Manchester is about for an enormous sporting Sunday on nineteenth April, with two main titles on the road because the adidas Manchester Marathon takes over town alongside the Premier League decider.
While 55,000 followers head to Manchester City v Arsenal, greater than 150,000 spectators are anticipated to line the marathon route for its largest version but. Over 70 elite athletes will line up for the occasion, which additionally hosts the 2026 England Athletics English Championships.
From returning champions to GB internationals and standout marathoners, right here’s a more in-depth have a look at the athletes to look at throughout the ladies’s, males’s and wheelchair races.
Women’s Elite Field
Naomi Robinson
The 2023 champion returns to Manchester for the primary time since her win and arrives in robust kind after taking gold for Great Britain on the IAU 50km World Championships.
Melissah Gibson
Last yr’s runner-up, Melissa Gibson will likely be amongst these difficult on the entrance having additionally taken half within the IAU 50km World Championships earlier this yr and.
Heather Timmins
With a standout qualifying time of two:32:40 from the Zurich Seville Marathon, Timmins has firmly put herself in competition for a place on the rostrum.
Men’s Elite Field
Joshua Griffiths
The defending champion returns after securing victory in 2025 with a time of two:16:56. Griffiths will likely be aiming to retain his title in what guarantees to be a aggressive subject.
Steven Bayton
Lining up alongside Griffiths will likely be former champion Steven Bayton, returning for the primary time since his 2016 victory.
Will Clarke
Olympic triathlete Clarke, who beforehand competed on the 2022 version, may also be taking the beginning line.
Wheelchair Elite Field
Bret Crossley
The 2024 champion, Bret Crossley, returns to defend his title and will likely be seeking to ship one other robust efficiency on the streets of Greater Manchester.
Josh Hickinbottom
Having secured third place on the Manchester Half Marathon 2025 with a time of 56:03, Josh Hickinbottom will definitely problem Bret Crossley for the Wheelchair’s win.
Prize money will stay the identical throughout all elite classes, honouring the adidas Manchester Marathon’s dedication to making sure equal recognition of athletes throughout the boys’s, ladies’s and wheelchair fields. Alongside this yr’s prize cash, a £500 time bonus will likely be awarded to any athlete who data a ending time of two:16 within the males’s elite subject or beneath 2:36 within the ladies’s.
Timings of the day
The wheelchair race will start at 08:55, adopted by the elite males’s and ladies’s races at 09:00.
The Full Elite Start List might be discovered here. You can watch the elite race on our stay stream here. We’ll even be sharing the information of the winners after the rostrum end and outcomes will likely be accessible after a brief wait here.
