Mo set for Anniversary Games 5000m

On Saturday 23rd July, double Olympic, world and European champion Mo Farah will headline Super Saturday at the Müller Anniversary Games as he competes in his first 5000m race at the Olympic Stadium since winning gold there at London 2012.

The British athletics legend has targeted this as the crucial final event before he flies to Rio de Janeiro looking to defend his Olympic title. Farah said: “This will be my final race before the Rio Olympics and I want to give my home fans a day to remember!” 

The Müller Anniversary Games incorporates two world class athletics events - the IAAF London Diamond League and the IPC Grand Prix Final - the last major events before the Olympic and Paralympic Games commence in Brazil this summer.

Olympic and world heptathlon champion and global icon Jennica Ennis-Hill is also set to compete on Super Saturday. She tackles the long jump and will look to build on an impressive performance in Ratingen, Germany, where she recently won the IAAF World Combined Events Challenge with a score of 6733.

MILLIONTH FINISHER NAMED AS RECORD NUMBER APPLY FOR 2017 - LONDON MARATHON

Had a number of requests about ‘my time at London marathon’ and thought this – the release about the 1millionth finisher was an appropriate time to put a few snaps up that shows the work (hard, hard work) that goes into getting people to look good for the cameras.

Many thanks to all the snappers down there who sent good (and bad) pictures for me - most of them I couldn’t really put up on site, and I look forward to seeing most of you in the coming year at various athletic events and other such like places.

The millionth finisher to cross the line in the London Marathon is 39-year-old Shannon Foudy from Hemel Hempstead, who was running her first marathon on Sunday 24 April.

 Shannon ran to raise money for the Luton & Dunstable Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) that saved the life of her daughter. In January 2010,

 Shannon, a serving police officer who works as a schools and youth engagement sergeant in Barnet, said: “I knew about the #oneinamillion campaign and it’s unbelievable that I am the millionth finisher. I ran to say thank you to the Luton & Dunstable NICU and it is the most
worthwhile thing I have ever done.

 Hugh Brasher, Event Director of the Virgin Money London Marathon, said: “Shannon epitomises the spirit of the London Marathon. She was a novice runner inspired to take on the challenge of 26.2 miles for a very personal cause and it’s wonderful she is our millionth finisher.”

 Shannon was presented with her unique #oneinamillion t-shirt and also receives a guaranteed place for the 2017 event.

 A record number of 253,930 UK applicants had registered for a ballot place in the 2017 Virgin Money London Marathon when the application system closed on Friday 6 May. This is more than 6,000 up from the previous record of 247,069 applications for the 2016 event.

 Just under 56% of the applications for 2017 were from people who have never run a marathon and more than 43% of the total applicants were women (also a record).

 “These numbers reflect the huge success of the 36th London Marathon on 24 April,” said Brasher. “One of our goals is to inspire people to take up sport and more than 142,000 people have been inspired to apply to run a marathon for the first time in 2017.

Nice to see that one of the best events in the world is still pulling in the applications.  I look forward to seeing lots of my friends next year down on St. Katherine’s Dock.

Again thanks to Eileen Jacus and Gary Mitchell photo for these ones on the blog and I apologies if I haven’t credited you and you see you photo here.

Take Care

Ed

Virgin Money London Marathon - runners stories

The Virgin Money London Marathon is the world's largest one-day fundraising event and more than 75 per cent of the 37,000+ runners on Sunday 24 April will be raising money for charity, adding to the incredible total of £770+ million raised in the first 35 years of the event.

 

Here are some of their stories: 

 

London-based Orin Lewis (OBE) will be running in memory of his son Daniel De-Gale who in 1999, aged six, was the first black individual in the UK to receive a life-saving stem cell bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor. Daniel beat the leukaemia but died in 2008 from multiple organ failure. Orin is hoping to raise £20,000 for the charity African Caribbean Leukaemia Trust (ACLT), the charity he and his wife Beverley founded 20 years ago. 

 

Running in memory of her daughter Pennie, is Natasha Greenway from Caerphilly in Wales. Pennie was in cardiac arrest when she was born in July 2015 and despite the best efforts of the medical team, Natasha and her husband had to make the heart-breaking decision to turn off the life support machines. Now, Natasha and her sister-in-law Emma will run to raise money for the charity The Lullaby Trust, which has supported their family through their loss. 

 

After her own personal battle with a rare and aggressive form of cervical cancer, West Lothian resident Heather Duff will be running to raise money for the charity Cancer Research UK. Now in remission, Heather will be making her London Marathon debut after running the Mini London Marathon in 1999 aged 12. She promised herself that she would one day return to take on the 26.2-mile challenge and will fulfil that promise on 24 April for the charity she credits with saving her life. 

 

Family rivalry will take centre stage when Nicholas Finill runs the London Marathon for the first time alongside his father Chris, one of only 12 'Ever Presents' who have run every London Marathon since its inception in 1981. The last of three siblings to follow in his father's footsteps, Nicholas is running in support of the Orchard Vale Trust, a charity that improves the quality of life for people with learning disabilities and their families.

