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The Manchester Marathon
- Sapphire Running Team
- Jul 20, 2025
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 5, 2025
Manchester is one of the largest marathons in Europe
It's a fast and flat course through Greater Manchester starting near Old Trafford football stadium and heading towards the city centre before looping around some of east Cheshire's favourite towns and back to Old Trafford. The race has a rich history dating back to 1908. April is a busy marathon month in the UK, with Manchester, Brighton and London all happening within a month of each other.
The destination
The birthplace of the industrial revolution, Manchester has a proud history in science, politics, music, arts and sport. And today the city combines this heritage with a progressive vision to be a city that delivers surprise and delight in equal measures. Manchester city centre is jam-packed with buzzing restaurants, bars and cafes, great shops and fascinating museums and galleries. The Science and Industry Museum should be at the top of your list. The surrounding Greater Manchester boroughs offer a real mix of visitor experiences including quaint market towns, traditional pubs and beautiful green spaces and waterways to be explored on foot or bike. The city region is easily navigated, with great transport links, both in and around Greater Manchester. This is very much a Greater Manchester event and you'll see plenty of the region on your way round, like the towns of Sale and Altrincham, both well worth a visit once your race is done. Altrincham's new market hall is a must.
Manchester is easy to get to with an international airport only a few miles from the city centre and excellent train links. Accommodation options are plentiful, with some swanky new hotels available if you're feeling flush.
History
The First Manchester Marathon was run in 1908, starting and finishing at the Saracen’s head pub in Warburton in Trafford. This was a 20 mile (there was no established distance for a marathon then) run organised by Salford Harriers. The first ever amateur marathon to be run using the now established marathon distance of 26 miles 385 yard distance was the Manchester Marathon in 1909. This marathon started in Sandbach and finished at the Fallowfield Stadium in Manchester.After a 14 year gap, the Manchester marathon returned and kept the same course from 1923 to 1928 and 1931 to 1936. This route started and finished at the Fallowfield Stadium passing through Cheadle, Timperley, Altrincham, Hale Barns, Styal and Gatley. From 1969 to 1973 the Maxol marathons started from Manchester Town Hall and finished at Old Trafford football stadium. Manchester Marathons were then run from 1981 to 1985 and from 1996 to 2002. After an absence of ten years the iconic Manchester Marathon returned to Trafford, the sporting heart of Greater Manchester, to offer the North West a truly magnificent personal challenge. Since then it has continued to grow, and firmly established itself as one of Europe’s premier marathon events.
Race organiser
The Manchester Marathon is organised by Human Race Limited. It is part of a group of companies whose ultimate parent company is Amaury Sport Organisation, the organisers of the Paris Marathon and the Paris Half, along with many others.
When?
The race is held annually in April.
Distances
Marathon only, but they also offer a big half marathon in October.
Is there an expo?
There is no formal expo. Race packs are dispatched in the post prior to the event weekend for those UK based. These could arrive any time up until 48 hours before the run. If they don't arrive in time they can be collected at the race hotel, but not on race day.
How many runners?
In 2025 there were just over 36,000 entrants.
The course
The 2023 route started at White City Circle on the A56 in Trafford. From here, runners made their way past Old Trafford and then towards the city centre via Chorlton Road passing Hulme. The Old Trafford football stadium officially opened on 19 February 1910 with a match between Manchester and Liverpool.. The stadium at that time consisted of one covered seating stand and open terraces on the other three sides. Capacity was slightly over 80,000. In 2006 and after many changes over the years , the stadium reached its current capacity when stands were built in the upper-tier corners on both sides of the North Stand. From the city centre, runners looped back towards Stretford on Bridgewater Way, leading onto Chester Road and then Cross Street. After going past Sale, they ran towards Manchester Road before turning off towards Timperley via Park Road. At the town of Altrincham (a trendy market town that's well worth a visit) at around the 16-mile mark they began the journey to the finish line through Brooklands and Marsland Road. At Chorlton-Cum Hardy on Edge Lane, it's not far to the finish line on Talbot Road, through Seymour Grove. The finish is at another Old Trafford stadium, this time it's the cricket ground, built in 1857 and now going through a major refurbishment phase.
What's unique?
Old Trafford stadium is something of a mecca for football fans, primarily for Manchester United fans. And the cricket ground is a mecca for English and Lancashire cricket fans!
Do charities benefit?
In line with other UK marathons there is a charity programme that encourages runners to raise money for their preferred charity. There are a number of headline and preferred charities that invest in the event in exchange for profile on the website and within event communications to the runners.
Our verdict
It's not a city centre marathon like London, Berlin or Paris, with crowds around every corner. It does run through Manchester city centre, where there is plenty of support, and it also takes in towns within Greater Manchester, where support will be sparse. It's flat though and that's important and the temperature could well be ideal for marathon running.
How to register
Online via the website. It does not sell out yet, but don't leave it too late. There are also entries available via a number of charities on the site. This will require you to raise an agreed amount for that charity.
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