Feature

2024 Manchester Marathon guide – start times, route, road closures and everything else you need to know

All of the important info ahead of the big day.

Danny Jones Danny Jones - 10th April 2024

The adidas Manchester Marathon is back for 2024 and the region is already getting set for thousands of Mancs to take on the annual challenge.

Not only the second-largest race of its kind in the UK but the fourth most popular in all of Europe, the Manchester Marathon welcomes more than 30,000 runners every year and even more spectators from all over the continent. We’re talking around 125,000 people lining the 26.2-mile route. Yowza.

With an unprecedented demand for places at this year’s event, which has been running rather unbelievably since 1908 (no pun intended), this year’s Manchester Marathon on Sunday, 14 April 2024 is genuinely set to be the biggest yet.

So if you’re taking part or just cheering the competitors on from the sidelines, here’s everything you need to know about the 2024 adidas Manchester Marathon.

Manchester Marathon Route, waves and timings

manchester marathon route 2024
The 2024 Manchester Marathon map.
manchester marathon start line 2024
The start line.
Along the way, runners can expect to take in some of Manc’s most iconic landmarks, from
Bridgewater Hall and the Beetham Tower to the Theatre of Dreams itself and many more

As with previous years, the route will start and end over in Trafford. Participants will set off underneath Trafford Arch at White City Circle, making their way past Old Trafford before
heading back towards the city centre via Chorlton and Hulme.

After reaching the city centre, runners will then head towards Stretford, passing through Sale
before turning off as they approach Timperley and eventually reach Altrincham around the 16-mile mark.

The final leg of the route will take runners through Chorlton-Cum-Hardy, with Talbot Road leading you back to the finish line. For those feeling any nerves (like the runner currently writing this), you’ll be glad to know the Manchester Marathon is one of the flattest in the country.

You can see the full breakdown of timings and coloured waves down below. You can also watch the full virtual run-through of the running route HERE.

manchester marathon start times 2024
You can view the full participant guide HERE.

Event Village – entry points, bag drop, toilets and more

Event Village will once again be based around the Emirates Old Trafford, home of Lancashire County Cricket Club, where participants will also be able to find entry points to the start line.

Info points, bag drops and toilet facilities will also be available around the pre and post-race complex, along with first aid tents and dedicated access routes from nearby parking spots and local transport.

Event Village will be strictly open to runners between 7:30–10:30am, operating on a one-way system, before being opened up to the thousands of supporters expected to line the streets.

You can see a full map of the area down below, including where to drop your bags and nip to the loo before you set off on your race – and don’t worry, there will be places to stop for the toilet along the route if nature is annoying enough to calls.

where is event village manchester marathon?
To help you familiarise yourself with your surroundings.

Road closures for the Manchester Marathon

The road closures for this year’s marathon include the A56 (Northbound and Southbound), with the officials set to start closing roads at 3am and begin re-opening roads from 2pm onwards after the course begins to clear.

The last closed road is expected to re-open around 8pm through Chorlton and Old Trafford towards the end of the course.

You can find further details on road closure and what other parts of Greater Manchester are set to be impacted HERE.

Travel advice

As mentioned, road closure will obviously impact people coming in and out of the city as well as to various spots along the marathon route, so whether you’re a local or travelling in from elsewhere, it’s worth knowing where to be and where’s best to avoid too.

Travel warnings and advice have now been issued by Transport for Greater Manchester (TfGM), which you can see in full here.

In a nutshell, it’s expected that public transport will be very busy before, during and after the race, but the Metrolink trams still remain the best way to get around. Bus routes will be being diverted.

People have been asked to leave their cars at home or use park and rides where possible due to all the road closures, displaced traffic and expected congestion.

It goes without saying that there will also be a significant number of road closures throughout Sunday as well. However, once again, the wonderful organisers have you covered; you can see the full list of closures HERE and they have even put together an interactive map for you to check what’s shut when:

Public transport

People are also being advised to leave their cars at home where possible to avoid the busy roads, or to at least use the free park-and-ride services on the way into Manchester and travel to their destinations via our city’s wonderful tram network.

Metrolink will be operating a six-minute frequency on the Altrincham line with more double trams and increased capacity along various other lines too. That being said, services are expected to be extremely busy throughout the day, so if you can travel flexibly, the predicted quietest time to travel is around 4pm.

