Manchester Marathon 2024: A proud day for the city as thousands take part in UK's second biggest marathon

The Manchester Marathon has returned to the streets of the city today (April 14) as more than 32,000 people took on an incredible 26.2 mile route in aid of charities and organisations - with many dressed in colourful and creative outfits.

As in previous years, the 2024 event kicked off in Old Trafford where runners were tasked with making their way through the likes of Altrincham, Stretford, Chorlton, Hulme and the city centre before reaching the finish line back in Old Trafford.

The first person to make it through the finish line was Adam Clarke, from the Aldershot, Farnham and District Athletic Club, with an impressive time of two hours, 16 minutes and 29 seconds. Shortly behind him was Marshall Smith at 2:18:22 and Alexander Teuten at 2:18:37.

READ MORE: Next year's Manchester Marathon to take place on same day as London Marathon

Charlie Arnell was the first woman through the finish line with a time of 2:37:12. Just after crossing the line, Charlie, from Oxfordshire, revealed it was the first ever marathon she had taken part in.

“This is my first marathon,” Charlie told the M.E.N. “I’ve just heard very good things about the Manchester Marathon - it’s the second biggest marathon in the UK - so it was something I really wanted to take part in. My aim was to get under 2:40 so I'm incredibly happy!”

Amongst the sea of runners who had donned fancy dress were human caterpillars, superheroes, brightly coloured running shorts and plenty of men in tutus. Tim Wheeler, 62, was amongst those dressed up by wearing his ‘Scissorman’ costume, with a huge pair of scissors attached to his backpack.

Running the Manchester Marathon for the eighth time, Tim, a magistrate and former headteacher at Stockport Grammar School, said his costume was inspired by the Little Princess Trust, which provides free real hair wigs to children undergoing cancer treatment.

“Scissorman wears a giant pair of scissors because the charity provides cut-styled wigs for children who have lost their hair due to charity treatment,” Tim, who is also a trustee for the Little Princess Trust, said. “But also because thousands cut their hair and send it in so without those donations, they can’t do what they do.

“This is my eighth Manchester Marathon but my 15th marathon altogether dressed as Scissorman. It weighs about 15 kg and I’m covered in tape to try and stop myself from falling apart, but it’s nothing compared to the work the charity does.”

And asked why he continues to take part in Manchester Marathon, Tim, who ended up completing the marathon in 4:36:09, said: “Apart from London, it’s the best marathon - it’s fast, it’s fun and there’s always so much support from everyone.”

Also taking part in this year’s event was Steve Ricketts, who last took part in the Manchester Marathon back in 2018. In-between then, he has faced a number of injuries and health issues which led to him suffering the effects of an incredibly rare brain disease.

“I joined a social running club in 2017 as a hobby really, as I was a bit of a runner as a child, and I realised half the club were running the marathon so, for some reason, I signed up in 2018 but I absolutely loved it,” Steve, from Bramhall, said.

“I remember I was really struggling and I wasn’t going to make it to the end but this girl along the route had given me a banana and some jelly beans and encouraged me to finish it. I always had unfinished business and had signed up for 2019, but had to deter it after an injury just led to one thing after another.”

After having knee surgery, getting Covid, and injuring his shoulder blade, Steve suffered a subarachnoid haemorrhage and was diagnosed with Superficial Siderosis in May 2022 after suffering unbearable headaches. The condition, which has no known cure, is estimated to affect around 100 people in the UK.

“It’s been a horrific time,” he explained. “When I was diagnosed with Superficial Siderosis, it really slowed my recovery down and left me with some long-term problems. I have double vision, tinnitus, some hearing loss and fatigue is probably the worst. When I decided I was going to do this in November, I ran about a kilometre on the treadmill and I collapsed. But I’ve just had to build it up slowly.

“Having got here with everything that’s happened since 2018, I’ve always wanted to come back. I’ve not run more than 5k in one day since, so it's going to be a long day for me, and I might have to walk a lot of it, but I’m ready.

“I want to raise awareness for The Silent Bleed Charity, which is the only charity in the UK researching it and helping others affected. There’s about 100 people in the UK with Superficial Siderosis and there’s not many of us out there shouting about it. So that’s why I’m here today.”

Alongside the route, there were supporters cheering on runners and holding signs - ranging from the hilarious to the inspirational. One sign, for example, said ‘Soph-far so good’ and another said ‘If I see you collapse, I’ll pause your Garmin’. One group of women, holding a sign saying ‘Keep going our girl’, said they had travelled all the way up from Birmingham to support their friend.

Another racer taking part is Emon Choudhury, who many may recognise from winning the 2020 series of BBC’S Race Across The World with his nephew. Alongside friend Andy Ross, he ran the relay race to raise funds for The Haemophilia Society.

“I’ve done it for the last three years and, for the last few years, I’ve done both London and Manchester back to back,” Emon said. “I’ll be doing the same this year. I like the atmosphere and vibes in manchester. A lot of my friends are here so it’s more a social thing for me here. Manchester is just good fun.”

For Emon, and many other racers, this year’s event will be the first after a couple of years to not take place during Ramadan. He said that meant he had ‘no excuses’ when it came to beating his personal best.

“The last two Manchester Marathon events have been during Ramadan and I’ve run them during fasting, so this is the first one in a while that hasn’t fallen during then,” he explained. “I’ve had to do lots of training runs this year during fasting but fortunately, I have been able to make a lot of time for it and make it work.

“My personal best is 4:25 but, considering that was during fasting, I’m going for a good time this year. I can drink and eat as much as I want, so I’ve got no excuse!”

Emon and Andy completed the two-leg relay in 03:34:45, coming 13th on the relay leaderboard and fifth in the relay's all-male group.

Pien Meulensteen, who has previously presented and commented on events like the FIFA World Cup, was event MC at the start line and was able to encourage racers as they headed off on the 26.2 mile route.

“I’ve never done anything like this before, I usually work in football, but it’s just such an incredible energy and buzz here.” People have been training for months and worked so hard to be here, so to see all of that start off - it’s a really exciting place to be.

“It’s just such a nice thing to be a part of. I’ve never run a marathon before and I’m not really sure I ever could, so people should be so proud that they are doing something so incredible.”