2012 Featured Runners - progress report - 26 Feb 2012
The Bath Half 2012 Featured Runners – Progress report!
Over the last few weeks we’ve introduced you to four runners who are taking part in this year’s Bath Half.
Bath-based ecologists Rich, Tim and Ian are running the half as part of a Corporate Challenge Team, raising funds for local charity Dorothy House and Martin, who only took up running last summer, is aiming complete his first half marathon in under 2hr30mins.
We caught up with them all this week to see how their Bath Half preparation is coming along.
How’s the training going?
Tim: Well. A few issues with calf muscles but generally OK
Rich: OK – and I know BBC’s full range of podcasts very well
Ian: OK until a snowboarding injury slowed things up a bit (get the excuses in early!)
Martin: It's finally started to come together in the last of couple of weeks, so all the training since last July seems to have paid off.
Are you training with others or individually?
Tim: Bit of both. Ian and I run a fair bit together but it’s not always possible.
Rich: The two fast ones are training together, leaving the slow slightly chubby one to do it on his own. Charming.
Martin: I'm doing this by myself for myself.
How many miles have you managed this week?
Tim: Mmmm…bad week. Only 12 this week although I did an 11 mile run last Sunday I ran from my parent’s house in Devon to the seaside and then jumped in the sea!!
Rich: 20
Ian: I’d like to say 15 for morale, but agonisingly 14.9
Martin: According to Endomondo [training app], 20.27 to be exact!
Is the cold weather affecting your training?
Tim: Not really. I wore skins for the first time the other day, but they rubbed in unmentionable places so back to the shorts now. Brrrr! I guess it motivates you as stopping and walking is not an option!
Rich: Not really – in fact it’s exhilarating running in the really cold air
Ian: Cold is fine, snow/sleet is not much fun however.
Martin: Yes, I've moved to doing nearly all of it during daylight hours, especially on weekdays, mainly by going out from work at lunchtimes.
Are you planning on running the Bath Half course before race day?
Tim: We’ve run it a few times already, mainly as it’s hard to avoid it if you’re looking for flat ruins in Bath!
Rich: Yes, but not in the middle of the road
Ian: Yes, I’ve done a few single laps now, but for some reason I’m running the wrong way so always going against the flow of other runners.
Martin: Yes, I ran the full course last Sunday. It didn't feel too difficult, and well within the target I was aiming for so I'm feeling very pleased with myself at the moment!
What’s your target in terms of number of miles completed comfortably before race day? Tim: 12miles
Rich: 11miles
Martin: Race distance
Are you taking on any other races before the big day?
Tim: No
Rich: No
Martin: Not beforehand, though I've already signed up for the Bristol 10k in May. Am also considering the Chippenham Half in September! I've got the running bug now!
Any concerns about race day?
Tim: That my calf muscles let me down.
Rich: Needing a wee half way round
Ian: Not yet. Plenty of time for butterflies on the day.
Martin: Not finishing within my target
What are you looking forward to about race day?
Tim: The whole thing really. I love the atmosphere and of course finishing will be great!
Rich: The buzz at the beginning, the camaraderie in the middle and sense of relief at the end
Ian: Being part of a big crowd, and the best beer of the year afterwards!
Martin: The atmosphere and the opportunity to run with so many others.
What’s your current aim in terms of a finishing time?
Tim: Don’t really want to tempt fate by saying. To complete it faster than last time!
Rich: 1:59.59hrs
Ian: I’ve got last year’s time to beat, 1hr 37, but I’d be happy getting close to it to be honest.
Martin: Under 2h:30m.
How’s the fundraising going?
Tim: Really well (hint to Rich and Ian!). *I’ve* raised £300 so far!
Rich: Ahem.
Bath Half reach £10million marker - 23 Feb 2012
Organisers of the Bath Half Marathon are celebrating having reached the £10million pound milestone for funds raised for good causes.
In twelve years, the Bath Half has raised more than £10m for charity, making it the largest single day fundraising event in the South West and one of the biggest fundraisers of its kind in the UK.
When Bath based family business Running High Events took over the organisation of the Bath Half in 2000, the event was raising just £30,000 a year for charity, but since then, the event has grown year on year, pushing new boundaries and smashing fundraising targets much quicker than anticipated.
Last year, the event raised in excess of £1.5 million and it is likely that this figure will be surpassed once again in 2012.
Mel Taylor, Charity Director at Running High said: “We are completely overwhelmed by the generosity of those who donate to Bath Half entrants each year and the passion instilled into our runners to continue fundraising for our chosen charities.
