COURSE DESCRIPTION

COURSE MARKING

WATER STATIONS

AWARDS

START TIME

AGE LIMIT

RACE DAY INSTRUCTIONS

BAGGAGE TRANSFER

PARKING

ACCOMMODATION

COURSE RECORDS

CUT OFF

HEADPHONES

CHARITY ENTRIES

TOILETS

MASSAGE

EVENT SPONSORSHIP

TRAINING

START/FINISH

Abington Street Northampton

COURSE DESCRIPTION

(Stage 1) The Amazing Northampton Run starts at the entrance to the historic Northampton town market square.  To your left as you cross the start line look out for the Edwin Lutyens-designed war memorial.

Turning down the hill you will pass the impressive All Saints Church.  A little further along look out for Carlsberg Brewery.  (They’ve been brewing in town for 50 years!) (If Carlsberg did half marathons!!!)

Following along the River Nene towards Sixfields Reservoir and heading up towards Sixfields Stadium where Northampton Town have been playing since 1897.  Continuing along into Franklin’s Gardens, the home of Northampton Saints Rugby for the last 140 years.

(Stage 2) Running from the Rugby Stadium along Weedon Road and down the closed Spencer Bridge Road.  As you cross over the railway and climb the hill you won’t be able to miss the Northampton International Academy as it gleams in your eye line!

Many of our local runners will recognise the next section as The Racecourse is home of Northampton parkrun each Saturday morning.  After a lap of the park you will pass the Central Mosque on your right before turning to run alongside the Northants County Cricket Ground.

You will enter Abington Park next, where you will run by the side of the large lake before heading out to the road (Stage 3) From the handover point in front of the church you have a lovely downhill section.

Taking the footbridge over the A45 and under the main road structure you will find yourselves at the White Water Centre on the River Nene.  From here, you will head past floating restaurant,  The Arc, and over the bridge into the University of Northampton Waterside campus.  Later leaving the University campus via Beckets Bridge – an innovative designed 180 metre footbridge.

Within the final miles you will pass Northampton Museum, The Royal and Derngate theatre and the historic Guildhall.  Turn at The Mackintosh House (78 Derngate), famous for its art deco architecture and then enjoy a long straight downhill to the finish by the Market Square.

Elevation is +470 Ft and – 463 Ft. Click here for the complete route.

The course is measured by the Association of UK Course Measurers and comply with all UKA standards – Certificate No. 23/022. Course distance is 13 miles 193 yards

2023 

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Below are relay specific questions, for all others please look at the main half marathon FAQs page.

When will I receive my race pack?  You will collect your race number which includes your timing chip at registration either  Saturday afternoon or Sunday morning – please see the front page for details 

Does each person in the relay get their own medal?  Yes each team member will have the same race number but with a smaller one, two or three next to it so you will all get a medal and a t-shirt

Will we have to run carrying a baton?  Yes, it’s a relay what did you expect?

Do the members of the team have to run in specific order?  Please run in the order you have stated when booking, that way we will know who is on the course at any time

General History –  In 1675  The  Great Fire of Northampton ravages the town.

The fire devastated the town centre, destroying about 700 of the town’s 850 buildings, including much of All Saints church. In six hours 11 people died and about 700 families were made homeless.

Start to Mile 1 – The Market Square  dating back to 1189 and one of the largest in England, 1677 Building; ; All Saints Church rebuilt after the fire; The Angel Hotel dating from 1585 rebuilt after the Great Fire of Northampton and then badly damaged by  a blaze in 2012; Phipps Brewery and tap bar; The Plough Hotel built in 1877 by Northampton Brewery Company (NBC); The Church Restaurant  former hospital opened in 1138; and  Carlsberg Brewery built in 1973 to replace the original Phipps Brewery

Mile 1  to  2 – Disused Northampton to Peterborough Line opened in 1845 and the site of the towns first railway station and closed in 1964; The Grand Union Canal connecting the Gayton Junction with the River Nene in the centre of the town; Sixfields reservoir

Mile 2  to 3  Northampton Town Football Club formed in 1897 and nicknamed “The Cobblers” and Sixfields sometimes called the Starcity of Northamptonshire.  The Lift Tower (seen from miles around)

Mile  3 to 4 – Northampton Saints Rugby Club at Franklins Gardens formed in 1880 from the St James Church by Rev Wathen Wigg

Mile 5 to 6 – The incredible  Northampton International Academy formally the Barrack Road Sorting Office

Mile 6 to 7 – The Racecourse 118 acres of parkland last used for that purpose in 1904 and also the site of many public hangings! and the Picturedrome a former cinema opened in 1912 and now a bar and music venue

Mile 7 to 8 – The Northampton Central Mosque  open for prayer in 2001 thanks to local generosity;  The Northamptonshire County Cricket Ground first used for cricket on May 15 1886;  Abington Park gifted to the town by Lord and Lady Wantage and open to the public in 1897

Mile 8 to 9 – Abington Park Museum a former Tudor Manor House and opened as a museum in 1897 and the 12th Century St Peter and Paul’s Church, the final resting place of Shakespeare’s Granddaughter

Mile 9 to 10 – Northampton Old Scouts RFC formed in 1926 and based on Rushmere Road since the 1960s then  cross the footbridge over the A45 Nene Valley Way

Mile 10 to 11 – The White Water Centre operated by Northampton Active it was build in 1999 as the UKs first pumped artificial white water course;  Northampton Rowing Club; Barnes Meadow Interchange, Barnes Meadow; The Ark Northamptons first floating restaurant opened in 2014; Midsummer Meadow and the University Bridge

Mile 11 to 12 – Nunn Mills Bridge; University of Northampton opened in 2018; The Engine Shed; The footbridge; Northampton Marina; Beckets Park formally Cow meadow and where Thomas A Beckett drank from a well in 1164; and the Wathen Wigg Bridge

Mile 12 to 13 – Latimer and Crick building, the company was founded by Francis Crick’s  (the biologist famous for mapping DNA) grandfather; St Anne’s Christian Orthodox Church dedicated to St Anne the Grandmother of Jesus; RIBA Award Winning One Angel Square; Northampton Museum and Art Gallery the site of the former town Gaol and home to over 15,000 pairs of shoes!; Royal Theatre and Opera House opened in 1884 and now the Royal and Derngate Theatre;  The Guildhall built in 1864 in the Gothic Revival style;  Derngate the only street in Northampton to retain its “gate” name;   78 Derngate the only house outside of Scotland re-modelled by Charles Rennie Mackintosh  and St Giles church which is over 900 years old

Mile 13 to the Finish –  BBC Radio Northampton; The Northampton Central Library opened in 1910, a gift of Andrew Carnegie and The Double Helix Statue celebrating Francis Crick from Weston Favell who in 1953 helped to unlock the secrets of life by mapping DNA

Click here for the Pace Chart so you can see what time we expect the first and last runners at any point on the course

Click here for the proposed Traffic Management phases so you can see what times we antiicpate re opening the roads after the 8:30am closure