New charity run event for Limerick

 
The Great Limerick Run in association with the Limerick Sports Partnerships and the HSE Health Promotion Unit today announced details of Ireland’s largest single mass participation event for children, the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run Kids Run for Fun.

More than 1,500 children aged 4 to 12 years of age are expected to participate in the event at the University of Limerick on Saturday 4th May 2013, the day before the annual Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run. The Run will feature a 1Km Wheelchair Track (4-12 years), 1Km Grass track (4-7 years) and 2 miles Trail (8-12 years). 

Former Munster and Irish international rugby legend Jerry Flannery was on hand to launch the Kids Run for Fun today by facilitating a training session for students of Milford National School in Castletroy. Along with staff from Limerick Sports Partnerships and Sports Coaching & Development students from Limerick Institute of Technology, Jerry will be participating in further training sessions at Limerick schools during April.

Speaking today, Jerry said: “I want to pay tribute to the organisers of the Kids Run for Fun for encouraging young people to engage in physical activity. Running and other mass participation sporting events are becoming increasingly popular across the country and I am delighted to lend my support to the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run events which are up there with the best in terms of their common appeal, organisation and participation levels.”

Phelim Macken, coordinator of the County Limerick Local Sports Partnership commented: “By launching this event, we are aiming to get the whole family involved in the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run over the course of the May Bank Holiday Weekend, and in doing so encourage people to adopt a healthier lifestyle in a way that is fun for everyone involved.”

“The training sessions that Jerry will be participating in at local primary schools will give kids the advice and motivation needed to encourage them to participate in the Kids Run for Fun. We also hope that the sessions and the event itself will help promote physical activity on a wider level throughout the year,” Mr Macken added.

According to Elaine O Connor, coordinator of the Limerick City Sports Partnership: “The three Kids Run for Fun races are designed to encourage kids from all sections of society to participate in sport and healthy activity. We are delighted to partner in hosting this event and in doing so complement Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run in its successful portrayal of Limerick as a thriving and sporting city. We also hope the Kids Run for Fun will provide a much needed boost to the local economy.”

Speaking on behalf of the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run, Marketing Director Joe Leddin stated that the addition of a Children's event was an important step in the ongoing development of the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run race series.

“The event team are particularly pleased to partner with both the HSE and local Sports Partnership Agencies to ensure that every opportunity is afforded to young children to become physically active and experience the satisfaction of competing and enjoying the atmosphere that surrounds a race day. We plan to grow the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run Kids Run in the years ahead on the same partnership approach that has seen the adult event increase participant numbers year on year,” Mr. Leddin said.

Registrations for the not-for-profit Kids Run for Fun on Saturday 4th May 2013 are now being invited on www.greatlimerickrun.com/about/kids. Each child will receive a GLR T-shirt, medal and goodie bag. The T-shirt and medal are the same as those provided to competitors in the Barringtons Hospital Great Limerick Run 6-mile, half marathon and marathon. A registration fee of €10 applies to all participants. 30% from the registration fee will go towards school programmes in Limerick run by the Sports Partnerships. Information around training plans is available on the event website.
IBT 2012. Powered by Blogger.