Durham City Run time and route changes on 'hottest day of the year'

A burst water main on the A167 Neville’s Cross, near Durham, means that organisers of Thursday’s Durham City 5k and 10k have announced unexpected alterations to both events.

Events of the North and Durham County Council issued a joint statement on Wednesday saying: “As a result of a burst water main, the county council has been forced to implement temporary road diversions in the centre of Durham, which are expected to be in place for the rest of the week.

“The diversions mean that it is not possible to hold the 10k and 5k races on the advertised routes.

“Much of the existing course has been retained and the races will finish as advertised on Palace Green.

“However, the knock-on effects of the burst water main mean that some changes to the routes have had to be made, and both races will now start together on Claypath, next to Millennium Square, at 7.30pm. “This is a change to the original start location and time (7.15pm) for the 5k and 7.25pm start for the 10k.

“We will of course have signs up along the route and a full team marshaling it so there’s no need for runners to worry about the slight changes that have been made.

“The park and ride service will operate as advertised, but we ask race participants to allow themselves a little more time to get to the start as the area will now be even busier than originally anticipated.

“We hope that everyone will appreciate that these circumstances are beyond our control and ask for understanding as we pull out all of the stops to ensure that everyone who has entered the 10k and 5k can still enjoy a fantastic night of running in Durham.”

Race organisers are also issuing additional information to participants about running in the heat.

Thursday is forecast to be the hottest day of the year so far – with temperatures estimated to be around 25 degrees Celsius at race time – and runners are advised to prepare for conditions by hydrating well beforehand.

There will be well stocked water stations at key points in both races (one for the 5k and two for the 10k).

Thursday’s races open the expanded three-day Durham City Run Festival and details of the route changes can be found here.