EDF ENERGY birmingham
half marathon
5,000 Runners Sign up for EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon
Organisers of the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon have revealed that more than 5,000 people have now signed up for the event which will be staged on Sunday 26 October.
The milestone number of entries was passed just two months after the event was officially launched by Denise Lewis, Nell McAndrew and Blind Dave.
The event, which is being organised by Birmingham City Council and is sponsored by EDF Energy, is also known as the Race Against Climate Change and will start near the Birmingham Alexander Stadium and finish on Broad Street near Centenary Square.
Councillor Ray Hassall, Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture said: “We are delighted that the first ever EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon has attracted so many entries. This is going to be a fantastic event for the city and I hope that even more people will enter over the next few weeks before entries close at the end of September. I also hope that thousands more people will line the route of the half marathon to cheer on those taking part.”
The organisers have revealed that so far 65% of the entrants are male and that more than 80 people over the age of 60 have completed an application form. More than 300 students have also applied to take part in the event.
Participants from outside of Birmingham are also still signing up for the event in their hundreds, with runners coming from as far afield as the Channel Islands, France and Italy to be part of the inaugural event.
EDF Energy, sponsors of the Birmingham Half Marathon, are also delighted with the number of entries so far and have revealed that employees at EDF Energy have been embracing the event. Ray Wiltshire, EDF Energy’s head of sponsorship, PR and events said: “We are really pleased that this event has proven to be so popular, especially in its first year and what is great to see is that nearly 150 EDF Energy employees from our offices across the country have signed up for the event and we expect more to join them in the next few weeks.”
