Six thousand people took part in the Bath Half Marathon last Sunday, despite the ongoing threat of coronavirus.

The turn-out did not reflect the 15,000 people who initially registered to run the course, with many taking to social media to show their disapproval of the event still going ahead.

Wera Hobhouse, the Liberal Democrat MP for Bath tweeted a statement saying: “I hugely value the big contribution that Bath Half makes to our charities . . . however, this is a public safety concern, and I believe that cancelling the event to protect the most vulnerable in our city from a further spread of the infection must be the priority.”

Sarah Wilkinson, who registered to run the Bath Half Marathon, decided to take it upon herself to start up a ‘Virtual Bath Half Marathon’ Facebook page for those “deciding not to run, but to run their distance at home instead to reduce risk of spreading the virus.”

The Facebook page now stands at 1,096 members, with people still posting pictures and videos of their efforts, away from the event. Despite negativity surround- ing the race going ahead and the pouring rain, many people turned up to spectate the event and support loved ones who were running.

Each year, participants

raise thousands of pounds for over 100 charities. Since 2000, Bath Half race charities have raised over £25 million to make a difference to people’s lives.

Among the charities this year, was local charity, ‘Time is Precious’, set up by Neil and Nicky Halford, whose son, Ben, passed away after a three-and-a-half year fight against a brain tumour. The charity supports local families that have to spend prolonged periods in hospital with loved ones.

Speaking to The Journal, Neil said: “We had 150 runners who took part for Team Time is Precious in a Half Marathon, either in Bath or other locations across the local area.

“As a charity, it was a difficult 48 hours for us, with lots of runners pulling out due to the Coronavirus, which we totally understood.

“We decided to support our runners, as they have trained so hard in bad weather for most of the year, on whatever decision they chose. We offered support in Bath as nomal and organised an alternative route from the Centurion Hotel.

“Lots of runners also did their 13.1 miles in small groups or alone – simply amazing people.

“We had ninety runners in Bath for the Half Marathon. We made our team as safe as possible by supplying hand gel as they entered our tent.

“It was truly amazing how people pulled together considering the situation and the weather on the day. All our runners completed the route.

“We were joined by our Patron, Will Thorp; also taking part was young Dylan, who we have supported with an eye gaze communication system last year.

“He was pushed around by his uncle and one of our coaches, Laura Darby-Jones, who, along with her husband, Wayne, sponsored our shirts.

“We would like to thank all our trustees, volunteers, coaches, therapists and our other sponsor, Bighams Ltd for making everything possible for the team.

“A massive thank you to everyone who has sponsored or supported our runners, it makes a massive difference to children in hospital and at home.”

The atmosphere at the finish line reflected the togetherness and team work of all the runners on the day, with people helping one another over the finish line and cheers from the audience giving the participants a final push.

Paul Pollock was the overall winner of the day, finishing on a time of one hour, four minutes and four- teen seconds. Becky Briggs from City of Hull Athetlics Club closely followed with a one hour, fourteen minute and thirty four second finish.