âFailure to organise a Hull marathon is embarrassing,â says Councillor Chris Sumpton http://www.hulldailymail.co.uk/8216...embarrassing/story-20832777-detail/story.html A CITY councillor has labelled the authorityâs failure to organise another marathon in Hull âembarrassingâ. The cityâs first marathon was staged in 2012 but it ended in a shambles when the organisers later admitted the course was too short to be classed as an official marathon distance. That race was managed by private company Toro CSC. City council leader Steve Brady subsequently pledged to find another firm to run the event in 2013. RELATED CONTENT Hull Marathon winner 'disappointed' after race ruled invalid over route mix-up However, no race took place last year and Labour councillor Chris Sumpton believes there is little chance of anything happening this year either. Cllr Sumpton, who works as a PE teacher and is a keen runner, said: âI felt it was important for our city to host a marathon in 2013 to quickly repair the damage caused by the 2012 race and establish a quality well-respected race in the running calendar. âI spoke to council leader Steve Brady, portfolio holder Terry Geraghty and high-ranking council officers and I believed we would be hosting an event in 2013. âDespite political will, this did not happen, which was a disappointment. âThe fact we appear to be unable to host one in 2014 is simply not good enough. âTwo years is more than enough time to put things right.â He said he had become frustrated by repeated pledges to get another race up and running coming to nothing. âDespite the support of the leader, council officers have failed to deliver, in my opinion, âCllr Sumpton said. âWhat has been annoying is the pretending that we are having one and saying everything is fine. âI would rather just be told: âNo, we are not having one.â If thatâs the decision, then fine. âIt has become embarrassing. I would get asked regularly about what is going on and whether we are having one at running events by runners from City of Hull Athletics Club, Beverley AC and my own East Hull Harriers AC. âI even gave assurances after I received them verbally.â Cllr Sumpton said the chaos in the aftermath of the 2012 race had left hundreds of runners disappointed that their finishing times could not be officially classified. âRunning is arguably as popular as ever and we regularly see other cities host major running events with great success. âThese events bring in many people who may not normally visit a place. âYork started a marathon in 2013 and it sold out in two days and local races such as the Beverley 10k also sell out in days. âHull is uniquely flat and so, naturally, appeals to runners, as it offers them the potential to achieve personal bests. âA major running event could showcase many of the attractions and qualities that have seen us named UK City of Culture 2017. âI believe we are a sporting city and as a council we should do all we can to embrace and promote that.â In an email sent to Cllr Sumpton in January, the councilâs head of sport and leisure, Mitch Upfold, said the authority was still looking at the options around the hiring of race director to organise another marathon. In the email, Mr Upfold makes it clear the council would not want direct responsibility for the event. He said: âThe issue remains as to who employs the individual and I am now in discussions with three bodies that have shown an interest in hosting the role. âOnce this is sorted out the issue of dates, securing sponsors, marketing, reconsulting the clubs, securing volunteers and getting blue light approvals would fall to that person, albeit we can help with a fair bit of this.â Keep up the good work TG FFS
Was same with the Jane Tomlinson 10k last year too when the bridge got stuck. Spoke to a councillor (informally) a few days later and I was told it could have been sorted in 10 mins and they actually knew about the problem the night before the race. Hull CC should take a look at parkrun which is run entirely by volunteers to see how a large running event is run every week with very few problems. It just takes a bit of common sense and less faffing about. Chris Sumpton also does parkrun, and is a councillor.
can you dudes please use the name hull city council and not hcc? i keep thinking hull cricket club are in **** street all the time.
We have a market on Walton St every Sunday Bob. So we have a big event every single Sunday without needing stuff like this. We dont want thousands of people coming in from all over the place, staying in our hotels, eating our food buying our knock off DVD's. We're local for local people. LOve this bit "In the email, Mr Upfold makes it clear the council would not want direct responsibility for the event. He said: “The issue remains as to who employs the individual and I am now in discussions with three bodies that have shown an interest in hosting the role. “Once this is sorted out the issue of dates, securing sponsors, marketing, reconsulting the clubs, securing volunteers and getting blue light approvals would fall to that person, albeit we can help with a fair bit of this.” Dont want direct responsibility but "can help with a fair bit of it" or meddle in other words.
