Plusnet is thrilled to announce its headline sponsorship of an exciting and brand new running event, the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon.
The countdown to the event officially begins today in York; the historic city set to stage the race later this year on Sunday 20th October. A host of famous faces will be gathering at the city’s iconic Clifford’s Tower to celebrate the launch. Keep an eye on our Facebook page and Twitter feed throughout the day where we hope to share more news and images as the events unfold.
Keep reading to find out more about the event and hear what double Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft and TV football pundit Chris Kamara had to say ...
Thousands of runners are set to take part in the hotly-anticipated event – the biggest and best race to hit the region’s sporting stage in 2013. The celebrities – from the worlds of sport, showbiz and music – will celebrate the arrival of the event by making the ‘Y’ for ‘Yorkshire’, the new symbol of the marathon.
The Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon is intended to bring a mass participation marathon closer to thousands of Northern runners keen to push themselves to the ultimate limit. But with an exceptionally flat course – flatter than London, Paris and New York – the race is certain to become a ‘destination marathon’ for runners from across the UK and beyond.
It is being staged by a new organisation, Marathon Yorkshire Ltd under the umbrella of Jane Tomlinson's For All Events – which already runs the successful Leeds, York, Hull and Pennine-Lancashire 10Ks and the sell-out Leeds Half Marathon.
Runners can chose to raise funds for any cause of their choice or one of the event’s partner charities – Martin House Children’s Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support, Yorkshire Cancer Research, Parkinson’s UK, the Haven, Clic Sargent, Candlelighters, St Leonard’s Hospice, Sue Ryder Care and the Jane Tomlinson Appeal. Meanwhile, Plusnet will of course have participating staff and be supporting its charity of choice for this year, Sheffield homeless charity, Roundabout.
For All Events’ Mike Tomlinson said The Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon would become a major highlight of the UK’s sporting calendar and a flagship event for the organisation. It is expected to raise up to £500,000 for charities in its first year.
Mike said:
“We’re really excited about the new Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon. We launched the Leeds 10K seven years ago now and we’ve been thinking for a long time about putting on a long distance event in Yorkshire – and this is it!
“It’s taken a huge amount of planning but we think it will be really special. In York we have a city with amazingly spectacular scenery, but one that is also extremely flat which should make for a really fast course.
“I know it will be extremely popular because there is still that great feeling of the Olympic legacy. Look at all Yorkshire achieved in the 2012 Games! There is no doubt that Yorkshire is exactly the place to launch a new marathon.”
Jamie Ford, Plusnet CEO said:
“We are delighted to be involved in this brand new running event. Plusnet is very proud of its Yorkshire roots and this is a great opportunity to be involved in a mass participation event which will showcase some of the finest scenery and sporting achievements of this county, to the rest of the UK and beyond.”
The Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon is also supported by York University, York City Council, the Yorkshire Post, Yorkshire Radio and Capita Simmons. In addition, a number of sporting stars are backing the cause.
Double Paralympic gold medallist Hannah Cockroft, said:
“I know that this event will be fantastic fun, bringing people together and allowing them to achieve lifetime goals at the same time as raising money for some amazing charities.”
TV football pundit Chris Kamara added:
“I know Jane Tomlinson was a massive inspiration to me and I’m sure she was to many, many other people.
“I hope thousands of people pull on their running shoes to take part in this, the first Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon. Good luck everyone, I know it will be a huge success and bring in lots of money for deserving causes.”
To find out more, take a look the official event site www.theyorkshiremarathon.com. You can also follow the event news on Twitter @RunYorkshire.
Do you think you can do yourself proud and take on the ultimate challenge of the Plusnet Yorkshire Marathon? Let us know by leaving a comment below ...