Global Running Day with SAP Community in Manchester – Wednesday 1st June 2022

I’m taking part in Global Running Day, in an event kick started by Phil Cooley in Melbourne.

Wednesday 1st June is Global Running Day, and my good friend and remote running buddy Phil Cooley kick started a nice initiative described in his blog post Global Running Day with SAP Community In Melbourne – Wednesday 1st June 2022, which you should go and read too.

I won’t be able to get to Melbourne to run with Phil and friends, so I’ve done two things:

• I’ve signed up and pledged to run virtually “with” the SAP Community Melbourne runners
• I’ve organised a route in the centre of Manchester which I’ll run, and which – if you’re in the area – you’re more than welcome to come and run along with me too

Pledge

I’ve pledged to run a route on the same day:

My pledge to run with the SAP Community Melbourne runners

Manchester route

I’ve mapped out a hopefully interesting 5K route around parts of the centre of Manchester, that you’re welcome to join me on. The route is stored on Strava and looks like this:

A screenshot of the route around Manchester

The route starts and ends in Sackville Garden, which is home to the statue of Manchester’s adopted son, the father of computing, Alan Turing.

A photo of the statue of Alan Turing in Sackville Garden

Beyond Alan Turing’s statue, here are a few more highlights of what the route entails:

• We run for a short section along the Rochdale Canal, which opened in 1798 and was one of the canals that allowed transport to and from the mills which powered the Industrial Revolution which led to a reimagining of manufacturing processes which then expanded to mainland Europe and on to the United States in the 19th century
• We run by the site of The Haçienda, a hugely influential night club and music venue that was the home of Factory Records and the band New Order and was a nursery venue for bands like the Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, The Smiths, James, The Fall and many others
• Then, passing by the basin where the Bridgewater Canal and the Rochdale Canal meet, we take in the world’s first ever railway station, on Liverpool Road
• After that, we run through various parts of the city centre including St Peter’s Square, the Northern Quarter and then return to Sackville Garden

Essential information

I’ll be at the Alan Turing statue in Sackville Garden at 0730 on the morning of Wed 01 June, and (to give time for anyone to arrive) will be setting off from there on the route at 0740. We’ll go at the pace of the steadiest runner, so don’t worry about being too fast or too slow – we will all stay together.

If you plan on coming along, let me know in the comments to this post, and – see you then!