Blues Foundation have once again been granted sole charity partner status for this July’s running meet in Bedford, in partnership with event organisers Active Training World.
The first time an event with such distances has been run at this time of the year, the race event on Sunday July 23 – with a start and finish line at Russell Park – will be officially named as ATW Blues Foundation 10k and Half Marathon. This follows sole charity partners status at the 10k event last year, while the club have partnered the Bedford Running Festival – which again takes place in September this year – for the past two events.
The event
This chip-timed event is a sure-fire guarantee to give runners the best chance of a PB in the Half-Marathon or 10k while supporting Blues Foundation. The one-lap 10k course starts and finishes on the beautiful Bedford Embankment and runs out alongside the flat, tree-lined River Ouse. After heading out towards Priory Park and a lap of the beautiful Priory Lake the runners return to the Embankment over the Town Bridge to hear the cheers of the crowds at the finish line.
Those tackling the Half Marathon will head back out for a second lap with a slight extension to make up the accurate 21.1km (13.1 mile) half-marathon distance. The course will have kilometre markers for the 10k and mile markers for the Half Marathon. A Children’s Fun Run will also take place before the race start.Th is will be £10 to enter and includes a finishers medal.
School’s Challenge
Blues Foundation wants as many schools as possible to get involved this year and has set a challenge.
One of the key principles at Blues Foundation is active living, whether that be mental, physical or emotional and running can help tackle all three of these disciplines. Therefore, the foundation wants all children to run the equivalent distance of a half marathon in the build-up to July, leaving the final mile to be run on race day. The Children’s Fun Run is the perfect place to complete the challenge, earning a medal at the end and hopefully raising fundraising support along the way.
Blues Foundation Manager, Tom Harwood, said:
“We are really attempting to step up our fundraising and outreach activities this year and the ATW Blues Foundation 10k & Half Marathon will play a significant part in that, particularly with the vast amount of non-Bedfordians set to attend. It’s a fantastic chance for us to shout about the work we have achieved thus far and our plans for the future.
“We have designed the School’s Challenge as an extension of our work because we want to see as many young people getting active as a regular occurrence. Please do get in touch with us if we can support and we may even get the running shoes on ourselves to help you along the way!”
Find out more about the Blues Foundation at www.bluesfoundation.org.uk
