Thousands of runners descended on Chester city centre on 15th May 2022 for the 40th anniversary of the Essar Chester Half Marathon. Chester is situated close to Essar’s Stanlow facility and is famous for being one of the oldest cities in Britain dating back to the time of the Roman occupation.
For this year’s race, both competitors and spectators were invited to join in the celebrations for the landmark event, which included passing some major milestones for the race.
- This year the race had its 100,000th finisher
- In total over 1,300,000 miles run
- Over 2.5 billion steps run
Our commitment to the event aligns with our responsibility goals of supporting well-being and our local community. It was great to see so many people getting out and being active.
The award-winning Chester Half Marathon attracts runners from across the UK, joining an impressive local contingent. Over 3,300 runners gathered at the starting line and the race was started by Dr Basil Thompson, one of the organisers of the very first Chester Half Marathon in 1982. He was joined by British Marathon Champion Jonathan Mellor.
While the main race was in progress, 600 children and adults enjoyed a trot around Chester Racecourse in the one-mile Family Fun Run.
It is expected that the runners will raise over £500,000 for charity. However, since the start, the race has raised over £10,000,000 for charities and good causes. Claire House Hospice is the official race charity, but many other great causes are supported by the participants.
Around 50 Essarites took part in the event and in the family fun run. We’re pleased that our sponsorship of the event encouraged our colleagues to take part in the event that promotes wellness. A call has already been made to encourage more runners to sign-up for the 2023 event – which Essar will again be proud to support.
