Manchester Marathon weather 2022: what is the forecast for this year’s race?

The Manchester marathon is set to take place this weekend, with runners of all abilities and backgrounds coming together to run the 26.2 mile long course.

This will be the first time the marathon will take place in April since 2019. The 2020 and 2021 marathon both took place later in the year in October, due to the Coronavirus pandemic which gripped the nation.

The marathon is one of the most popular in Europe and has doubled in size in recent years, with up to 40,000 runners taking part in the 2021 marathon.

As well as the high number of runners, it’s estimated that around 50,000 will line the streets of Manchester, cheering on their loved ones or just attending for the love of the sport.

With that many people involved, will they be in for a day of sunshine or will they have to remember their umbrella? Here’s a full breakdown of the weather for the event.

What will the weather be like for the marathon?

The last Therme Manchester marathon took place in October 2021 (rescheduled from April 2021).

The runners were treated to a glorious day of sunshine as Matthew Crehan of St Helen’s stormed home to win the men’s race in 2:18:26, while Anna Bracegirdle took the women’s title in her personal best of 2:40:17.

• 07:00 - 09:59:

Between this period of the day expect mostly cloudy weather with brief sunny intervals. Despite the clouds, there’s a very low chance of rain. The temperature will remain at 2C with the Met Office claiming it will feel like 0C.

• 10:00 - 12:59

There’s a rise in the temperature, with the temperature being 5C in this time frame, but a decrease in the overall weather with constant clouds. However, no rain is expected in this period.

• 13:00 - 15:59

Again, cloudy but again a steady rise in temperature for what is always the warmest part of the day. Around this part of the day, expect the temperature to be 9C with a low chance of rain, with the Met Office claiming there’s a 10% chance of rain.

• 16:00 - 18:59

Again, almost no change in the weather. Expect temperatures of around 9C with a 10% chance of rain and mostly cloudy, with no sunny intervals expected for this time period. Wind speeds at 4pm will be the strongest of the day at 23mph.

• 19:00 - 00:00

As well as the drop in temperatures, dropping to 5C at 7pm, the chance of rain almost disappears with no chance of rain expected for the rest of the day. The lowest temperature expected at this stage of the day will be at 10pm when experts say it will be 4C.

So there we have it, overall a poor day of weather but at least the rain will hold out. With the earliest estimated start time at 9am, some runners and wheelchair users will experience some sunny intervals but for the majority of the day it will be a cold and cloudy day.