One in five members of staff at GVA Grimley’s Birmingham office is in training for the third annual EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon.
That means 65 members of staff at the property consultancy will tackle the 13.1-mile course on Sunday October 24, aiming to raise over £16,000 for Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Meningitis Trust.
And Ian Stringer, regional senior director of GVA Grimley’s Birmingham office has thrown down the gauntlet to businesses across the West Midlands to see if any other company can match or even better their number of entrants.
Ian said: “Thirty of us from GVA Grimley took part in the Birmingham Half Marathon in 2009 and we really wanted to raise the stakes this year, both in the number of entrants and the money we raise for charity.
“The whole office is helping to try to raise £16,000 for two vital charities; Marie Curie Cancer Care and the Meningitis Trust. Talk in the office on Mondays is not about nights out over the weekend but about how far people ran and how much training they did.
“I am absolutely delighted that one in five of our team members are taking part in this challenging event, we must be one of the fittest offices in the city! By having the largest representation from any company, we hope to be the catalyst for greater future commitment from local firms. It was a great event last year and that has encouraged others to get involved in 2010.”
With over 10,000 runners already signed-up, businesses across the city are certainly backing the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon.
PricewaterhouseCoopers is hot on the heels of GVA Grimley, with 60 members of staff in training for the half marathon.
Companies can enter the Business Challenge (see below) and last year’s winners Shoosmiths solicitors are determined to retain their crown in 2010.
Partner Simon Boss said: “We challenged ourselves to enter the Business Challenge last year and found the event to be thoroughly enjoyable, well organised and supported with a great Birmingham atmosphere all around the course.
“It was made even better when we heard we had won! So we are up for it again this year and have entered a faster and fitter team. Someone is going to have to run well to take the Trophy off us!”
Birmingham City Council Cabinet Member for Leisure, Sport and Culture Cllr Martin Mullaney said: “It’s great to see Birmingham businesses really getting behind the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon.
“People have really taken this event to their hearts and I’m sure there are plenty of friendly rivalries in offices across the city as people train hard and raise vital funds for a wide range of fantastic causes.”
Anyone interested in running in the 2010 event can sign-up via the official website www.birminghamhalfmarathon.com.
ENDS
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Business Challenge
This year companies in Birmingham are being invited to take part in the EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon Business Challenge. Businesses can enter the main race as teams, with prizes awarded for the following categories:
• Fastest team
• Fastest women’s team
• Fastest men’s team
• Fastest mixed team
• Fastest man
• Fastest woman
Teams must consist of a minimum of four and a maximum of eight members. Mixed teams must consist of equal numbers of men/women with a minimum 2 males and 2 females. Companies can enter as many teams as they wish with a maximum of 1 guest (non company employee) per team.
Winners of the fastest team prize will receive the Business Challenge trophy, receive free entry for their team into next year’s event and also be the faces of next year’s marketing campaign with the photo and company name on entry forms, posters and website and all other winners will receive plaques.
EDF Energy
- The combination of EDF Energy and British Energy forms one of the UK’s largest energy companies. The combined business is the UK’s largest producer of electricity. With a current installed capacity of around 16.5GW, we produce almost one-quarter of the nation’s electricity from our nuclear, coal and gas power stations, as well as combined heat and power plants and wind farms. We provide power to a quarter of the UK’s population via our electricity distribution networks in London, the South East and the East of England and supply gas and electricity to over 5.5 million business and residential customers.
- Through our climate and social commitments we have launched the biggest environmental and social packages of any UK energy company. The company is also a key player in national infrastructure projects including management of private electricity networks serving four London airports and the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, the country’s first major new railway in 100 years.
- EDF Energy and British Energy together employ nearly 20,000 people at locations across the UK. The combined companies are part of EDF Group, one of Europe’s largest power companies. EDF is the official energy utilities partner and sustainability partner of the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
Birmingham City Council
- The EDF Energy Birmingham Half Marathon will be organised by Birmingham City Council.
Birmingham is a World Class Sporting City and has staged more international and national sports events than any other UK city - Birmingham City Council organises a huge variety of events every single year and the city has an excellent reputation for staging great events and sporting championships
For more information contact Geoff Coleman on 0121 303 3501
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