All set for the Manchester Marathon

Around 28,000 runners will take part in Sundays big race in the north-west of England

Naomi Mitchell and Anya Culling lead the entries in an estimated 28,000-strong field for the Adidas Manchester Marathon on Sunday (April 16).

Twelve months ago the event was a trial race for the Commonwealth Games and European Championships and saw Becky Briggs and Jonny Mellor storm to victory. With no trials element this weekend the elite entries arent as strong but it still promises to be a competitive event with plenty of action deeper in the field too.

Mitchell will be hoping to improve on her 2:30:54 PB which was set when finishing runner-up in Manchester last year. The Reading runner has improved her times hugely in recent years and finished second British woman home, behind Natasha Cockram, at the 2020 London Marathon.

Also racing is Culling, the fast-improving runner who clocked 2:36:21 in London last October, which was just short of two hours quicker than her 2019 best of 4:34:23 on the same course. The performance helped her earn the Altra Most Improved UK Road Runner of the Year prize in the AW athletes of the year awards in 2022.

Fionnuala Ross has also been in good form lately with a 72:16 half-marathon in Inverness last month. Watch out as well for Gemma Astin, Emma Styles, Swedens Malin Starfelt and Norways Kristin Vabo.

In the mens race look out for Norman Shreeve the Cambridge & Coleridge athlete has a best of 2:16:20 from 2021 and is on the entry list despite running 2:18:12 in Seville in February this year.

Ignas Brasevičius of Lithuania is now aged 38 but his best is 2:15:04 from 2021. He ran 64:44 for the half-marathon in Barcelona in February too.

Another interesting entrant is Ebba Tulu of Sweden, whose best is 2:11:18 from 2020. Tulu has recently switched nations from Ethiopia and ran 2:15:38 in the Seville Marathon in February and 64:30 in the Berlin Half Marathon at the start of this month.

Another Swede in the line-up is David Nilsson. He has a best of 2:10:09 from Valencia in 2019 and ran 62:41 in the Berlin Half this month.

Leeds City runner Ollie Lockley is in good form too as he won the Reading Half last week in 64:35.

Rob Mullett, the British Olympian in the 3000m steeplechase from Rio 2016, was originally due to run but after minor set-backs in training he is now racing Ottawa in late May instead.

Para-athlete Charlotte Ellis is also in the Manchester line-up as the visually-impaired runner from New Marske Harriers attempts to qualify for the Paris Paralympics.

The first race to begin on Sunday is the wheelchair race at 8.55am followed by the elite and white bib waves at 9am. With thousands descending on the start area at Old Trafford, organisers recommend using the citys Metrolink Trams.

Elsewhere on race day, artist Venessa Scott is collaborating with the marathon as part of a new ambition for the Manchester Marathon to become the leading female friendly marathon in the world. She will be creating a bespoke mural live on the day of the event, which will see her creating a large-scale piece inspired by the participants taking part.

The day will also feature a Guinness world record attempt by Louise Warwick, who will be attempting to create the longest crochet chain while running a marathon.

Andrew Smith, chief executive of the organisers Human Race, said: Following months of hard work, many miles of training and some incredible fundraising efforts, the 2023 adidas Manchester Marathon is almost upon us. This years event is set to be the best yet, with more runners and spectators than ever before expected to be a part of the friendliest marathon in the world.

This year we have welcomed a new headline partner for the event, in adidas, and significantly increased our activation over the event weekend. This is all part of our ambition to continue to grow the event, attracting more runners to participate and more spectators to provide support on the streets of Manchester.