Woman blocked in by marathon during emergency says more warning was needed

A woman who was delayed getting to her elderly mother in an emergency during Maidenhead Half Marathon has urged organisers to give better advance road closure warnings.

Michelle Robson lives in Danes Gardens off Maidenhead Road, which makes up a large swath of the half-marathon route.

The popular event, which had taken a four-year break, took place on Sunday, October 26 and attracted large crowds.

But residents living nearby were left without adequate warning that it was taking place at all, said Michelle – including alerts that only one side of Maidenhead Road would remain open.

She said no information about the closure had been delivered to their address, and therefore anyone who hadn’t seen the sign posted outside about the closure was left unaware.

Because of this, some people found they were unable to get out.

A parked vehicle belonging to an unaware resident was blocking the only lane still open to traffic.

“I urgently needed to get out,” Michelle said.

“My 91-year-old mother had collapsed and doesn’t live locally. But I could not get out of Cookham until [the car’s owner] moved his vehicle.”

Though a nearby marathon marshal attempted to help, there was not much she could do, Michelle added.

After waiting more than half an hour for a safe gap in the runners, Michelle eventually visited the owner of the car’s flat herself and woke him up so it could be moved out of the way.

“It was a shambles, to be honest,” she said. “I knocked and woke up everyone [in the flats] on a Sunday morning – I didn’t make myself very popular.”

The man then went outside in his dressing gown to move his vehicle.

Michelle found that the residents of these Maidenhead Road flats were unaware of the closure, just like her neighbours in Danes Gardens.

“I had to wait at least an hour to get out. It caused me an enormous amount of stress,” said Michelle.

“I get [the road closure] – I’m a runner myself, I know it’s a nightmare when you’re running and a vehicle is pulling out in front of you.

“It’s just a simple thing to inform any household that’s going to be affected by the closure.

“If I had known, I would have put my car somewhere completely different. I wouldn’t have the undue stress and wouldn’t have upset neighbours. I do not like conflict [and it was] an unpleasant and emotional day.”

Michelle has asked that the organisers, when planning the event next year, make sure that all people are given adequate notice if a road near them is going to be closed.

A spokesperson for RunThrough, which organised the Half Marathon, said this incident would be reviewed ‘to prevent similar issues in the future.’

“We are very sorry to hear about the experience residents had,” the spokesperson said.

“Clear communication with local households is something we take seriously, and we understand how stressful the situation must have been for those affected.”

RBWM could not assist; once it grants a road closure to an organisation, highway powers are transferred to the applicant, it says.