This Sunday's Adidas City Run in Fulham Has Been Postponed

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Organisers say it would be unsafe to hold the event given the forecast of bad weather

The organisers of the inaugural Adidas City Run, which was to have taken place this Sunday, 18 March through streets across Fulham, have announced that it has been postponed due to the prospect of bad weather.

A statement released today by the organisers says: "Due to the continued worsening of this weekend’s weather forecast, we have taken the decision to postpone the Fulham 10K to a new date in 2018 (currently To Be Confirmed).

"To confirm, the Fulham 10K will not be taking place this Sunday March 18.

"The Met Office have now issued weather warnings for snow/ice in the area on both Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th – a summary of the Met Office’s current forecast on both days is:

·         Zero or sub-zero temperatures, with a wind chill of up to -10 degrees

·         Wind gusting up to 40 miles per hour

·         60-70% chance of snow/precipitation

"Based on advice from the emergency services, our medical advisors and our health & safety team, we have concluded that it would be unsafe for us to attempt to deliver an event of this scale given the forecasted conditions.

"The conditions forecast for Friday evening & Saturday mean that we would be unable to build the necessary supporting race infrastructure, and the conditions forecast for Sunday mean that we would be unable to guarantee the safety of our runners, spectators, volunteers, contractors and event staff, and that critical event support staff (eg, medics) may encounter travel disruption en route to the event.

"Whilst there is always a chance the weather may improve between now and Sunday morning, all the advice tells us that the forecast is unlikely to change significantly and so we have decided to make the decision to postpone the event now, to prevent runners travelling and incurring unnecessary costs. We want the Fulham 10k to be a hugely enjoyable event which is delivered to the highest possible standards and unfortunately that is simply not going to be possible this weekend.

"We are determined to re-schedule the event as quickly as we can and are already working with our local authority and agency partners to identify an alternative date which we intend to communicate to you soon.

"In accordance with our terms & conditions of entry, if participants are unable to attend on the alternative date then they will be able to receive a full refund of their entry fee – details of the exact process will be communicated when the alternative date is released shortly.

"We understand this is extremely disappointing news for all of our runners, stakeholders and supporters but we hope you understand that the good old British weather has left us with no choice. As a valued member of the adidas City Runs family we thank you in advance for your patience and we’ll come back to you as soon as we have news on an alternative date for the Fulham 10k.

"If you have any questions that are not addressed in this statement, please read our FAQs. If your question is still unanswered then please email hello@adidascityruns.com."

The event, which was intended to be the first of a series of City Runs, was to follow a 10 km route beginning and ending at Eel Brook Common and as the map above shows, would take in New Kings, Munster, Dawes, Harwood and Fulham Roads as well as Parsons Green Lane and a loop around Chelsea Football Club's Stamford Bridge.

The "mass participation" run, which was supporting Great Ormond Street Hospital, was scheduled to begin at 9.30am and end at 1pm, with the Event Village open from 7.45am. According to the event's website this meant New Kings Road would be closed from 6am, while others will be closed from 7am until 2pm.

Chelsea and Fulham MP Greg Hands said in his regular e-bulletin that he was 'surprised' to hear of this new event, saying he had not been consulted on it.

He said: "Even though the organisers claim that the route and road closure timings were carefully considered - including by the Labour H&F Council and Transport for London - and it is being organised for a good cause, these road closures will cause immense frustration and inconvenience for local residents."

He added: "It is incredibly worrying that the organisers are implying that this might become an annual event, and you can bet that local residents won't forget this total lack of consultation."

March 15, 2018