After a challenging year and a half, we’re delighted to announce that we’re finally back!!! We can’t wait to welcome you in October when you join us to #RunSwansea. There will be a few changes to ensure that we keep everyone as safe as possible, but we’re chomping at the bit to finally get our 2021 off to a running start and give you the familiar feel of being at a Front Runner Event.

Some changes will be familiar to you, such as hand sanitiser being available and the wearing of face masks (for those who want to).

However, the biggest change to the event is the start time. We’ve been inundated with requests to confirm the start time since Swansea City F.C announced they’ve moved their game with Cardiff City F.C from Saturday 16th October to 12 noon on Sunday 17th October. As such, the race will start at 08:00. We’re extremely frustrated that we’ve had to do this, but we couldn’t secure another date in the 2021 calendar. So, anyone wanting to run and watch the football at the stadium or in a bar should be able to. The Swans can thank us later!

Another change is we’ve arranged for pre-start assembly to take place at St Helen’s Rugby ground. Access is only via the Gorse Lane entrance (opposite the Patti Pavilion/Victoria Park) and the gates will open from 06:30. The access gates will close by 07:45, so you’ll need to be checked into St Helen’s prior to this in order to avoid not participating.

In order to welcome you back and to ease you back into your return to running, we’ve reduced the race capacity to 4000. The intention is to provide as much space as possible to help you move freely and safely.

All other key changes and information can be found within our Covid Safety Event Protocol Guide which you can download here: https://www.swanseahalfmarathon.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/2021-SHM-Covid-Safety-Guide-Final.pdf (or see attached pdf file)

Race Director, David Martin-Jewell said:

“It’s such a relief to see [all] events finally returning. We have watched many of our peers across the events sector delivering races and gigs across the country and now it’s our turn. We cannot wait to welcome runners back to Swansea.

We didn’t expect to be announcing that we must change the start time, particularly after such a difficult period for us all, but the last thing we need to face is clashing with the Swans v Cardiff. The decision by the club to proceed on the same day as the half has put us under enormous strain and has been hugely frustrating, particularly as we raised our concerns about this this with the club back in June when the fixtures were released. That said, an early start simply means an early finish and hopefully those runners that want to complete the race and get to the game, should be able to.”

We’re looking forward to seeing you on October 17th.

The Front Runner Events Team