The World's first ever prison Marathon

The event organisers hired Shepton Mallet Prison for 24 hours to host this unique sporting event. The marathon course of 26.2 miles consisted of just over 78 laps in and around the prison that was built back in 1610. The race, aptly named ‘The Green Mile made reference to the Hollywood blockbuster, and entrants were encouraged to dress for the occasion and enter into the spirit of the prison theme. Added to this, music tracks with a jail theme such as ‘Jailhouse Rock’ and “I want to break free’ were played in the courtyard to motivate runners.

Runners passed through ‘A’ wing and ‘B’ wing, upstairs, along prison corridors, and through exercise yards. Each lap consisted of 70 steps (stairs), so over the course of the event, each competitor negotiated nearly 5500 in all.

The race officially ended after six and a half hours, with most competitors finishing the challenge. Runners were rewarded with a bespoke medal and some good old-fashioned prison gruel (optional).

The Victorian Prison as you may have gathered is no longer in use, so there were no inmates. It was, however the oldest working prison in the United Kingdom up until its closure at the end of March 2013. Runners got a rare insight into the interior, which made this a unique experience.

After 4 hours and 13 minutes, Michael Burke won the race, with Simon Staple second and Mark Pike third.

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