A record number of City workers and a group of celebrities are undergoing their final preparations for the 2012 Standard Chartered Great City Race which is now just over 36 hours away. The 5K corporate running challenge starts on Thursday evening at 19.15 at The Honourable Artillery Company (HAC) and is the last major sports event to take place on the City of London‘s streets before the 2012 London Olympics begin.
The 2012 race has attracted its largest ever field of runners with the maximum 6,500 places from over 350 companies selling out in record time. Standard Chartered’s CFO Richard Meddings, CRO Richard Goulding and CEO Europe Richard Holmes will also be among the runners.
The event is designed to bring the City community together by encouraging workers to come out from behind their desks and get fit and active, while also raising money for Seeing is Believing, the official race beneficiary.
With £5 from every runner’s entry being donated to Seeing is Believing, a global initiative that tackles avoidable blindness, and Standard Chartered Bank matching every donation pound-for-pound, this year’s race is set to make its largest ever financial contribution to the initiative.
Employees from the banking, insurance, legal, accountancy and media sectors will be cheered over the start line by Seeing is Believing ambassador and race starter Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE. Also taking part will be a group of celebrities, some of whom will be running blindfolded, to raise vital awareness for Seeing is Believing.
They include: 5-times Paralympic gold medal legend and visually impaired athlete Noel Thatcher MBE; Sky Sports presenter Sarah-Jane Mee; ex-England cricket hero Darren Gough; Coronation St actor Oliver Mellor; Sky Sports F1 presenter Natalie Pinkham; BBC Sports presenter Rishi Persad; and Team GB 2012 Paralympic hopeful Jack Roughan.
Speaking ahead of Thursday’s race Richard Holmes, Standard Chartered Bank CEO Europe said: “I would like to thank everyone who is taking part in the race for helping to make a difference to the lives of those suffering from avoidable blindness. The £5 entry fee donated to Seeing is Believing will be matched by the Bank and will go towards our new eye care project in Zambia.
“Thursday night will see the largest ever field of participants running in the race and it promises to be an exciting evening. I expect the competition will be a fierce as always. Good luck to all the runners, and I hope that you have a fantastic evening and that your colleagues and friends come out to support you along the route.”
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