Exactly fifty years since the first Barnsley Marathon took place, road racing is back in the town centre with the Barnsley 10K this June.
Head down to the town centre on Sunday 30th June and cheer on over 1,000 runners who have signed up to the sold-out race.
As the home of Olympic runners Dorothy Hyman and John Mayock, Barnsley has a thriving running scene with many groups and clubs that organise events and competitions.
In 1974, two big racing events were organised in Barnsley by the newly formed Barnsley Road Runners Club: the Barnsley Marathon and the Barnsley 6. The latter was the first mass road race to attract over one hundred runners and the first to allow women to compete over the same distance as men.
The second Barnsley Marathon in 1975 was another historic event in British Athletics. It was the first marathon in the country that women were allowed to take part in, with six female runners going on to race.
This year’s 10K promises to be truly a momentous occasion, starting and finishing in the Glass Works Square. The race starts at 9am sharp and runners will head out through Barnsley town centre, Wilthorpe and Redbrook before looping back around at the Claycliffe road area.
Roads along the route will be closed until 11am that day. After the race, there is plenty to discover in the town centre, so you can make a day of it.
The event is being delivered by the Sport and Physical Activity team at the council as a part of the #WhatsYourMove campaign. It is hoped it will become a permanent fixture in the council’s events calendar.
