Race man sorry as water runs out

Organisers of a half-marathon which took place in sweltering temperatures have apologised to competitors for running out of water.

The public brought out hoses to supply water to runners when the bottles ran out at refreshment stations in the Tewkesbury Half Marathon on Sunday.

Mike Gratton, director of the event, said: "We had one bottle per runner.

"As it turned out the weather was much hotter, so runners took more than one bottle, which is understandable."

Some 1,300 runners took part in the race which took place in temperatures exceeding 25C (77F).

Mr Gratton added: "It did mean that a lot of runners towards the back of the field didn't have any water.

'Serious issue'

"We managed to get more water to most of the drinks stations but unfortunately for some people it was too little too late so they did miss out on drinks which is quite a serious issue.

"At this stage we can only apologise but there's nothing we can do to rectify the situation the day after."

A meeting is due to take place between the organisers and council later this month to discuss the future of the event, which has been allowed to grow in size to help meet policing costs.

Mr Gratton said this was a separate issue to the water shortage, but concerns that the race had become too big needed to be addressed.