2012 MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE ETAPE PENNINES ROUTE ANNOUNCED

MARIE CURIE CANCER CARE ETAPE PENNINES ROUTE ANNOUNCED

IMG Challenger World, organizers of the Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Pennines, the first closed road sportive in England, are pleased to announce route details for the 7 October 2012 event.

The 2012 Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Pennines route has been released and promises to showcase the beautiful countryside of the North East of England with a 78 mile route round County Durham.

Starting at Ushaw College, just a few miles from Durham city, the route heads south towards Witton Park, host to the first climb of the day, before turning west through the rolling countryside in Middleton-in-Teesdale for the second climb. Following a quick descent, its north again via St John’s Chapel to Blanchland with a few climbs along the way before heading east back through Castleside to the finish at Ushaw College. With well stocked feedstops, mechanical back up on the route and marshals at strategic points, the priority is on rider care and providing a safe and enjoyable day’s riding.

The event will be run on closed roads at all times and in order to make this traffic free environment possible, the route will have to cross several main arterial roads. At these points specially trained marshals will be operating level crossing style crossing points for the duration of the event, stopping vehicle traffic and cyclists in turn to make safe crossing possible. Timing mats will be on each side of these crossings so riders times will not be penalised if there is any delay at these points.

James Robinson, Managing Director of IMG Challenger World, has been working closely with the event team on the route since the event’s inception, “We are really pleased and excited to be bringing the first closed road sportive in England to County Durham as the course has been designed to offer riders a challenging and rewarding ride in the stunning countryside of the North East. Rider safety and enjoyment is paramount at all times and to this end we have been working with the Police and Durham County Council to ensure a traffic free route for the entire event. We will be working very hard over the next 11 months to make sure the first closed road sportive in England will be every bit as successful as its sister event - the Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Caledonia. ”

Marie Curie Cancer Care is the official Charity Partner of the Etape Series 2012. All funds raised by cyclists taking part in the Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Pennines will enable Marie Curie Nurses to provide more free care and support to terminally ill people and their families.

For more information and entry details on the Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Pennines please visit

http://www.etapepennines.co.uk/

ABOUT IMG Challenger World

IMG Challenger World owns six events in the UK and 24 events globally. UK events include…

Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Caledonia - The UK's first and only closed road mass participation cycling event. The event appeals to cycle club

enthusiasts, recreational cyclists, gym members and those looking for a new physical challenge in the stunning highland Perthshire. 13th May

2012.

Sky Ride Etape Hibernia - Sky Ride Etape Hibernia is a closed road cycle event, taking in 82 miles of breathtaking scenery in County Clare, West

Ireland on 26th August 2012.

Marie Curie Cancer Care Etape Pennines – The first closed road sportive in England with 78 miles of stunning scenery in Durham on 7th October

2012.

Run to the Beat powered by Nike+ - Run to the Beat is London's first half marathon and the UK's first music marathon. This unique event starts

and finishes at The O2 in Greenwich, with the route passing through three Olympic venues. Live music will be played at strategically placed

points around the course to help motivate competitors. 2012 date TBC.

ABOUT Marie Curie Cancer Care

Marie Curie Cancer Care is one of the UK’s largest charities. Employing more than 2,700 nurses, doctors and other healthcare professionals, it

provided care to more than 31,000 terminally ill patients in the community and in its nine hospices last year and is the largest provider of

hospice beds outside the NHS.

Funding

Around 70 per cent of the charity’s income comes from the generous support of thousands of individuals, membership organisations and

businesses, with the balance of our funds coming from the NHS.

Marie Curie Nurses

The charity is best known for its network of Marie Curie Nurses working in the community to provide end of life care, totally free for patients in

their own homes.

More information is available at www.mariecurie.org.uk

Female atheltes and Children in Need

Most of the athletics is over for another year and the IAAF Awards have been given out.  Not much competition for the Male athlete of the year – Usain Bolt - and well deserved too.

The female award was another thing altogether!

Kenya’s Vivian Cheruiyot was overlooked in favour of Ozzie Sally Person.  I have interviewed / chatted to both in the past year and found them both very nice people and very good at what they do. But I, and a lot of others, find it difficult to understand how Sally got the vote over Vivian.  Have a look at the link and it may explain more if you don’t follow athletics. 

http://www.capitalfm.co.ke/sports/2011/11/15/kiplagat-slams-iaaf-over-cheruiyot-gala-snub/

It is Children in Need time again and local BBC pitched up in Durham City  to sell the calendar – normally a nice success.  All in all more than 300 calendars were sold and the team were ‘over the moon’ and will come back again.

It was also nice to catch up with Julie Smith – a VJ for the BBC based in Newcastle.  It was nice to chat ‘in a happy time’ as our last meetings have been sad.

ALSO, had time to make final arrangements for the Durham City Christmas Festival this year.  It is a magical event for young and old as the City lends itself to this sort of occasion. There will be a number of brass bands adding to the atmosphere on both Saturday and Sunday (3 &4 DEC) as well as a lantern parade by youngsters up to the Cathedral where there will be a ‘Christmas sing song’ for all.

More on that later, but for now  Keep Smilin’

Portsmouth in October - not for the sun worship!

Down at the Great South Run over the weekend and it was, as always, a great place to be.

Leonard Komon, a one to watch out for next year, won the event in a very nice 46.18.  Not his preferred distance – as he holds World records for 10 and 15k but 10 miles was good for him down on Portsmouth front.

Kenyan and World marathon record holder Abel Kirui who crossed the line in 46.40 with Ireland's Alistair Cragg third in 47:14.

Komon went off like a rocket but paid the price for his this as he ‘slowed’ to almost five minute miles in he last two miles.

"I deliberately started fast as I knew it would be difficult when running against the wind in the closing stages," said Komen "The weather was too much for me and it was really tough at the end. It would have helped me if earlier in the race there had been someone to run with. I tried my hardest on my own but it wasn't enough."

Ethiopia's former World half marathon runner up Asselefech Mergia won the women's race 52 minutes 55seconds ahead of the Kenyan pair of Doris Changeywo and Irene Jerotich.

Changeywo last year's Commonwealth Games 10,000 metres silver medallist and Jerotich winner of the marathon title in New Delhi clocked 53:34 and 53:43.

"I decided that was the best point to get clear as I knew when we turned (for the last two miles) the wind would make it very difficult - which happened," said Mergia.

So watch out for those names next year and also a little girl called Charlotte Perdue who is fast making a name for herself.  Only 20 years old and did herself proud in such good company coming in fourth.

More info on the race click here:

http://www.greatrun.org/News/NormalNews.aspx?nid=7680