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The Reading Half Marathon is a road half marathon through the Berkshire town of Reading, held on a Sunday in March or April and currently branded the Green Park Reading Half Marathon. It is organised by Goldline Events, and a 3km Mini Marathon is run on the same morning. The half marathon starts at Green Park in the south of the town at 10:15, heads to Whitley and runs through the grounds of the University of Reading before crossing the Kennet into the town centre. It then goes west towards Prospect Park, loops back along the A4 Bath Road and the A33 relief road, and finishes inside Reading FC's stadium, where the organisers say more than 10,000 spectators cheer runners over the line. The first race took place on 13 March 1983, with about 5,000 runners, starting and finishing at the University of Reading's Whiteknights campus; the finish has been at the Madejski Stadium (now the Select Car Leasing Stadium) since 2004. The race has been run every year since 1983 except 2001, 2018 and 2020.
Typical climate for the race month — an estimate, not a forecast or a race-day record
March in Reading is cool: highs average about 11°C and lows about 3.5°C, with rain on around nine days of the month.
The Race
Reading
Reading's half marathon was created at a time when the London Marathon had been run only twice. The first race, on 13 March 1983, started and finished at the University of Reading's Whiteknights campus and drew about 5,000 runners. The winner was Mark Cursons, a 21-year-old student at the university, in 1:07:45.
After the university campus, the finish moved to South Reading Leisure Centre in 1986 and the Rivermead complex in 1991. In 2004 it settled at the Madejski Stadium, home of Reading FC, where it has been since. The organisers say the finish is one 'rarely found outside an Olympic stadium'.
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