated £300,000 a year for local and national charities. With the race being re-arranged for September, it is hoped that this sum will be matched or even exceeded.
