Thousands take to the streets of Plymouth in Devon’s Biggest Day of Running
The iconic Plymouth Hoe provided one of the most spectacular finish line backdrops in the world of running for the thousands of participants taking part in Britain’s Ocean City Running Festival, who completed a combined distance of approximately three times around the world.
The unpredictable nature of the British weather meant that participants endured showers before sunshine, with a downpour at the start and sunny intervals when most crossed the all-important finish line. Unfortunately, because of a several vehicle drivers ignoring road closures and stewards, there was a delay to the start of the events on Sunday morning.
However, as the main highlight of the county’s running calendar, there was a celebratory atmosphere, with spectators lining the streets to cheer on runners of all ages and abilities, who are estimated to have raised a staggering three quarters of a million pounds for charitable causes.
Whilst charity fundraising was a pillar of the event, there were also competitive elite races involving some of the region’s leading athletes over three distances.
In the men’s half marathon, Jacob Landers triumphed with a time of 01:09:42 with Josh Hasson runner up in a time of 01:10:02 and Shane McNerney third in 01:12:15
Annabel Arnold was first to the finish line in an impressive time of 01:21:27 in the women’s race, and was pushed all the way by runner up Louise Flynn and Ellie Robinson, who clocked 01:23:17 and 01:25:42 respectively.
The men’s 10k and 5k winners were Matthew Bradley (35:11) and Jake Summers (19:02) respectively, whilst Sophie Lawrence won the women’s 10k in a time of 43:16 and Holly Reid the 5k in 19:09
Suzi Cumberland, Managing Director of organisers Taurus Events, said “Congratulations to all who took part in Devon’s biggest day of running and a huge thank you to the volunteers and support staff who worked at the event. Although we are of course sorry for the delayed start, safety always come first. As with all events we stage, there will be a detailed post event review period as we strive to make improvements.”
Plymouth City Councillor Sally Haydon commented “It was truly inspiring to see such a fantastic turnout for this year’s Running Festival. We’re proud to welcome participants, their families, friends, and supporters to our city. While we recognise that events like this can cause some disruption, our teams work hard behind the scenes to minimise the impact and ensure Plymouth shines on days like these.
Events of this scale not only bring valuable investment into our local economy, but they also showcase the incredible generosity of our community, with money raised for local charities through individual sponsorships.
A huge congratulations to everyone who took part — from seasoned runners to the youngest participants in the Primary Schools Challenge — and a heartfelt thank you to all who supported the event and made it such a success.”
The day also featured the Primary Schools Challenge, with 64 schools taking part as children completed the final mile of their ten week programme. The 3,500 participants created a sea of orange as they streamed across the Hoe in their event tee shirts.
Entries are now open for the 2026 Plymouth Half Marathon, which will be staged on Sunday 17th May.
Potential participants are advised to go to www.runplymouth.co.uk for further information and details about the early bird offer.
Check out the Taurus Events RIA Member profile here .