Marathon moo-ved Herd of bulls force course to be cut to 25 miles

ORGANISERS of a major cross-country marathon event between Bristol and Bath said they were ‘disappointed’ to cut the 26.2-mile distance down to 25 miles - because one of the fields that participants were due to run through was filled with bulls.

- Ellie KENDALL

The Trail Escape organisation, which organises races and events across the UK, told competitors via email that the change was because a farmer has put the bulls out on the edge of the village of Westerleigh.

Everything was in place right up until the start of last week, when there was an issue with where the runners would be going around Westerleigh. “We had two possible routes originally planned for the marathon around Westerleigh, and both have become unavailable in the last 24 hours,” competitors were told on Thursday.

“One route cannot be used as there has been a growing issue with local residents who have become unhappy about us using a public right of way path as they keep animals adjacent. When asked individually, they said they were happy for the event to happen, but now warm us that their neighbours are unhappy.