“The money raised benefits more than 50 carefully selected local and national charities each year. Over the years, we have brought a wide selection of charities on board, evolving from just one when we first took the event on. Around 15% of the half marathon entries each year are reserved for our Golden Bond charities, allowing runners to choose a cause close to their hearts and, offering their fundraising commitment in return for a place”.
Organisers are keen to continue building on the money raised for charities each year. Mel added: “In 2007 when charity fundraising reached £1m per year we announced a new target of £1.5m by 2011. We don’t want to stop here, we want to see continued growth year on year. We have smashed all the fundraising targets set to date, which seemed like a world away at the time. In the next three years, we plan to take things to the next level with the aim of reaching the £2m mark per year in 2015”.
The event organisers are always looking for new ways to give something back to the local community and in 2003, the Bath Half Marathon Fund was the first named fund to be established in Bath and North East Somerset with the Quartet Community Foundation. In the last 9 years, thanks to the generosity of half marathon entrants, over £88,000 has been distributed by the Bath Half Marathon Fund to over 80 different small local charities and voluntary groups within Bath & North East Somerset. The event has also invested significant sums in an endowment fund through Quartet to create a permanent legacy for the city.
Mel added: “We see the Bath Half Marathon Fund as a way to invest directly in the smaller local communities and help groups who are too small to benefit as official race charities. It’s also a great opportunity for race participants to give directly to projects for local residents, as a thank you for their support each year”.
CLIC Sargent - the UK’s leading cancer charity for children and young people has been involved in the Bath Half Marathon since 2004, benefitting half a million pounds from the event.
Kayley Waller, CLIC Sargent’s Running Events Fundraising Manager, who has managed the event since 2007 said: “The Bath Half Marathon has been a favourite in the CLIC Sargent running team since our first involvement in 2004. The atmosphere on race day is iconic, but don’t just take our word for it, the event was voted in the top 5 half marathons in Runners World for 2011. As well as that, the race is hugely popular amongst charity runners who turn up year on year to raise vital funds for CLIC Sargent and many other charities.
“Every day, ten children and young people in the UK hear the shocking news they have cancer but right now CLIC Sargent can only help two out of three of them. The £500,000 that has been raised through the Bath Half Marathon has gone a huge way towards our goal of being there for each and every one. We cannot be more grateful to the event organisers for letting us be such a huge part of this fantastic race.”
Event organisers are already being inundated with requests from charities wanting to become involved in next year’s Bath Half. They will be announcing a new framework for the golden bond scheme at a charity reception which is being organised in partnership with Virgin Money Giving, set to be held in May this year. The new scheme will build on charity relationships that have developed over the years, whilst also opening the event up to new national and regional charities eager to get involved. Charities wishing to find out more or to express an interest in attending the forthcoming reception, please contact Mel Taylor on 01225 422 255 or email mel@runninghigh.co.uk.
The 2012 Bath Half will take place on Sunday 11 March. General entries sold out in November and charity places are now closed. For further details see www.bathhalf.co.uk.
Meet our featured Bath Half Family Fun Run Family - 19 Feb 2012
Meet our featured Bath Half Family Fun Run Family
On March 11, just after the half marathon runners set off to cover the 13.1mile course, over 1000 fun runners will also cross the start line for the Bath Half Family Fun Run.
The fun run allows people of all ages and abilities to experience the thrill of competing in one of the UK’s largest road races. It is open to everyone and is suitable for children and families with buggies too.
The fun run starts and finishes under the official Bath Half gantry on Great Pulteney Street. The fun run course is just over 1.5miles long and completely traffic free. This year, our fun run featured charity is the RNLI.
There are still some places left for the family fun run, so why not take part or encourage your friends and family to enter. Children over the age of 11 can take part unaccompanied, but they must be accompanied by a parent at the start area and also met after the run at the fun run exit in the runners’ village.
Inspired to take part in the 2012 Bath Half Family Fun Run after watching last year’s Bath Half, the Rhodes family from Bath are raring to go! Here’s their story told by Dad, Ben:
We live in Bathwick, just a stroll down to Great Pulteney Street where we introduced the boys to the Bath Half Marathon last year. They loved the atmosphere, watching all the children running the fun course, and we promised we'd do our utmost to ensure we would run it in 2012.
We are an active family. The boys at 5 & 3 (William and Oliver) participate in rugby tots, swimming, gymnastics and tennis. Karen and I are both PE teachers by trade so it's in our genes to be running around everywhere. You can pretty much guess we are all competitive even down to sledging against each other and playing crazy golf on holidays!
I have run the London Marathon in the past with Karen and Will cheering me on, but it will be great to be participating in an event with all the family this year and for them to hear the cheers from the crowds as we run on by. It will be great crossing the line together hand in hand; it shall certainly be a photo that we shall keep for a very long time.
