It's a Bank Holiday weekend and once again a major arterial road is closed – but this time it's the M48 Severn Bridge between England and Wales for the 10th annual Severn Bridge Half Marathon and 10K on Sunday 27 August 2023.

Entries are full for this classic bit of Bank Holiday road work for around 1,000 runners who are evenly distributed between both distances in this unique race held up to 47 metres above the River Severn. Last year there were 515 finishers in the 10K and 439 in the half marathon, with every one of them: "running between sea and sky over the iconic Severn Bridge", as the race website states.

The 2022 10K winners were Arron Kearney (Bideford AAC, 34:50) and W50 Nicki Morgan (Chepstow Harriers,  40:46). Meanwhile, the half marathon champions were Hallam Girardet (Mynydd Du Mountain Runners, 1:14:12) and W45 Annabel Granger (Bristol & West AC, 1:22:30).

So how does this extraordinary race work? The M48 is the 'Old' Severn Bridge crossing and it will be closed to traffic sometime between 7:30am and 8:00am. Those travelling from England are advised to use the 'Second Severn Crossing' via the M4 and then follow signs to Chepstow/M48. Parking is free and within a few minutes walk of the Event Village.

The 10K starts at 8:45am and the half marathon is under starters orders at 9:30am. The 10K is on a single lap over the bridge to Aust and back. The half marathon features four climbs of the bridge on a two-lap course, plus an out and back 1097.5 metres to make the full distance. Unusually, there will be an official 10K split time for the half marathon runners.

With the Race Village and start/finish at Chepstow the course follows the tradition of running from Wales to England and back. To commemorate the 10th anniversary a special medal has been struck – in metal by popular demand. Hopefully, piper John Campbell will be there with his bagpipes to help create the unique atmosphere this event is known for.

Previous results and race reports are at the runABC South race listing here.

Photo courtesy Severn Bridge 10K and Half Marathon on Facebook