Sue Ryder nominated as Morrisons charity partner for Great Run Series

Sue Ryder has been nominated charity partner of the UK’s biggest mass participation running series by Morrisons, the new title sponsor of the Great Run Series – which includes one of the world’s most iconic road running events, the Great North Run.

Morrisons’ sponsorship of the Great Run Series will initially run for four years and commences with the Great Winter Run and International Cross Country in Edinburgh on January 10th. 

As the supermarket’s current charity partner, health and social care charity Sue Ryder will have the opportunity to recruit more runners to raise even more funds to support their work.  

The Morrisons Great Run Series will cover eight city locations with 12 events involving more than 220,000 runners.  Morrisons is hoping to grow this number further by encouraging some of its 11 million customers and 120,000 colleagues to take part in events that range from 5k to the half marathon. The agreement also includes the Junior and Mini Great Run events.

Sue Ryder chief executive, Heidi Travis said: “It’s great news that Sue Ryder is Morrisons nominated charity for the Great Run Series. Raising money through events like these means we can continue to provide incredible hospice and neurological care and make a lasting difference to thousands of families facing the loss of a loved one.
 
“We have been involved in the Great Run Series for over 10 years and as well as raising funds, the Great Run Series helps to increase awareness of Sue Ryder, and we’d like to thank Morrisons for this fantastic opportunity. We hope this will be the experience of a lifetime for our runners and we’re looking forward to supporting them every step of the way.”

Morrisons chief executive, Dalton Philips, said:  “Over the last 34 years, the Great North Run has become a national institution and now with Great Runs across Britain, we believe it should be supported by a truly British sponsor. We have stores in more than 500 communities so we can play a big part in getting more people running with all the benefits that brings. 

“This sponsorship means that many more of our customers and colleagues will be able to take part in these great events and raise more money for charity, including our nominated charity partner, Sue Ryder.”

The Great Run series was founded in 1981 by former Olympic medallist Brendan Foster.

Brendan Foster, Chairman, said: “We are delighted to welcome Morrisons as the title sponsor of the Great Run series and we are excited about the association between one of Britain’s biggest retailers and Britain’s biggest mass participation running series.  

“Our ambition is to have a million people taking part in our Great Run programme and Morrisons are ideal partners to help us to achieve this.”
 

For further information please contact:

Suzanne Molyneux 07813 455980 (suzanne.molyneux@sueryder.org)