What do I get at the finish line?

For the 2019 Wiggle Half Marathon all finishers will receive the following at the finish line…

Here’s a closer look at the finisher medal, which for the first time includes brail on the reverse to help our visually impaired runners:

But why no t-shirt this time?

On the afternoon of the 2018 event we took the decision that we wouldn’t offer finisher t-shirts this year. After seeing the wastage of over 100kg of leftover t-shirts heading off with no owner isn’t something we were comfortable with.

There’s a few reasons why we’d been considering this decision:

• Printing 12,000 t-shirts is not sustainable. In fact we feel that we’re arguably being environmentally irresponsible by doing this

• Due to the nature of sizing, and not knowing how many people will finish, every event has to over order to ensure they have enough of the correct size for all runners. Which means wastage.

• Continuing to offer these would push the price of the event up further for our runners – and we know a high % of people never wear them.

We made sure any reference to t-shirts were immediately removed from our website.

So what did you do with the money usually spent on t-shirts?

We’ve listened to your comments from our runner survey, and been working hard over the last 12 months to ensure we are being a responsible and modern run organiser. We’re determined to continue to offer a top quality event, at an affordable price, while helping and respecting our community.

For the 2019 event extra investment has been made in the following areas:

• An improved quality medal, which our runners ranked as their top priority at the finish line

• Investment in local community schemes. This included forming an inclusivity panel, which helps dictate which areas of the event we can help for runners of all backgrounds and abilities. We’ve also launched a scheme to help people in disadvantaged homes who might struggle with the entry fee enter for just £1

• There’s been a general increase in event costs from our suppliers, and although we always try to negotiate the best deals, we also want to agree a fair price

• We’ve invested in trialling a replacement style water station. This is with the hope that we can move away from plastic bottles in the future if successful

• We’ve developed our facilities for para athletes on event day, helping them to have a better experience. We’ve also raised the prize money for our wheelchair athletes

• The local emergency services have requested we amend our route slightly to allow them to easily access the local community. We’re happy to help with this but it means more research and work on road closures through Chorlton

• We’ve invested in making our starts a little more memorable and special for all our runners, including some special FX.

• We’ve been working hard and invested in some better facilities for supporters on the day, including the Hangout area where they can watch live coverage of the finish line

We felt these were the right investments to make, but we will of course be asking all of runners for feedback after the event on Sunday 13^th October so we can get as many thoughts as possible.

Why are you selling t-shirts?

As per last year a small range of merchandise is available. These are of a higher quality than our usual finisher top, and are made from recycled plastic bottles. A cheaper designed cotton t-shirt is also available for those who would prefer one – making sure you get the right size and fitting. We felt those who wish to purchase a top should have the option to do so. Each version is very limited edition to reduce the risk of any waste, and pre-orders from runners allows us to gauge demand

I want to let you know my comments on t-shirts

As you might expect the team are flat out preparing for an incredible day next Sunday, and helping runners who need assistance to take part. The best way to leave feedback is via the post event survey, but if you’d like to leave a specific comment for us to review after the event when we discuss finisher items for 2020 please do so by filling in the form below

Thanks so much for taking the time to read this article, and we can’t wait to see at the event, we’ve been working incredibly hard to try and give you an unforgettable experience.