RACE DAY IS LABOUR OF LOVE FOR RAY

IN what will be one of the busiest weekends in the city, with the mile races, street sprints and the Bristol International Kite Festival also taking place, the Half Marathon will celebrate its 22nd year.

Almost 17,000 runners, from as far afield as Mexico and the USA, will be taking part in the 13.1 mile race – many of them running in memory of loved ones and raising funds for charity.

For technical director Ray Jaeckels, 66, the event has become a labour of love. As the man who started the first half marathon in 1989, he has watched it grow into an event which UK Athletics chose for UK Half Marathon and World trials.

Mr Jaeckels, a semi-retired accountant, said: “I was working for the council in 1988 and had to advise them to stop holding the Bristol Marathon, which used to run along St James Barton Roundabout up to Cribbs Causeway. Because the race was so hilly and difficult it didn’t get enough people competing and cost the council too much to hold.

“I felt guilty, so I wanted to organise a new race and, in 1989, we held the first Bristol Half Marathon.”

For Mr Jaeckels, who volunteers as technical director, the day of the race starts at 3am when he checks the correct roads have been closed and everything is in place for the event.

He said: “I have to find the course, check the distance and welfare facilities – like water stations and toilets – it’s a lot of planning and preparation but it is enjoyable and it’s been very rewarding to get the recognition we’ve had lately. For the last three years, the course has stayed the same, but for the first 15 years, we had a lot of different routes depending on road changes in the city.”

And it is not only road layouts that have affected the race in the last few decades.

“In the beginning, there was no Sunday trading and so we could run across Asda car park in Bedminster – you couldn’t imagine that now,” he said. “Health and safety has also played a much bigger part.”

Today, the Bristol Mile Race and Street Sprint event will take place on College Green. Runners from young athletes to seasoned seniors will compete to be the fastest over the mile distance, some five laps of College Green – or for the sprint race, a distance of 40 metres.

Tomorrow, the 13.1-mile route will take the runners along the historic harbour, up and down The Portway and through the centre with a finish at Millennium Square. The fastest runners are expected to complete the distance in just over an hour.

And the race’s official charities CLIC Sargent, St Peter’s Hospice, and COCO, will be looking to raise thousands of pounds in sponsorship money, thanks to the hundreds of runners who support their valuable work.

This year,

Georgette Van Hoof, Bristol Half Marathon director, said: “The weekend of September 4 and 5 is going to be a busy one so it’s important that everyone coming into the city and moving about the city is aware of what’s going on so they can make any necessary arrangements.

“For runners, we want to be sure they can get here in plenty of time and that the race course is clear and safe. For spectators, we want them to line the route and cheer the runners on – and for those keen to get to the kite festival, they need to be sure of their travel plans.

“To minimise the impact of road closures in the city, the 2010 half marathon will start at 9am. This means that some city roads along the route will close to traffic at 2am and the aim will be to ensure most of them reopen early in the afternoon.”

Full details of road closures are available at

● For more information on all aspects of the 2010 Bristol Half Marathon, visit