Road closures announced for sell-out Warwick Half Marathon this weekend

A record 2,500 runners have signed up to take part in The Wigley Group Warwick Half Marathon as it returns to the town this weekend.

Entries have sold out for the half marathon, which takes place from 9am on Sunday (February 4), beginning and ending at the Warwick Racecourse and taking runners through countryside roads.

The event is organised by RunThrough, the UK’s largest and Europe’s fastest-growing running events company, and is backed by Warwickshire property, development and construction company The Wigley Group as title sponsor.

Last year’s event raised around £80,000.

Organisers have announced traffic measures and road closures will be in place along the 13.1-mile route from 8.30am, with marshals on hand throughout.

Road closures include; Saltisford heading towards Northgate, Priory Road and St John’s until 9.20am.

Coventry Road will be closed until 9.40am, Warwick Road will be closed until 10am, Woodcote Lane will be closed until 10.15am, and Rouncil Lane will be closed until 11am.

Elsewhere, Kites Nest Lane and Brownley Green Lane will be closed until 11.30am, Birmingham Road will be closed until 11.45am, and Ugly Bridge Road and Woodway Lane will close until 12.15pm.

Finally, Hampton Road will close until 12.30pm.

Rob Sullivan, race director, said: “We’ve had fantastic reaction to the event this year and a record number of entries, so it is shaping up to be a great day.

“Warwick always puts on a superb show of support so we are looking forward to seeing as many people as possible cheering runners on.”

Title sponsor The Wigley Group have backed the event since 2019 and this year staff member Laura Liggins is running to support SWFT Charity’s £50,000 fundraising drive to create a sensory garden for dementia patients at Warwick Hospital.

SWFT Charity is the official charity of South Warwickshire University NHS Foundation Trust and has been chosen as this year’s charity partner, with runners able to raise money to support their work.

James Davies, chief executive officer at The Wigley Group, said: “As a local company based in Southam, we are proud to support such a fabulous event for Warwick and the region, which promotes active living in our community as well as raising funds for a number of good causes.

“Many of our team have taken part over the years and we wish Laura and all of the other runners this year good luck. We look forward to seeing you there.”

The half marathon begins at 9am, a wheelchair half marathon starts five minutes earlier, while the 1k kids race starts at 11.30am.

All finishers will receive a medal with prizes available for the top three places overall and the top place in each of the veteran categories – aged over 40, 50, 60 and 70 – for both males and females.

The event also makes up one of 12 races in the Top Flight series, which supports top-flight athletics in the UK and provides a new high-level competition platform for runners.

The Top Flight series offers a cash prize per race and for the overall series, for more information go to: www.topflightraces.com

For more information on The Wigley Group Warwick Half Marathon, go to: www.warwickhalf.com