Great Birmingham 10K club winners have sights set on Ethiopia
A BIRMINGHAM running club’s performance in their hometown event has given them a chance of winning a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Ethiopia.
The City of Birmingham Striders were the winners of the Club Challenge at the Great Birmingham 10K on May 1, with their participants achieving the fastest average finishing time for their first four men and women across the line.
Winners of all eight events in the Great Run Series will be entered into a draw to win a trip to the Great Ethiopian Run, among other prizes.
The region’s running clubs are now invited to take part in the Great Birmingham Run on October 16, which will be one of the events for Club Challenge 2017.
COBS’ average finishing time of 46.09 could not be bettered by second-placed Black Pear Joggers (47.03) and Kings Heath Running Club (50.08), and they scooped first prize of £500 towards club development, 15 free entries for next year’s event along with the prize draw entry.
Seth Atkin, secretary of COBS, said: “City of Birmingham Striders is all about encouraging participation in running at all levels, helping each other improve as runners.
“Affiliating with EA in 2013, COBS is a relatively new club and was formed because we shared a desire to run in more races as a team. Winning a team competition is a great buzz especially the Great Birmingham 10K as COBS uses much of the route in our club sessions so consider this our home 10k.
“We look forward to enjoying the free places we won at the race and are always open to others joining us as the club develops.”
The Great Club Challenge takes place over eight events: Great Edinburgh Run (17 April), the Great Birmingham 10k (1 May), the Great Bristol 10k (15 May), the Great Manchester Run (22 May), the Great North 10k (3 July), the Great Newham London Run (17 July), the Great Yorkshire Run – Harrogate (24 July), and the Great North Run (11 September).
Any club affiliated to England Athletics or Scottish Athletics can take part, as long as they field a minimum of four men and four women in any given event.
The winning club will be the one with the lowest average finishing time for their first four men and four women across the finish line in an event, and will win 15 entries for the equivalent 2017 event, £500 towards club development and entry into the prize draw for the trip to the Great Ethiopian Run.
Second place wins ten entries for the equivalent 2017 event and third will scoop five entries for the equivalent 2017 event.
Each club winning a Great Club Challenge event is in with the chance to win a once in a lifetime adventure, to train and race in the country that has produced some of the world’s most iconic distance running stars – Ethiopia.
The winning team will also enjoy a personal meeting with the world’s greatest ever distance runner, Haile Gebrselassie, before taking part in the Great Ethiopian Run with 37,000 other runners.
Last year’s prize draw winners were Tyne Bridge Harriers, from Newcastle. Previous winners of the trip to the Great Ethiopian Run are Birmingham Running, Athletics & Triathlon (BRAT) and Stockport Harriers.
Enter each event online now at greatrun.org and be sure to give your club name when entering.
The 2017 Club Challenge series will kick off with the inaugural Great Bristol Half Marathon and finish with the Great North Run.
To enter the Great Birmingham Run as an individual runner visit http://www.greatrun.org/great-birmingham-run
Entrants for this year’s 13.1-mile race through the city will be given priority entry to the Birmingham International Marathon to be staged for the first time in October 2017 http://www.greatrun.org/birmingham-international-marathon
Press release issued by Edwin Ellis Creative Media on behalf of the Great Run Company
