THE success of this year’s New Swindon Half has left organisers optimistic about its future.

There were fears that the earlier start time of 8am could dissuade people from taking part.

Concerns were also raised about the event’s costs which could make the half-marathon unsustainably expensive to organise.

Road closures and traffic management for last year’s New Swindon Half cost almost £60,000 and £18,000 of that came directly from the organisers’ pockets.

A relieved organiser, Graeme Hardie, told the Advertiser: “It’s been very successful. I’m definitely less stressed than I was this time last year.

Sponsors Nationwide and the National Self Build and Renovation Centre stepped in to cover most of the expenditure this year.

Matthew Clowes from Cardiff AAC completed the 13.1-mile course in just 1hr 6mins. Ben Cole was second and the first Swindon runner over the line in 1hr 10mins, while others took it at a more leisurely pace.

Graeme co-ordinated the event from an operations centre set up in a vacant town centre site.

“I’m really happy with how this year’s half-marathon has gone,” he said.

“We got started with just over 2,000 people, which is more than we had last year.

“More people signed up last year but a lot of them didn’t turn up on the day.

He said: “We’ve had significantly fewer problems with organisation and traffic this year, too.

“The totals of what we raised for charity will be revealed in a couple of weeks.

“We’re hoping to smash last year’s amount.

“More people came out to watch the runners this time, especially around Old Town, Wichelstowe and the town centre.

“There’s light at the end of the tunnel now, but it’s still not definite that the event will be coming back.

“We will work out a plan as a team and decide in October.”

Last year’s Swindon Half-Marathon was a relaunch, with a new town centre route to encourage spectators, after the race was cancelled in 2016.

More than 2,700 signed up and £70,000 was raised for Swindon charities.

Organisers estimated that around 2,500 runners were needed to sign up for them to break even on this year’s costs.