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Harwich race back after 29 years to mark Mayflower anniversary

Harwich Runners The Harwich Half Marathon in the 1980sHarwich Runners
The race was last run in 1991 and has been revived to coincide with the anniversary of the Mayflower leaving the town

A half marathon will be run for the first time in nearly 30 years to coincide with the 400th anniversary of a historic sea voyage next year.

The race in Harwich, Essex, will be revived as part of the celebrations of the Mayflower' - the Harwich-based ship which took the first pilgrims to America in 1620.

The run, which was last held in 1991, is proposed to be held on 5 April.

The route will include parts of the original course.

Harwich Runners The old route of the Harwich Half MarathonHarwich Runners
The route will incorporate part of the route from the 1980s

The half marathon is being organised by Harwich Runners and the Rotary Club of Harwich & Dovercourt.

It was first run in 1982 and attracted more than 1,000 runners.

Harwich Runners said it hoped to create a "festival-style atmosphere" for the event.

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Pilgrims land at Cape Cod, 1620
The Pilgrims dropped anchor at Cape Cod in 1620 and then founded a settlers' colony

The Mayflower

  • Constructed in approximately 1590, there are no records of where the ship was built but it is believed to have been Harwich or another East Anglian port
  • After construction, she was based in Harwich until 1610, along with her master Christopher Jones
  • The Mayflower left Plymouth in Devon on 6 September 1620
  • The Atlantic crossing took 66 days, carrying 102 passengers
  • The ship dropped anchor off Cape Cod on 11 November 1620 before establishing the colony of New Plymouth in the modern-day US state of Massachusetts
  • More than 600 young carpenters and engineers started building a replica ship in Harwich in 2016
  • The plan to build a seafaring replica received the backing of Sir Richard Branson, who called it a "brilliant, audacious project"

Source: BBC

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