Race news: Top British and Irish athletes have been handed an extra incentive to take part in this year’s Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon after the organisers unveiled an exciting new prize structure
Along with total cash prizes of £4,200 for the first three men and women across the finish line in York on October 11th, there will also be time bonus payments, age group prizes and a cash pot reserved for British and Irish athletes on offer.
The male winner and female winner will each receive £1,200, with £600 going to second place and £300 for third. There will also be a total cash pot of £3,800 reserved for runners holding a valid British or Irish passport. This fund will be used to pay prizes ranging from £500 to £100 to the leading British and Irish runners.
All entrants will be eligible for time bonuses, a new feature established to reward outstanding performances. Any men going below 2:15 will get £750 and the same sum will go to any women going under 2:35.
Every man running below 2:20 will receive £500 and that amount will also be given to women getting under 2:42. Time bonuses are not cumulative but are in addition to the cash prize fund.
A £1,000 prize is being offered to anyone who can set a new course record – currently 2:13:31 for men and 2:40:06 for women. There are also wheelchair athlete prizes and a number of age category prizes.
Elite athletes are now invited to apply for places in the marathon. To be eligible for an elite place, men must have achieved a sub 2:29 time and women a sub 2:59 in the last two years. To apply, athletes or their agents should send a race CV including their name, date of birth and contact details to steve@runforall.com.
It will be the third Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon, which is organized by Yorkshire Marathon Ltd, sister company to Run For All, the organization behind the successful Asda Foundation 10K series.
Steve Worthington, elite athlete co-ordinator for the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon, said: “After reviewing last year’s elite race, we wanted to re-focus our approach by developing a prize structure that better reflects our aims for 2015. Not only do we want to attract top international athletes, we also want the very best British athletes to join us at the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon. With a larger, deeper British only prize
pot, along with the addition of time related bonuses for all who achieve them, our 2015 prize fund reflects this desire.
“By making these changes to the prize pot, and including incentives and pacers to encourage a fast, competitive race, we hope that the 2015 Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon will be our most exciting race yet.”
Click here for a full prize structure document
General entries are open for the Plusnet Yorkshire 10 Mile – a new event added to the marathon festival of running. For more information, go to www.theyorkshiremarathon.com
