Swindon Half Marathon cancelled due to lack of funds

This year's Swindon Half Marathon has been cancelled due to funding issues, despite numerous attempts to raise the necessary money.

In a statement, Katie Taylor-Neale, the Swindon Half Marathon event director said: 

“It is with much regret that we have had to make the decision to cancel Swindon Half Marathon 2016. 

We know that many of you have spent the last few months training hard for the event and the enthusiasm that the Swindon community has shown us has been overwhelming.

Unfortunately we have been unable to secure the financial support that we need in order to run the day safely and legally.  Our Crowdfunder campaign raised £2,250 and we received £11,600 sponsorship and amazingly generous donations of services and products from businesses.  However, this, together with a number of substantial sponsorship pledges not being realised, still left a gap of approximately £25,000 that was needed for vital infrastructure costs such as road closures, safety barriers and toilets.   Where possible, we negotiated all costs as much as possible to keep the overall total low, however this just wasn’t enough without further financial support.

Swindon Half Marathon is run completely by volunteers and not for profit – to enable our community to come together as part of positive, active event and enable people taking part to raise money for charities that are close to their heart.  Thank you to everyone who has shown their support this year. 

Registered runners will receive refunds in due course and we hope that the FAQ on the website –www.swindonhalfmarathon.org.uk - answer all the questions you have.

We hope that this is not the end for a Half Marathon in Swindon.  However it is clear that without further community voluntary and financial support then putting on an event for 2017 will also be a challenge.  We already have a small group of individuals interested in reviewing the options for 2017 and are looking for others willing to get involved.  Please email [email protected] if you’re interested.

Thank you for all of your support.”