Once you’ve tapped on and tapped off, most fan corners, cheer zones and regular spots for supporters to gather together should only be a short walk away from your chosen tram stop.

New mascots, event shirts and the 2024 finisher’s medals picked by the public

This year, the adidas Manchester Marathon also welcomes on board a brand new mascot, Chester the Bee, who will join the event’s much-loved existing mascot, Manny the Bee to help bring extra cheer to the festivities on the day.

As we all know and love, Manchester has a vibrant LGBTQIA+ community and, as the organisers said in a press release, “introducing mascots that celebrate this diversity allows the marathon to reflect these identities within Greater Manchester. It’s a way to honour the unique contributions and experiences of LGBTQIA+ individuals and showcase their pride within the larger community.”

Better still, the organisers donate £1 for every participant taking on the marathon straight to the Trafford Active Fund, which offers local groups the chance to receive a special allocation of funding to build a long-lasting sport and physical activity legacy in Greater Manchester. Money from the marathon also goes towards planting trees across the region through the Green Runner scheme.

You can also see what this year’s general public selected as the design for this year’s Manchester Marathon finisher’s medal design down below. It’s a pretty one.

https://twitter.com/Marathon_Mcr/status/1737805171315359992

Read more:

With a record 32,000+ runners set to hit the streets of 0161 this year, we cannot wait for people all over the ten boroughs to get soaked up in the spirit of the day.

It’s genuinely one of the most wholesome dates on the calendar and we’re just praying for a sunny day to make it perfect.

It’s also estimated that the event will raise around £3.5 million for hundreds of charities,
with nearly 2,000 places allocated to representatives from Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer
Research UK, British Heart Foundation and The Christie. You absolutely love to see it.

Good luck to everyone taking part on the day — you’re all going to absolutely smash it.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — adidas Manchester Marathon

Feature

Review | Snow Patrol roll back the years at Co-op Live for a mini-Manc’s first gig

Danny Jones Danny Jones Snow Patrol Co-op Live gig review Manchester

This weekend we enjoyed a new kind of live music experience: rediscovering the joy of listening to a childhood favourite by watching it through the eyes of the next generation – that was how we witnessed a fully-fledged arena return to Manchester for Snow Patrol at Co-op Live.

And it was special for lots of reasons.

Taking a little one to their first gig is something you’ll never forget and sharing a new-found connection with a band that you loved when you were their age is one of those magical things about music that we’re eternally grateful for.

You might assume the Snow Patrol crowd one skews a little older for the most part but we were pleased to see there were more than a few kids and teenagers donning tour tees, looking wide-eyed at the sheer size of the Co-op Live arena, and singing the words back better than Gary Lightbody at times.

co-op live etihad campus walkway
snow patrol manchester review
Sees the sign: ‘Race you there!’ (Credit: Audio North)

Yes, the Belfast-born frontman made a few mistakes on the night, but it did add a rather laid-back quality to what many acts might have found a daunting performance: playing a sell-out night to around 23,500 fans inside the enormous state-of-the-art venue.

But, obviously, there wasn’t even a whiff of nerves from these lads.

You don’t get to have been around for this long and become as successful as they are without being able to relax on stage and lean into those idiosyncratic perfections that feel more like private moments shared between the artist and the crowd.

The young lad sat watching it with us certainly got a kick out of it and though we might not have been able to cover his ears in time to censor some light but ever-charming swear words (it always sounds better in Irish, don’t you think?), it made for some nice banter between him and the crowd.

Big props must go to Johnny McDaid on the keys too, who besides having written for the likes of Ed Sheeran, Robbie Williams, Alicia Keys, Biffy Clyro and countless others over the years, also managed to impress by playing the majority of this entire tour after having trapped his hand in a train door. OUCH.

johnny mcdaid broken hand tour
co-op live 2025 gig reviews
Credit: The Manc Group

Not only was that little interlude up there with one of the most applause-worthy parts of the entire show, but we were always pretty blown away by what we saw, as we all as what we heard.

Be it watching a digital tree come to life, shed its leaves and then fall as petal confetti, two sheer semi-opaque paper-thin screens swirl to create the album cover art for their latest album, or kicking the gig off with ‘Take Back The City’ as a multicoloured skyline appeared behind them, it was all pretty incredible.