 

Grace Havard will run the London Marathon two years after a car accident left her in an induced coma. She was left with 28 broken bones, a punctured lung, her liver split in half and part of her bowel removed, and skin grafts on her thighs and arms. Having made a swift and miraculous recovery, Grace has now set her mind to running the iconic course to raise money and awareness for St George's Hospital, where she was cared for in the aftermath of the accident.

 

Every year, the Virgin Money London Marathon press office receives hundreds of moving and inspiring stories from the thousands of runners who are preparing to take on the challenge of running the marathon. One runner taking that challenge to new heights is Ben Smith from Bristol who is not only running a marathon on 24 April but aims to complete 401 marathons in 401 days, across 309 locations in the UK. The London Marathon will be number 237. 

 

Ben is hoping to raise £250,000 for the charities Stonewall and Kidscape in their bid to tackle the issue of bullying in society, particularly in schools. Having suffered from bullying himself, Ben knows the trauma and destruction it can cause after he twice tried to take his own life as a young adult. Now 33, he is hoping that his epic challenge can help others learn that no matter what happens in life, there can be a positive outcome. 

Stanley Ride for all the family

 

Stanley Town Council is putting on a cycle ride for the whole family this spring.

With help of Sustrans and the Durham Big Ride the event will be encouraging all levels of cyclists to dust off their bikes from the garage and get on them to see the great routes that are on the Towns doorstep.

The event, on Sunday May 1, is a way of celebrating the opening of a new link route from the C2C route into Stanley town centre and also the ideal time to see the best of the countryside around the Stanley area. “The event is a great way to mark the refurbishment of the C2C pathway”. Said Joan Nicholson, Chair of Stanley Town Council, “It is a wonderful facility which should be used as much as possible.  Our event will only use a small part that is close to the Town but the route is such a wonderful ‘highway’ to some of the best countryside around.”

She continued, “We want to get people of all ages out on their bikes and use the routes and get a little fitter into the bargain.  It is a ‘win – win’ situation for all concerned.’

For the initial event two routes are planned both starting and finishing in the towns Oakey park: A 20 mile ride to Cox Green, just outside of Sunderland and for the little ones a nice ride to Beamish Museum car park with a little rest before going back to Oakey park.

Gina Clarke, Network Manager from Sustrans welcomes the idea of even more people using the pathways that are already very popular with commuters and leisure cyclists alike:

“Our aim at Sustrans is to encourage everyone to use cleaner, cheaper and healthier ways of getting around. These scenic traffic free paths provide a safe, enjoyable route to the shops, to school or to work for both walkers and cyclists. “Our team work hard to maintain this section of the National Cycle Network from Consett to Washington. We are looking forward to the event bringing new people to the C2C, giving the next generation of cyclists the opportunity to experience the route for themselves.”

Costs to be a part of the first Stanley Family CYCLE are £15 for adults and £7 for under 14 with a family ticket available with all finishers getting a quality T­ shirt and goodie bag.

For more information, please see the facebook site: Stanley Family Cycle.

JESSICA ENNIS-HILL IS CONFIRMED TO COMPETE AT SOLD OUT INDOOR GRAND PRIX

Britain’s current Olympic and world heptathlon champion will continue her countdown to Rio in the 60m hurdles at the world’s number one indoor athletics event

Jessica Ennis-Hill has confirmed that she will compete at the sold out Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix at the 5,000 seat Emirates Arena on Saturday 20 February.

The Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix is the world’s number one ranked indoor athletics meeting and will be the best one-day athletics meeting to ever be held in Scotland. It will feature many of the world’s best athletes, including Britain’s other gold medal winners from ‘Super Saturday’ at the London 2012 Olympics, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford.

Ennis-Hill has a great record in the 60m hurdles in Glasgow, setting a personal best in 2008, a British record of 7.95 in 2010 and then taking victory in 2011.

She said: “I am really looking forward to competing in the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix – this fixture always kick-starts my year.  Training is going well and it will be good to get out there and compete with some great athletes and really test myself.  Olympic year is a big year for all of us and the first competition brings with it trepidation and excitement.”

The Indoor Grand Prix, ranked as the world’s best indoor event in the world for the past ten years, will be held in Glasgow for the first time in 2016 as the city alternates hosting the event with Birmingham up to 2020.

Niels de Vos, Chief Executive of British Athletics, said: “Jessica Ennis-Hill is one of the biggest stars in British sport. The Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix will provide her with an opportunity to test herself and we wish her every success in Olympic year. She is a winner and a tremendous role-model for athletics and for Britain. The Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix will again showcase the city’s passion for major athletics events and is a sold-out success.”

Paul Bush OBE, VisitScotland’s Director of Events, said: “We are delighted that Jessica Ennis-Hill will continue her preparations for this year’s Olympic Games at the Glasgow Indoor Grand Prix, reaffirming Scotland’s reputation as the perfect stage for events among the world’s most decorated athletes. As well as providing the opportunity to witness Jessica in action, the event will see her fellow Olympic gold medallists, Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford, compete alongside a host of world-class athletes, creating an occasion not to be missed.”

For more information visit britishathletics.org and follow @BritAthletics on Twitter.