Today's Great Manchester Run marks 5 years since arena attack

Manchester residents came together to honour the memory of those who lost their lives and raise money for good causes

Author: Frankie GoldingPublished 22nd May 2022

Today's Great Manchester Run saw Manchester come together once again to mark five years since the arena terror attack that took the lives of 22 people.

Present were survivors of the attack and families of loved ones who lost their lives, as well as local leaders, residents, and runners from across the country who wanted to show their support.

To mark the anniversary, a one minute applause was held in memory of those who passed away and in acknowledgement of the remarkable spirit shown by the city in the aftermath of the attack before each wave of the races.

Notably, in attendance to the run was 19-year-old survivor Freya Lewis, who had to learn to walk again after suffering serious injuries during the arena attack.

She told reporters that she was thinking about her friend that passed away and Royal Manchester Children's Hospital, that saved her life during her run.

It is this hospital's charity that she was running to raise money for today.

Andy Burnham was also present, also running in support of NHS hospitals.

The race also produced a British and European 10km record, with women's 10k runner-up Eilish McColgan finishing in 30 minutes, 19 seconds.

This knocked two seconds off Paula Radcliffe's time from 2003.

She was second only to Kenyan runner Hellen Obiri, who finished the race 4 seconds before her.

The men's 10km winner was New Zealand's Jake Robertson who finished the race in 28 minutes, six seconds.

Here's how Manchester came together for today's run:

People at the starting line of the race, preparing to run 10k or half a marathon to raise money for various charities and as a show of solidarity with both the survivors and the families who lost loved ones in the arena attack.

Today's Great Manchester run was accessible for people of all abilities and people were encouraged to cross the finish line at their own pace.

Before the race, Andy Burnham was seen speaking to Freya Lewis, 19, who learned to walk again after suffering multiple injuries, fractures and burns at the bombing.

Freya can be seen in the middle here running today to raise money for the Royal Manchester Children's Hospital Charity who saved her life.

Eilish McColgan, who finished second in 30 minutes and 19 seconds, set a British and European 10km record.

Winner of the men's 10k race Jake Robertson finished in 28 minutes and 6 seconds.

Andy Burnham could be seen participating in the run, sporting his Manchester worker bee tattoo.

Manchester Remembers:

Tune into Hits Radio from 10pm on Sunday for a special programme to mark five years since the attack.

Matt Crabb will be taking a look back at events that night and how the city responded.

First for all the latest news from across the UK every hour on Hits Radio on DAB, at hitsradio.co.uk and on the Hits Radio app.