Kian Godbold is a young white man with short brown hair. He is wearing a dark T-shirt with three rows of red and pink 'M's on it. He has his hands folded on his front, and is standing on a pavement outside a park.

‘I was making toast when I got the email!’ Man Met student designs T-shirt for Manchester Marathon 2025

News | 26th March 2025

By Aditi Nahar

Featured image credit: Aditi Nahar

Speaking to NQ, Man Met student Kian Godbold has shared his excitement after his T-shirt design was selected for 2025’s Manchester Marathon.

The second-largest marathon in the UK, the Manchester Marathon attracts thousands of runners looking to race across the streets of Greater Manchester.

Each year, organisers host a competition for local artists to design a logo for the finisher T-shirts, to be worn by runners who complete the full 26-mile route.

A navy blue T-shirt on a purple bakcground. It has three rows of pink and red 'M's o it, and says 'FINISHER' on the bottom — Kian Godbold’s T-shirt design | Credit: Kian Godbold

Kian, who is in his third year studying Graphic Design, was first introduced to the competition by his lecturer and classmates.

“The marathon originally used their main symbol ‘M’ for quite a while,” Kian said about his design process.

“As a designer, I sketched out over 100 variations of the logo related to Manchester, such as the skyline, the gay village, football, music. It kind of reflects the cultural identity of the city.”

The day he found out he won was just like any other, Kian said. “I was in my kitchen chilling and making toast when an email popped up stating I won the contest. It was unbelievable!”

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Kian said the inspiration for the design came naturally to him.

“I’m in my third year and I won’t do masters, so it’s my last year in the city,” he said.

“I felt it was a good payback to the city. And I did get feedback from people, and they loved it, which was great for me!

“Knowing that people are going to wear my T-shirt at the marathon makes me a bit scared and excited.

“I didn’t get the chance to get my hands on making the T-shirts. It would have been great, but I got to promote it on social media with the team.”

Kian laughed when we asked him if he would participate in the marathon. “I like to run, but I don’t think I am quite there in terms of running,” he said.

“I won’t be running in the marathon but would be there to give people my T-shirts, which I look forward to.”

Kian was hopeful for his future after graduating this summer: “I am about to wrap up my time at the university and participate in an exhibition to showcase my designs.

“I am also applying for internships in Manchester as I love the city, and I’ll hopefully get a graphic design job in the industry, fingers crossed.”