We even got to hear a personal favourite of ours, ‘Set Fire To The Third Bar’, complete with a virtual performance from the voice that truly makes the song: Martha Wainwright.

It was in moments like this when we turned to see a 10-year-old’s face not quite sure of what it was seeing but an open-mouthed expression confirming they were finding it as stunning as we were.

We thoroughly enjoyed going through the back catalogue and working our way right up to plenty of the songs from The Forest Is The Path – which Gary himself firmly believes is their best work yet when we interviewed him – but it was as visually stunning as it was to the gorgeous sonically.

Interview | Snow Patrol on being at ‘the best they’ve ever been’ and making music that matters

Read more:

All in all, we Snow Patrol were as good as ever – it really is as simple as that.

We had the privilege of seeing an intimate date at New Century Hall back in September 2024 and it’s always fascinating to see how a scaled-down acoustic set can be transformed into a big stadium show with all the bells and whistles.

Both proved to be a brilliant way to see the contemporary rock, indie and alternative veterans, but there’s something about giving them a stage as big as this that reminds you of just how much they deserve it.

the forest is the path tour
Up there with one of the prettiest gig snapshots in our memory.
snow patrol martha wainwright
Not quite a hologram but very cool nonetheless.
The production levels are always top-tier at Co-op Live but the Snow Patrol set was much more impressive than we expected.

Last but not least, thanks to Co-op Live not just for having but for creating a little boy’s memory that he’ll never forget.

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — The Manc Group

Feature

Flashbacks: The timelapse of the Trafford Centre construction that’s gone viral

Danny Jones Danny Jones

The Trafford Centre might look like some decadent Roman emperor’s palace or as if it was plucked from the heart of Ancient Grecian city, but as anyone old enough to remember it’s opening and/or construction will tell you, it seems strange to think its not even been around for three decades yet.

As Greater Manchester’s and one of the North West’s most famous shopping centres full stop, the iconic attraction first began being built back in 1996, when John Major was Prime Minister, Manchester United were still Premier League champions, Britpop was at its peak and George Michael was number one.

It’s fair to say that a lot has changed since then and although Oasis might be back come 2025, The Trafford Centre and surrounding area are pretty unrecgonisable compared to nearly 30 years ago.

All told, it took approximately 27 months to erect the neo-classical epicentre of all things shopping, leisure, food and fanciness – and here’s what the process looked like:

Pretty wild to watch it all back, right?

With the initial 14 million sq ft shopping centre being completed in September 1998 following approximately 810 days of work, The Trafford Centre debuted to the Manc public and beyond.

It took more than 3,000 builders to bring the 60 hectare site to life at the peak of construction and since then the plot has only grown bigger, bolder and more ambitious over time.

Present day, it has everything from cinema screens and a mini Legoland to a Sea Life location, multiple bowling alleys and countless other forms of entertainment beyond just rows of shops and restaurants – hence why it remains busy pretty much year-round.

Back then, British celebrities, popular local names of note, politicians, dignitaries and prominent figures from the retail industry got to visit as part of exclusive preview events in the days before its launch date.

You can see the spectacle and fascination surrounding the official opening event here:

Seems surreal watching this today but the construction of the Trafford Centre was a huge moment not just for 0161 but all of the North.

But of course, the entire complex itself has seen multiple extensions over the years, including massive developments such as Barton Square and The Great Hall.

At the outset, it cost more than £600 million to build The Trafford Centre; the major renovations mentioned above which took place in 2008 cost another £100m and the Trafford Palazzo revamp around a decade later came in at around £75m.

There has and always will be lots of money put behind this intruguing monument to modern consumerism, and big brands will continue to flock to open units within the huge expanse whenever they can: some of the most recent being Archie’s, Flying Tiger, Sephora, Tiffany, Gymshark and more.

We’ll admit the aesthetic still makes us double-take from time to time (though not as much as confused Londoners visiting for the first time), but it’s not like this part of the world hasn’t boasted plenty of other curiosities in the past…

Five forgotten Manchester landmarks and sculptures from years gone by
We love looking back at the Greater Manchester of old.

Read more:

For all the latest news, events and goings on in Greater Manchester, subscribe to The Manc newsletter HERE.

Featured Images — Charles Bowring (via Wikimedia Commons)/The Manc Group

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