North Norfolk to welcome runners for first coastal marathon in 32 years
A thousand places are available for the event in May
It's been confirmed the first large-scale coastal road race will be held in North Norfolk for the first time in 32 years, this May.
North Norfolk District Council have teamed up with Sportlink and North Norfolk Beach Runners for the Mammoth Marathon on Sunday 15th May.
A thousand runners will be able to take part in the event, which was originally meant to go ahead in 2020 but was postponed due to Covid-19.
The route for the full marathon will start in Sea Palling and finish in Sheringham.
The event has been organised under UK Athletics regulations, and secures its position as an official marathon among those held in locations including London and Brighton.
The event will also support a number of charities including Break, Norfolk’s Big C, East of England Air Ambulance and The Benjamin Foundation.
Cllr Virginia Gay, Portfolio Holder for Culture and Wellbeing said: “We are all delighted to host this ‘mammoth’ event which will bring together our community, as we welcome new and returning visitors while celebrating this wonderful stretch of North Norfolk’s coast.
“We are pleased to announce that we will have 1000 participants in total. It's good to know that so many runners have chosen our Deep History Coast as their destination."
Organisers are calling for family, friends and visitors to come and support the runners and charities on the day and take the opportunity to explore the Deep History Coast. It’s packed with pre-historic finds, from the 850,000-year-old footprints of early man to the most complete mammoth skeleton ever discovered.
Cllr Gay said: “As well as being a ‘Mammoth Marathon’ for many participants, the name of this event reflects the most spectacular relic uncovered on our coast, the West Runton mammoth.”
Clive Hedges, Chairman of North Norfolk Beach Runners, added: “This is an exciting moment in the Norfolk Road Running calendar; this will be the first road marathon run in Norfolk since the original Norfolk Marathon came to an end in 1990. The North Norfolk Beach Runners are delighted to be supporting this event which will follow the coastline in our home county.
"I am sure this will appeal to many runners not just locally but from farther afield. Marathon running remains incredibly popular and to have this race in the Calendar for 2022 is a real bonus.”
The full marathon will start at 9.30am in Sea Palling and the half-Marathon will start in Mundesley - the finish line for both races will be at Sheringham High School.
Tickets for the event will be released on Friday 21st January on the Mammoth Marathon website.