Leader: Getting an excellent run for our money

Newsdesk • Published 19 Nov 2009 11:00 1 Comment

THE projected cost of the 2012 Olympics sprinted past the £10bn mark months ago and the estimates we were given in the heady days after the Games were awarded to London have long since been screwed up and thrown in the bin.

The bill for security alone stands at a jaw-dropping £600m and while British taxpayers, especially those who live and pay their dues in London, will be constantly reminded of their privileged position, the financial implications will be inescapable for generations to come.

While the Reading Half Marathon is not on the same scale as an Olympiad, how fortunate we are as a town to have this world class event pitch up on our doorstep one Sunday each year with a relative minimum of fuss and disruption.

Indeed, as Chris Sumner from organisers Sweat Shop tells us today (page 12) the benefits to both charities and the economic well-being of the area have grown massively in the past eight years; and once the revamp for Junction 11 of the M4 is complete he forecasts even further expansion.

For 18,000 or so runners, both elite and amateur, to arrive in the Madejski Stadium and be greeted by the roar of the crowd is the kind of sensation dreams are made of.

That even now athletes across the world are racing to get their entries in for a run around Reading that won't take place until next spring should be a cause of pride for us all.

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