Athletics: Runway Run aims to build on 2015 success

500 runners from businesses across Northern Ireland will be invited to take to the runway at the George Best City Airport for the 5K team race at 11pm on Thursday 23rd June.

Last year’s race was a fantastic success with the lights of the runway producing a fantastic atmosphere and tremendous team spirit. The organisers closed the list at 500 but could have had at least twice that number.

Richard Gillan, Managing Partner at Grant Thornton said: “We were overwhelmed by the response to last year’s event and are delighted to announce it’s return in 2016. It is a unique event within Northern Ireland’s business networking calendar”.

“The atmosphere on the night was incredible, the right balance of fun and competition. It was representative of the Northern Ireland business community with teams entering from a broad range of industries from legal, banking and recruitment firms to aviation and manufacturing companies”.

“It was a fantastic event and this year’s will be even better with some small tweaks and even some surprises along the way. If you missed out last year I would recommend pulling a team of colleagues together and signing up”.

The race which is organised by Athletics NI is open to all businesses and organisations in Northern Ireland who are invited to enter a team of four in one or more of three categories - male, female and mixed.

Prizes will be awarded in each category with team members finishing times combined to determine the winner.

Grant Thornton has selected the Mary Peters Trust as its charity partner for the 2016 Runway Run. Dame Mary Peters is currently on a mission to raise £1 million to secure the safeguard of the charity. The Grant Thornton Runway Run will contribute to “Mary’s Race to a Million”.

The race was a tremendous addition to the calendar and is set to be again an outstanding success.

Full details can be obtained on http://www.athleticsni.org/fixtures.