There have been three incarnations of the Cardiff Marathon, which was an annual

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of kilometres ( 26 mi 385 yd), usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There ...

race held on various years in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

between 1981 and 2006.

1981 - 1986

The first race was held on 20 September 1981, with over 4000 competitors, and among the competitors was Justin Chaston, who was later an Olympic athlete. The event was called the Western Mail Marathon from 1981 to 1986, and started and finished at the

Civic Centre A civic center or civic centre is a prominent land area within a community that is constructed to be its focal point or center. It usually contains of one or more dominant public buildings, which may also include a government building. Recently, ...

. The first winner was Bernie Plain. (In 1981 there was no minimum age restriction of 18, so a few of the runners were younger - including Mark Murray (12), Michael Nesbitt (12), Justin Chaston, Allyn Carter (12) and Malcolm Rich (16) who finished 184). For the first three editions, the course was a loop to

Barry Barry may refer to: People and fictional characters * Barry (name), including lists of people with the given name, nickname or surname, as well as fictional characters with the given name * Dancing Barry, stage name of Barry Richards (born c. 195 ...

. For the next three editions, it was a double loop.

1990 - 1992

From 1987 to 1989 it was not held. From 1990 to 1992, the race started and finished at the Eastern Leisure Centre in

Llanrumney Llanrumney () is a suburb, community and electoral ward in east Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal ...

. It was held in 1987: The Western Mail Cardiff Half Marathon

2002 - 2006

From 1993 to 2001 it was again not held. It returned in 2002 and then in 2003 the Cardiff Half Marathon option was added. From 2003 to 2006, the marathon and half marathon were held together. The marathon consisted of two laps of the half marathon course and the finish was at the

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

, and from 2004 was inside the stadium. However, as the Half Marathon became so popular, from 2007 it replaced the full marathon altogether.

2017 / 2018

During the Cardiff Half Marathon weekend in 2016, the organizers, Run4Wales, announced plans for a full Marathon to be held in April 2017 ahead of the London Marathon. However, a couple of weeks later it was announced that plans has suffered a setback, as they were still exploring route options and did not want to rush things. So the race would not take place until 2018. The plan was later ended and in October 2017, Run4Wales instead announced plans for a full marathon to be held in April 2018 in the neighboring city of Newport. See Newport Marathon.

References

Marathons in the United Kingdom Athletics competitions in Wales Sports competitions in Cardiff Recurring sporting events established in 1981 Recurring events disestablished in 2006 {{marathon-stub