ORGANISERS of the cancelled Spartan Race UK event at Old Trafford have announced they will refund the £50 entry fee after an outpouring of anger by out-of-pocket runners.

The Reebok Spartan Race UK which hosts 5km, 13km, and 20km obstacle races, pulled its race at Old Trafford, scheduled for Saturday June 25, last week.

The reason given for the cancellation was that ‘there would be changes to Old Trafford’s security procedures that affected Spartan UK’s ability to deliver its high quality race product’ but stressed that it had nothing to do with last month’s bomb scare.

However, infuriated runners bombarded the company’s official Facebook page, venting their anger after they were refused a refund for the race, were ‘ignored’ and their emails left unanswered.

Tim Wilkinson wrote on Spartan UK’s Facebook page: “PR disaster by Spartan race... I won't be racing with them if they don't sort this out and I'm not even signed up for the one they cancelled! “

Lee Torkington commented: “Why can we not have a refund for the Old Trafford event?

Cancelling the event can possibly be understood, not offering a refund or suitable replacement is unacceptable.”

Another runner Mike Russell said: “So the advice is "contact us" - which we have done and received a "no refund policy" e-mail. You can't keep ignoring your customers and expect us to roll over and have our tummies tickled. You've taken our money.”

Following the social media backlash, Spartan Race UK announced on its Facebook page on Friday - three days after the cancellation - that racers registered for the Old Trafford event who cannot or do not wish to transfer to another Spartan Race would receive a refund.

In a separate statement, organisers branded some of the messages left on its Facebook page ‘unacceptable’.

A spokesperson for Spartan Race UK said: “Understandably, the decision has caused disappointment amongst those registered for the event. Spartan UK does share in that disappointment but the cancellation of the event was out of Spartan UK’s control.

“In light of the news, Spartan UK has received a number of customer queries on its official Facebook page, some of which included profanities. As Spartan UK is a family brand, and prides itself on its heritage and inclusive spirit, it deemed some of the messages unacceptable for the community. We would encourage all participants who are registered for the Old Trafford race, and who have any concerns or queries, to contact our customer service team directly at cs@uk.spartan.com for options moving forward.”