Abingdon AAC
Tilsley Park, Dunmore Road, Abingdon, OX14 1PU
Club Secretary: Judy Howard - judyhoward@mac.com

About the event

Whether you are taking part as a runner, supporting your family or friends as they run the race, or just enjoying the spectacle and the enthusiasm of the day we hope it will be a day to remember.

The first Abingdon marathon was in 1982 and it has been run every year since, apart from 2007, when the event was cancelled due to organizational difficulties. This year we have been fortunate in gaining support from members of other local clubs and are pleased that the event can be run for the 25th time. The organisation of a marathon is a considerable job, and this year Abingdon Amblers AC are especially grateful for the help of the  members of Witney Road Runners, Alchester AC and Headington Road Runners who have made key contributions to the organisation.

Our main sponsors this year are Baby Runner dot com who supply multi-terrain baby joggers and  and special needs push chairs, details of which can be found at http://www.babyrunner.com/. We thank them for their generous financial support.

This year once again we will host the Oxfordshire County Championship, Middlesex County Championship, Berkshire County Championship, RRC Championship, SCVAC Marathon Championship and British Army Marathon Championship
The event also hosts the Twin Towns competition. Once again we extend a big welcome to our friends from overseas, especially from Argentan, France, Abingdon’s twin town. Since 1987 athletes from Abingdon (and many other British clubs) have run Argentan’s full or half marathon, and just three weeks later each year runners from Argentan have come to run Abingdon Marathon, each party enjoying a weekend of hospitality with the other town’s club.

The marathon entry has grown over the years and our entry limit is 1,100 this year. We expect this number to be reached in July, well before the closing date, so make sure you enter early to avoid disappointment 

As usual, following the race we shall make a contribution to a number of charities from the proceeds. In 2006 we donated a significant amount to local charities. We are pleased to be adopting three main charities this year, Against Breast Cancer, SeeSaw, and Helen and Douglas House. So if you are planning to support a charity to make your run even more worthwhile, you may like to consider these charities.

This year we have a new course, map to follow. We will be starting and finishing at Tilsley Park running track, passing through the town centre, then two laps to the South of the town, through the villages of Drayton, Milton, and Sutton Courtenay before becoming back through the town. This will provide lots of opportunities for your supporters to see you and offer their encouragement. The course is very flat as before and therefore should be ideal for achieving personal bests. The course is not suitable for unaccompanied wheelchair competitors, but we hope we will have other wheelchair runners, including Mick and Phil who plan to take part this year and are known to many runners.

Elsewhere in this site we have information on places along the route where supporters and spectators might like to eat, drink, or enjoy themselves while supporting the event, or where you might like to stay overnight. All those businesses mentioned have supported this year’s event and made contributions to the prizes and goody bags, so please support those who have supported the marathon.  In this website about Abingdon click here you can find details about the town and places of interest in the town centre and on the route, so your supporters can enjoy both the sights and the race, and keep the kids entertained if necessary. This map of the town click here will also be of use to our visitors. 

A huge task for the organising committee is finding sufficient marshals to ensure that runners are kept safe throughout the course. We thank the many individuals and groups who will be giving up their Sunday to supervise the course and cheer the runners on. We always need more marshals. To find out how to get involved email abingdon.marshals@btinternet.com.

The organising committee rely on support from many people and organizations, many friends, work colleagues, running pals and other people who offered or were willing to be press-ganged into helping us either before or on the day, to ensure the continuation of the Abingdon Marathon. They have supported our marathon in many ways: with their time and effort; their skills; the use of their facilities; extra funding; and spot prizes. We would like to say thank you to them all and the following organizations, without whom our marathon would not be possible.

Thames Water            Tilsley Park and all its staff            Air Cadets            Waitrose

Abingdon and Witney College            Oxfordshire AA             Dalton Barracks

 White Horse Leisure Centre            Running Imp            Serco            Fit 2 Run

 Alpha Care Ambulance Service            Sustrans            Thames Valley Police

Lewis Auto Services            Vale of White Horse            H&H Scaffolding

We wish you the very best of runs.

Gary Richards
Race Director