Hi Everyone,

Everyone who intended to run was ready at 950am apart from the 2nd & 3rd leg relay runners. There may have been some announcement earlier as I arrived a little later than intended on the bike due to the icy weather and getting a little lost after taking a new route across Luton. It was certainly a freezing morning with frost everywhere so pleased I was not the lead relay runner. With 10 minutes or so to go we were told that due to a car accident on the course where a vehicle had overturned at a notoriously icy stretch of road in the winter, the Start was being delayed by at least 30 minutes. As I waited outside in the sunny but cold conditions, Police Officers filed past sometime later, I thought they were going for a tea break when in fact they were going to speak to the race organisers. It was not long before one runner walked briskly past and announced it had been canceled. We thought he was joking but soon several more confirmed the announcement. The Marathon in particular has been a very popular event over recent years with the entry limit increased to 700 or so and reached in advance. A lot of the runners had traveled considerable distances, even flying to Luton Airport. For myself I was not too disappointed given that I was only running in the relay and had the benefits of the 12+ miles cycle ride each way.

We were not told if there were any injuries to the passenger(s) in the car involved in the accident.

Ed Banks alongwith a 1000 or so other runners waiting in the Recreation Centre for what seems an eternity and getting cold on a freezing morning.

Peter Simpson