From fancy dress lovers to serious runners, organisers are advising entrants across Cambridgeshire to pull on their best Christmas attire for this year’s Festive Run.
The event, organised by the Arthur Rank Hospice Charity (ARHC), will be held remotely for the second year running owing to the Covid-19 pandemic.
Runners are being invited to run five or 10km wherever they are to raise funds for the charity, which has so far raised £138,500 since it began in 2010.
Angelina Liles, events officer at ARHC, said: “It just goes to show the power of community: a few hundred people sign up to be part of the festive fun and tell their friends and families about it.
“That results in thousands of pounds being raised for our frontline services, which are then provided back to our community.”
The event, sponsored by Price Bailey Ely and Busy Bee Recruitment, has traditionally been held in Ely until the pandemic and raised a record £22,000 last year.
Talks to hold a physical event took place, but the charity decided to stage a remote run this year due to “continued uncertainty in the approach to winter and the safety of those involved”.
New to the 2021 run is the addition of a 10km option, meaning participants can now choose to do a longer route or stick to the traditional 5km distance.
While festive fancy dress is not obligatory, ARHC will be awarding prizes for best adult, child and group fancy dress.
Kayleigh Bysouth, managing director at Busy Bee Recruitment, said: “Busy Bee Recruitment is honoured to be sponsoring a positive and inspiring event for another year.
"It will take £10.5 million to run all of the services this year and events such as this help raise the funds.
“ARHC needs to help make every moment count, showing respect and kindness to every patient and their families.”
William Wilson, partner at Price Bailey Ely, said: “An amazing amount of money was raised last year in the new format.
“Let’s hope the addition of the longer 10km distance inspires donors to dig deeper for ARHC.”
You can now register for this year’s Festive Run on November 28 – registration is £10 for adults and £5 for children under 16.
To sign up, visit: https://www.arhc.org.uk/events/detail/festiverun/.
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