Race news: Asda Foundation City of Lincoln 10K – Sunday, March 22, 2015
The historic streets of Lincoln will be a riot of colour on Sunday March 22nd when thousands of runners turn out for one of the biggest charity road races in the region.
Tens of thousands of pounds will be raised for good causes by the new-look Asda Foundation City of Lincoln 10K.
It will be the 19th running of the popular City of Lincoln 10K, which for the first time in its history is being organised by Run For All, part of the legacy of the late Jane Tomlinson CBE whose charity has raised over £7.5m for good causes.
And it promises to be a very special day for remarkable fundraising pensioner Gladys Tingle, who will celebrate her 84th birthday by tackling the event. She will be part of the start party that will get the run underway and then plans to power walk her way around the course to raise money for Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance.
Gladys, of Horncastle, who will be joined in the event by her grandson, Jason, said: “I like to keep fit and I walk five miles each day. I’m sure Sunday will be a lovely day.”
Since turning 70-years-old, Gladys’s fundraising efforts in aid of the air ambulance service have included completing two London Marathons and more than 10 Great North Runs, raising a total of over £12,000. Her efforts were recognised last year when she scooped the Volunteer of the Year Award at a ceremony in London to honour staff and supporters of air ambulance services across the country.
The Lincoln 10K event attracts people from across the UK and abroad. It boasts a route that takes in some of Lincoln’s historic landmarks, including the cathedral and the city’s Roman Walls.
The run promises to be a highlight event in what is a special year for Lincoln, as 2015 marks the 800th anniversary of the signing of the Magna Carta by King John and the city boasts one of only four copies of the original 1215 text.
And youngsters aged between 9 and 14 will be encouraged to play their part in the festival of running by pulling on their trainers to take part in the free-to-enter Arena Group City of Lincoln Mini and Junior Runs, which will be held on Saturday March 21st starting and finishing at the Yarborough Leisure Centre playing fields.
Hundreds of 10K runners will also be getting together with friends to tackle the main event’s Team Challenge – a race within a race. Teams in each of the challenges must have a minimum of four members, there is no upper limit, and there are three categories – open, mixed and female.
In the open and female categories, the average time of the first four team members home will be used to calculate the winners, while the times of the first two men and first two women will count in the mixed category. The event is chip timed and there are goody bags, medals and finishers’ T-shirts for all those taking part.
Cllr Donald Nannestad, Portfolio Holder for Recreational Services and Health at the City of Lincoln Council, who is taking part in the event, said: “The 10K has a great tradition and we are excited by working with Run For All to improve it still further. We look forward to welcoming people to Lincoln for what we are sure will be a great event.”
Tristan Batley-Kyle, event lead at Run For All, said: “Lincoln is a beautiful city and its many historic buildings provide the perfect back-drop for a great 10K. It will be our first event in 2015 and we are sure it will get the season off to a fantastic start.”
Julie Ward, of the Asda Foundation, which supports Run For All’s 10K series, said: “The 10Ks in Leeds, York, Burnley and Hull are very successful events that bring a lot of enjoyment and raise much-needed funds for charity. Lincoln is a great addition to the series and we are delighted to be involved.”
Participants in the 10K can choose to run for fun or to raise funds for any cause of their choice. They are particularly encouraged to support one of the event’s official partner charities: LIVES, Macmillan Cancer Support, St Barnabas Lincolnshire Hospice, Lincs and Notts Air Ambulance, brainstrust, the Mayor of Lincoln’s Charity, Cerebral Palsy Sport, Framework and the Jane Tomlinson Appeal.
The official partner charity of the Arena Group Mini and Junior Run is St Andrew’s Children’s Hospice, with all young runners encouraged to raise a small amount in sponsorship to support its Lincolnshire centre.
Angela Greenfield, Events Co-ordinator at St Andrew’s said: “We’re really pleased to have been chosen as the official charity of the Arena Group Mini and Junior Run. We support around 90 children or young people and their families each year, all of them are going through the toughest experience you can imagine.”
Adrian Fitzpatrick, managing director of the Arena Group, whose support will allow every child to take part in the Mini and Junior Runs for free, said: “We are absolutely delighted to support the Lincoln Junior and Mini runs. We are excited to be welcoming a new event to the Run For All series, having sponsored children’s runs in Leeds and York since 2010. We are very much looking forward to seeing hundreds of youngsters running through the streets of Lincoln.”
The City of Lincoln 10K is supported by Asda Foundation, City of Lincoln Council, Radio Lincolnshire, Lincolnshire Echo, Haart, Runner’s World, Run247.Com, Bananakick, Powerade and LTS.
For more information and to enter the Asda Foundation City of Lincoln 10K go to www.runforall.com