We are hopefully going to have a few family members watching. There’ll a party of people travelling up the M5 from Cornwall to watch our race and even some from as far as Frome!
We are hoping for a dry day. We are trying to think of a theme to run as so any ideas from people would be great!
Ben, Karen, William & Oliver
10 Feb - Meet the team at Bath Half HQ - 10 Feb 2012
We can see from our Facebook and Twitter streams that our Bath Half runners are really starting to get those miles under their belts as the weeks tick by. And as race packs begin to drop onto doormats, race day fever is starting to take hold of our small team down at Bath Half HQ.
The Running High Events Team who organise the Bath Half reside in an office overlooking the River Avon close to the centre of Bath. They’re having a particularly busy week, so we thought we’d let you have a little glimpse behind the scenes.
Introducing Rhiannon Marsh, the Events Manager [right] and Faye Batchelor, the Race Secretary [left]
What’s on the to-do list this week?
Rhiannon – I’ve been collating risk assessments and insurance documents, writing a production schedule for the week of the event to ensure all contractors arrive and set up at the required times, liaising with our event partners and keeping our runners informed by sending out the email newsletters and updating the Bath Half blog. I’m also working on our next event which is the Sport Relief Mile, taking place on March 25th.
Faye - My to-do list is expanding by the day! This week I’ve been confirming volunteers for both the Bath Half and the Sport Relief Mile, assisting with the charity place registration and writing a schedule for registrations on race day.
What’s the atmosphere like at Bath HQ with only 4 weeks to go until race day?
Faye - The office is still relatively calm however we are all working hard to prepare for the extremely busy period ahead.
Rhiannon - Things are getting busier. Meetings are eating into our working time. The atmosphere is pretty calm but starting to change! I think we are all prepared for the pressure to build and workloads to increase even further in the lead up to the race.
What’s been the highlight of your week?
Faye - Allocating over half of the volunteers for the Bath Half which is a huge relief as the event wouldn’t be able to go ahead without the support of these volunteers.
Rhiannon – Where did that week go?! My highlight was realising that most of the contractors are now confirmed and that plans are well on their way for our next event - the Sport Relief Mile.
What’s your favourite part of working at Bath HQ?
Rhiannon - The diversity of the role. I am still learning more about event management each day, there are always new surprises in this role. I love the adrenaline rush of working at events and I get a real sense of achievement when the race is finished. I love working with everyone at Running High and having Poppy (Mel and Andrew’s dog) in the office is a bonus.
Faye - There is a great ‘team spirit’ in the office and it is very rewarding to work in such a small team.
What are you most looking forward to on race day?
Faye - It will be my first Bath Half so I am looking forward to seeing all our hard work in action and seeing many very happy runners!
Rhiannon – Everything, especially seeing all our hard work coming together. Hopefully it will be the best Bath Half yet.
Have you been for a run yet this week?
Faye - Yes I have had several runs this week at the gym, it is my way of relaxing after a day in the office.
Rhiannon - No running I am afraid. I will leave that to the Bath Half competitors!
Bath’s Beechen Cliff School receives award from Bath Half Marathon Fund - 03 Feb 2012
Bath’s Beechen Cliff School receives award from Bath Half Marathon Fund
In amongst the heads-down-five-weeks-to-race-day kind of atmosphere that envelopes Bath Half HQ at the moment, we’ve paused to do one of the nicest parts of our jobs – to distribute grants from the Bath Half Marathon Fund.
Other than Glastonbury Festival, our Bath Half runners are the biggest charity fundraisers in the South West, raising an unbelievable £1.5million each year. Through our runner’s donations to the Bath Half Marathon Fund we can ensure that some of the smaller, local charities benefit too.
We set up the Bath Half Marathon Fund seven years ago using donations made by our runners when they enter the race. Over the last seven years, thanks to their generosity, we have been able to distribute over £88,000 to more than 80 different local charities and voluntary groups within Bath & North East Somerset.
Each year £15,000 of Bath Half Marathon Fund donations are distributed via the Quartet Community Foundation through grants of up to £5,000 for sports, active lifestyle and play-based projects. We have also made significant funds to an endowment fund, which means that the Bath Half creates a permanent legacy for the city.
This year, local Bath school Beechen Cliff have been awarded a £5,000 grant - the largest single amount that the fund has ever awarded. The money is set to be spent on improving the quality of its sports pitches, many of which are currently in poor condition. The school also plan to expand the sports options for its 1200 pupils and the wider community.
Other local organisations that have benefitted from this year’s fund include Stanton Drew Sports Field, the Haven, Bishop Sutton Primary School, Family Deaf Centre, SWALLOW, Community Bus, Mentoring Plus, Mencap Keynsham and District and Threeways School.
