Berkeley Half-Marathon

The air was filled with laughter, cheers and the energy of thousands of runners, volunteers and supporters as they participated in the Berkeley Half Marathon on Sunday.

The Berkeley Half Marathon will occur Sunday, Feb. 23, resulting in street closures, adjusted bus routes and parking restrictions. 

A statement released Dec. 20 officially canceled the 2018 Biofreeze Berkeley Half Marathon, after its original notice of cancellation on Nov. 17 due to “hazardous air quality.”

The UC Botanical Garden announced it will remain closed Thursday to protect the health of its workers amid the poor air quality in the Bay Area.

The sixth annual Berkeley Half Marathon, 10K, 5K and 1K races planned for this Sunday have been canceled because of unhealthy air quality and the general strain on local, regional and state resources from the fires.

Mitch Negus was a notoriously slow athlete as a child. But Sunday, Negus, 23, earned seventh place in the annual Berkeley Half Marathon with a time of 1:15:34.

Early Sunday morning, thousands of runners and spectators alike crowded a sold-out starting line at Martin Luther King Jr. Civic Center Park as part of this year’s Berkeley Half Marathon.

Friends and family remember Kenneth Speirs as “a gift to the students” – a professor who encouraged creativity and instilled confidence in his pupils.

Lark Ryan, the race’s marketing and outreach coordinator, said the course depended on the permits they were able to settle with the city. She said that she hopes to cooperate with the city to get better permits and, consequently, a better course for possible future races.