Alex Durant and Molly Smith might have been the fastest runners in Manchester today, but the real story of the 2026 ASICS Manchester Half unfolded for hours behind them.

Around 32,000 runners were expected to take on the sold-out 13.1-mile challenge, a record field for an event that welcomed 28,000 participants only last year. Perhaps the most telling number was another one: one in four of today's participants was taking on their first official half marathon.

That meant thousands of first attempts at 13.1 miles mixed among club runners, charity fundraisers, PB hunters and those simply determined to reach the finish on Talbot Road. The route carried them from Trafford through Stretford, Sale and Chorlton-cum-Hardy, with thousands of supporters lining the course.

At the sharp end, City of Sheffield and Dearne AC's Alex Durant won the men's race in 1:02:51, just five seconds ahead of Omar Ahmed, with Max Milarvie third in 1:03:03. Molly Smith was the women's winner in 1:11:40. Nathan Maguire led the wheelchair race home in 47:01.

The event was also expected to raise around £1.8 million for charities, with Alzheimer’s Society, Cancer Research UK, The Christie and Moya Cole Hospice among those supported by runners.

Manchester Half only launched in 2016. Ten years later, a race selling out six months in advance and putting around 32,000 people on its start list says plenty about both its growth and the continuing appetite for mass participation running.

For the winners, today was about minutes and seconds. For thousands more, particularly those discovering the distance for the first time, simply completing 13.1 miles was the result that mattered.

Full results are available via the runABC race hub.

Image courtesy Manchester Half Marathon Media.