Well the Marathon season in the UK is well underway, with London’s event completed last weekend, its Manchester turn to take centre stage. London was bathed in sunshine, will Manchester be as lucky? Or will it revert to the stereotypical image and rain? Does this matter? If you can competing or supporting the short answer has to be yes, as it affects what you are wearing, unless you are running in fancy dress. Will running shorts and vest be the order of the day, or will be jogging pants and a sweatshirt, only time will tell?

Does the course itself make a difference? Well Manchester’s course has altered and declares itself the flattest course in the UK with an elevation of just 54m over the length of the course, so giving the competitors a great chance of a personal best time. The London course had an elevation of 85m and the last Brighton event was listed as 105m. This can make a real difference in the time to compete a course. At both ends of the scale in world terms, the Amsterdam marathon has only 44m, while the New York event has a massive 176m.

The forecast for Manchester on Sunday looks like it is more likely to be cloudy with a chance of rain, with a maximum temperature of 11 C (52F) and a breeze of around 10 – 13mph, with humidity in the 55-57% range. Ideal marathon weather conditions are low humidity and temperatures in the mid 50s F so not far off.

So whether you expect to out at the front, or bringing up the rear it looks like shorts might be better, a little rain never hurt anybody, unless you’re at the top of a mountain and it’s coming in sideways in a gale! Good Luck to all those competing and why not treat yourself to new shorts from our website to start your training for next year’s event, and aim for a quicker time.