Shakespeare Marathon in England cancelled two minutes before start...

The Shakespeare Marathon in Stratford-upon-Avon in England was cancelled on Sunday morning, the 29th of April just two minutes before the start time. All runners were forced to complete only the half marathon after the crashing winds and lashing rain created conditions deemed dangerous by officials. Forcing themselves through a driving headwind for the last five or six miles, several runners described the conditions as they stepped over the muddy line as "the worst I've seen".

The full marathon which attracted just over 1000 entrants in 2011 is two times round the circuit of the half, and officials were worried conditions underfoot would deteriorate as the mud was cut up the first time around and the rain continued to pour down. But others felt it should have gone ahead and some felt the decision to cancel it came far too close to the 9:30am start time.

Paul Hawkings, Club Captain of the Stratford-upon-Avon Athletic Club, described it as a "dreadful" decision after the race. "I thought it was stupid," he said. "People have travelled a long way." The 56-year-old competed in the London Marathon last week, so was only planning to run the half marathon today anyway, but it was those who had trained for months to compete in the full marathon that he felt for.

The winner of the women's race Lucy Flanner said that..."It felt more like cross country,".