Sunday 6th November 2022 sees the 33rd anniversary of the Marlow Half Marathon, and is also the 7th edition of its sister race, the Marlow 7 (miles).
The races start at 9.30am on Marlow High Street then heads north, meandering through the Chiltern Hills and on in to the Hambleden Valley before returning to the town and finishing in Marlow Sports Club on Pound Lane.
Having (due to covid) missed his opportunity to start the race in 2021, Chris Evans will be starting the 2022 event.
Chris and his wife Natasha are both extremely keen runners and can often be seen running in and around Marlow and are enthusiastic supporters of the event.
The event is always held on the first Sunday in November, and as such is always close to Bonfire Night with its history of Guy Fawkes and bonfires. This year will be no exception with the race being started by the “bang” of an exploding rocket.
All the proceeds from the event go to charities local to Marlow, High Wycombe and Maidenhead. Since 1990 the Marlow Half Marathon and Marlow 7 have raised over £235,000 for local charities, with this year’s supported charities including the Marlow Ukraine Collective, Samaritans and the Marlow Sports Club.
The Marlow Half Marathon course has changed slightly over the years, with the current men’s record held by Aran Davidson (01:14:54 – newly set in 2021) and ladies held by Melanie Wilkins (01:22:54). The Marlow 7 course records are held by Zachary Randall (00:37:30) and Becky Atkinson (00:45:38).
There should be entries available on the day – see www.marlowhalfmarathon.com for more info.
Road Closure info
To ensure the safety of the runners, their supporters and residents of and visitors to Marlow, a road closure order has been granted covering Marlow Bridge, Marlow High Street as far as West Street, Oxford Road and Chalkpit Lane to its junction with Bovingdon Green. As a result, these roads in Marlow will be closed between 09:15am to 10:00am on race day (6th Nov) and will reopen as the runners clear them.
In addition, a managed crossing point will operate on the Henley Road close to the bus stop near the Pound Lane junction. This may result in delays for road traffic between 10:00am and 12 noon.
Once across the Henley Road, the runners will cross Pound Lane between the junctions with Penwood Lane and Spinners Walk to reach the finish at the race village in Marlow Sports Club. To get the runners across Pound Lane and along to the finish safely, Pound Lane will be closed from 10:00am until 12:30pm.
Main photo credit: Simon Jones