Birmingham half marathon and 10K: this year’s route, date, start times, advice and how to enter

Elite athletes and amateur runners are gearing up for one of the highlights in the running calendar as the Great Birmingham Run returns next month (May).

Thousands of runners will be training hard to prepare for the half marathon and 10k, which for the first time, will take place on the same day this year.

Following Covid-enforced cancellations in 2020 and 2021, the Birmingham run is back and exciting is building ahead of the big event.

Here’s everything we know so far.

When is the Great Birmingham Run?

The event will take place on Sunday, 1 May 2022.

Both the 10k and half marathon events will take place on the same day.

When does the run get underway?

The event gets underway at 8.30am at Aston University, with the runs starting in waves from 9.30am.

The half marathon and 10k organge waves starts at 9.30am, the white wave at 9.41am, the green at 09.52 am and the pink wave gets underway at 10.14am.

The Great Birmingham Junior Run starts at 11.10am, and the mini run gets underway at 11.55am.

What’s the route?

The 10k route starts in the city centre and takes runners past the Bullring, and out along Pershore Road to Cannon Hill Park which marks the half way point.

Runners then loop round Edgbaston Cricket Ground and past Calthorpe Park, before a final section through Digbeth before the grandstand city centre finish.

The Half marathon route follows the 10k route out along Pershore Road, turning right through Selly Park before heading out towards Bourneville which marks the half way point – then joins the 10k route at Cannon Hill Park, passing Edgbaston, Calthorpe Park on the homestretch into the city centre.

Those who take part in the race will also get a medal and T-shirt, and there is also an event at aston university after the runs finish, which will include food, DJs and food stalls.

How to take part

To eneter into the run, you will need to visit the Great Birmingham Run website, here.

It costs £14 to take part in the mini and junior events, £24 for the 10k, and £39 for the half marathon.

What advice has been given?

Solihull performance coach Arj Thiruchelvam, who supports novices up to Team GB Olympians, has issued advice for those runners taking part this year.

If you’re behind on training, Arj says “Don’t try to catch up by adding missed training sessions into a smaller window.

“Pick your three most effective training sessions each week and leave any others as bonus sessions, making sure at least one of these is long and slow.

“You do have time to do strength and mobility work. Whether it’s 5 or 50 minutes, it can all be effective. If you can’t fit in an hour’s running session, there’s no excuse not to do 10 minutes of mobility.

“Maximise gels, hydration and your nutrition, whether that’s weight management or how to fuel your training properly. Seek support because once you cross that one hour boundary, nutrition plays a vital part in your success at the half-marathon.”

How far should I run in training?

Arj said: “Your mileage should be building up while the number of high intensity, shorter training sessions should be dropping. Make sure you’re used to fuelling whilst running with gels and isotonic drinks, don’t leave them until race day.

“I’m regularly asked how long a ‘long run’ should be. There is no need to run the full distance in one go and a common error in the final month is to get nervous, run a half-marathon a couple of weeks before the race and scupper your plans through over-training and injury.”

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