THOUSANDS of runners turned out in force to take part in an annual 13-mile race as it made its return after a three-year absence.
The sun was shining, and conditions were dry for the 2,000 runners taking part in the tenth Colchester Half Marathon on Sunday morning.
It was the first Colchester Half Marathon since 2019 after the 2021 and 2020 events were cancelled due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
The event started from United Way, near to the Colchester United, Jobserve Community Stadium, at 9am.
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Toby Freeman, the founder of the Robin Cancer Trust, said the day was fantastic.
He said: “It has been an absolutely fantastic day, and we are incredibly proud of bringing everyone together for the first half marathon in a couple of years.
“It is just amazing what can happen when a few inspired volunteers come together to deliver an amazing community event.
“We are all very happy.
“We had around 2,000 runners, on a very hot and sunny day, but we did everything we could to keep the runners safe and cool.
“The atmosphere was so good, it was a real community event and because we haven’t had it for so long, and nothing beats an in-person race.
“It was really great to have that many people running through our now city.”
The winner of the event was Kurtis Swan with Chris Burgoyne in second, and Conor Culham in third.
The first lady was Laura Thomas.
The two charities the Colchester Half Marathon are supporting are The Robin Cancer Trust, and Headway Essex.
The trust was founded by the Freeman family in 2012 following the tragic death of son and brother Robin, aged just 24.
Mr Freeman, chief executive officer of the trust, spoke about the importance of raising money for charity at the half marathon.
He said: “It is an inspiring atmosphere with people running for charities close to there heart.
“It is so important to raise money for such special charities, we have our two chosen charities, and we have runners who all fundraise for their own causes too, and we are very proud to have raised hundreds of thousands for local charities.
“It is the perfect way to start the city status, and we are very proud to have something in the Colchester calendar to build on and make bigger and better every year, and we are grateful to community that comes out to support us.”
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