'No cuts to Coventry Half Marathon budget' claims council chief as 2017 event planning continues - The Coventry Observer

'No cuts to Coventry Half Marathon budget' claims council chief as 2017 event planning continues

Coventry Editorial 27th Oct, 2016 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

THERE are fresh hopes that next year’s popular Coventry Half Marathon could be saved after the deputy leader of the council confirmed to the Observer that there has been no cuts to the event’s budget.

Concerns were raised earlier this month that one of the city’s biggest annual sporting events would be wiped off the calendar after organisers G02 decided not to renew their contract for 2017.

Michael McCann, fundraising manager for Zoe’s Place who are the official charity partner of the race, expressed his worry that council budget cuts were to blame, suggesting that money would be used for other non-sporting events such as the Godiva Festival.

He also pointed out that neighbours Birmingham continued to add sporting events to its calendar, while Coventry lost out.




But in a letter to the Observer, Councillor Abdul Khan reassured Michael and the people of Coventry that the council are doing all they can to make sure next year’s half marathon goes ahead.

He said: “I can reassure Michael, and all your readers, that firstly, being part of the West Midlands Combined Authority has no bearing whatsoever on this situation.


“As rightly emphasised in The Observer’s article, GO2 Events have made a business decision not to seek to deliver the event going forward.

Secondly, the Council’s budget for the delivery of a half marathon event has not been cut. I’ve asked my officers to look at options for how we can deliver an event for 2017.

“We’re very proud of the fact that we have built a successful half marathon event with our partners and, as Michael will testify, this has been a great way of raising funds towards many worthy charities, including Zoe’s Place.

“I am aware that many people have the Coventry event in their running calendar for 2017, therefore we will be looking to make a further announcement in the coming weeks.”

The Coventry Half Marathon has grown in popularity year-on-year with record numbers taking part back in February where over 4,000 runners took to the streets of Coventry for the 13.1-mile challenge.

As well as providing a platform for health, fitness and fun, the 13.1-mile race also helps raised thousands of pounds for numerous local charities.

Any further news and announcements over the future of the Coventry Half Marathon will be posted on www.coventryhalf.com.

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