Belfast marathon changes controversial route

Parts of west Belfast will now be included in the route of the Belfast City Marathon after they were controversially left out…

Parts of west Belfast will now be included in the route of the Belfast City Marathon after they were controversially left out in a new route announced earlier this year.

Belfast City Council said it was not a question that areas of west Belfast had been deliberately "left out" of the new route, but that they hadn't been included.

A spokeswoman told ireland.com that 90 per cent of the route this year was new because the marathon committee had sought a "flatter" route for the annual race.

Areas including the Grosvenor Road and parts of the Lower Falls have now been included in the race, which takes place on May 2nd.

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It is expected the changed course will attract a greater audience for the event, in which some 11,000 runners will take part.