Ramathon to return after 18 years

The Ramathon, sponsored by Ovisio, is a flat, 13.1 mile run that will take place on 8th June, starting and finishing in the beautiful grounds of Elvaston Castle.

There is a limit of 1,000 places for the inaugural event and with the amount of interest being seen so far, places are expected to be snapped up soon after the launch.

Early entrants will be offered special offers/discounts with Derby Runner and Funktion Fitness.

The race organisers, sponsors and beneficiaries met up at Elvaston Castle to officially launch the opening for entries and were joined by former GB athlete Nick Lees, the winner of the first two Ramathons in 1983 and 1984.

Race director, Richard Kay said: “It’s taken a lot of hard effort by the team to reach this stage, but we’re really excited to finally launch the event.

“We’re expecting this to be a fantastic race and hope it encourages lots of people to put on their running shoes and get training.”

The race is aimed at not just serious runners, but those people taking part for perhaps the very first time.

To help those unused to such distances, free breakfast training runs are being organised each month so people can build up to the big race with like minded people.

Breakfast runs will take place monthly on Sundays, starting in January and include warm up, structured training run and a sports massage at the end of the session.

Apart from the main half-marathon race, there is also a Mini Ramathon fun run for younger runners and the Birchover Business Team Run, where companies are asked to enter teams of five to part in the full distance race.

Entry for the team run opens on Wednesday, 5th February and is limited to the first 20 teams.

The beneficiaries of the event are Derby Mountain Rescue Team and the Alzheimer’s Society and runners are encouraged to raise sponsorship for these charities. Kevin Corcoran from Derby Mountain Rescue said: “We’re thrilled to be selected by the Ramathon organisers and are looking forward to seeing this great race return to the region.

“We’ll be on hand on the day to join in the fun and help out with our specialised skills if required.”

The price to enter the half-marathon is £18 or £16 for affiliated runners.

Entry to the mini-marathon is £3.50 in advance (£4.50 on the day).

For full details of the races, the offers or to enter, visit the Ramathon website at www.ramathon.co.uk.

The team is a registered charity, which relies totally on public donations to support the teams’ annual running costs of around £20,000.

All team members are unpaid volunteers, on call 24 hours a day 365 days of the year.

If anyone wishes to help the Derby Team raise funds they should contact the DMRT secretary on 07050 155537, e-mail: [email protected] or visit www.derbymrt.org.uk. Donations can be made online at www.help.co.uk/DMRT.