Manchester YMCA 10k

Oh dear, this long-established club-organised race has been kicked out of its nest by the Bupa cuckoo - current situation is that Manchester City Council won't stop the city twice and big money wins at the expense of local running clubs. Manchester Harriers are appealing the Council's decision. I'm all in favour of any event that gets loads of people running, but big commercially profitable events muscling in on the popularity of and at the expense of local existing events .... no.

Comments

  • That is absolutely disgusting, infact it's outrageous, i'm appaled at this decision.

    I could understand the council getting disillusioned with the traffic upset created by the very low numbers doing the the Marathon in recent yers, but this decision is wrong. I am really, really disappointed, frustrated and annoyed about this decision.
  • I echo the above besides the city centre is deserted that time on a Sunday anyway.
  • XBXB ✭✭✭
    Add my name to the list. Whose bl00dy city is it?
  • Seems to belong to people from Newcastle at mo'. :-(
  • oh bugger I knew this would happen!

    To be honest I was excited about the GMR coming along as I felt that it would give the City of Manchester the exposure that it needs, post bomb, to get people coming back to experience the delights of a fantastic city.

    I really didn't want smaller races to expire due to GMR's arrival and I think it's a great shame as both races have so much to offer very different types of runner.

    Have some good pals at the YMCA too...ah well!
  • Yes, live & let live, it's a big enough city for both. I really hope they can get it reinstated. Bizarrely the Church carried a fair bit of weight in the decision by opposing running on two Sundays! (like they don't have more important things they should be thinking about ..... ?)
  • You're jokine Erratic???? OHMG erm how many pubs are there in Manchester where people get pissed every sunday? How many places selling sex and stuff...things that I thought the Church would condemn before a healthy pastime such a running...LOL!

    The worlds getting madder!
  • Oooh don't get me started on the church again !!!!
  • Just like to add my comments. What a load of B***ocks. Not a very intellectual contribution but heart felt if nothing else. I'm ruuning the GNR and I love it, haven't run the Great Manchester 10K due to the price for a 10k run, but I cannot condone ANY established race being curtailed in favour of such a jamboree. Surely there must be room for both events. One for the fun runners one for the more committed. Good job I live in Wakefield now, 2 high class 10k races in the last 2 months.
  • And wait for the name change too 50p says in the next few years it becomes "The City of Manchester Great Run"
  • bet Salford would love it .. cant the Y just go in the opposite direction and run it round the Quays ?
  • Y should they change what they have been doing for years?
  • to get the race on ?

    so they dont lose it and to give an alternative to the big commercial race ?
  • They can't get the race on, Buney, no matter what they try, no matter what the route (they even considered running it up & down the Mancunian Way as an option of something being better than nothing, but the Police blocked that as it's the evacuation route out of Manc & has to be kept clear), the church is blocking a 2nd Sunday, bank hol dates clash with other events etc. The Salford 10k already exists (where I'll be heading next year as the newbies have negotiated a 3-year contract so prob stuffed for next year too.) The Council have given the newbies £250k in support & the entrance fee is v high - whose pockets is all that money going into? It's not filtering down to local clubs & grass-roots running. These mass events are now "business" and take money out of the sport. But, saying that, I recognise that Manchester plc is getting showtime coverage on the telly & as I said before, 15,000 people will be out there running which is good. I just wish the Council would have a change of heart. Fingers crossed for the club's appeal.
  • I thought that might happen. In anticipation I found a 10K in preston on the 13th June together with a 5k etc -it's the preston "festival of running" and entry forms can be downloaded from the council's website preston.gov.uk . an alternative for those in the area.
  • This is disgraceful. I've run the YMCA 10km every year since I moved here(1992)

    The YMCA Manchester 10km race is athletics at grass roots level, where do you think Tracey Morris, Sonia O'Sullivan, Paula Radcliffe, etc al cut their teeth?

  • To all racers - Check out the Gin Pit 5 trail race at Astley, Manchester on Wednesday 26th May.

    For more info contact me at stevensgary@hotmail.com or ring 01942 740710.

    Hope to see you there..
  • Darn - they could have got a petition signed by 15000 on Sunday. Such a shame.
  • The ironic thing is that they had a record entry last year, 1200+, presumably as a result of the GMR.

    It's an appalling decision!
  • How about everyone writing to the council and protesting? I think it stinks that local races lose out to the big money, and I hope everyone who chose Bupa's race over this one thinks twice before entering next year.
  • I don't think the Harriers will give up so easily - I'm certainly going to protest to the Council if their appeal to the Council's better nature isn't successful, but I suspect (hope!) that the club won't leave it there & will launch some kind of campaign for the race's resinstatement. I'll be supporting local races in preference to the monied mass events from now on.
  • Without supporting the council's current decision, how many of us started running through seeing the larger runs taking place on TV? The mass events do have a place, but the timing could have been better planned to avoid existing races. I enjoyed the GMR, but equally enjoy other local (and cheaper / less crowded) races.

    Manchester has a lot of races - compare to Liverpool. But it should be encouraging more, not less.
  • If they don't want two races so close together, surely the newcomer should take second place to the existing one?
  • I don't think anyone here would say that the mass events don't have their place, only that a big commercial venture shouldn't be able to push a pre-existing local event out of the way. It'd be nice perhaps if, when a new event with alot of big hitters behind it did hit a city, they insisted that any pre-existing event should not be affected by their presence, after all the mass eventers will be able to pull more of a punch with local councils than the clubs who depend on people volunteering their spare time. Sad that a city centre club is now allowed to put on a city centre race now.
  • <<der, meant "not" allowed ..>>
  • its just typical of Manchester council - i can say that being Mancunian born although i now live a few metres over the border in Cheshire!!!! but they don't care about the smaller running clubs activities - or existence for that matter - they would like us all to merge with the one "big name" club who aren't even in Manchester!!!!! yes money talks - so what price an event that they consider "small"
  • Off load the great run to Liverpool the city council there would sell its soul to the devil for any publicity.
  • Has any one read the add for City of Norwich 5k's that read come and do a pb - then it says it will be stopped at 20 mins because the police say so. So that rules us plodders out.

    Does anyone remember the Rutland Water mini Marathon another race lost on police say so. But think this was more down to the fact that the bike shops round rutland water laost revenue on that day and complained about the runners.

    Peterborough City Centre races were lost because of Sunday opening.
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