THIS years Bradford City Runs event, planned for November, has been cancelled.

Bradford Council yesterday confirmed the event, which regularly attracts thousands to the city centre, will not be taking place on November 1 after assessing the safety provisions which would need to be in place for competitors and the uncertainty of the Coronavirus situation at the time.

The event is delivered in a partnership between Bradford Council and Bradford Athletics Network.

It is also supported by Living Well programme as well as the University of Bradford, Bradford College, St Bede’s School and many of the RunBradford running groups, running clubs and hundreds of participants from across the district who lend their services to marshal the event.

Similar events like The Great North Run and Leeds Abbey Dash have come to a similar conclusion.

Councillor Sarah Ferriby, Bradford Council’s Executive Member for Healthy People and Places, said: “This has been a difficult decision as we know how popular the event is with people, and families, right across the district as well as the many runners we get from across the country.

“It is an incredibly popular event that is unique because it offers a variety of distances and a special race for children which is why it is so heartbreaking, however we have to consider the health and safety of all the potential participants, the health of the district and our responsibility to help protect NHS services means this is the only sensible conclusion to come to.”

“Events like these take a great deal of preparation and I would like to thank Bradford Athletics Network and all our other partners for the the hard work that they have put in already.

“Bradford City Runs will be back in future when it is safe for it to return.”