Bath Half 2017 Sets Personal Best in Fundraising

The Bath Half Marathon has set a new personal best in the amount of money raised from official charity places, with a record sum of over £2.25 million raised at this year’s event in March.

Donations received through JustGiving increased by 53% on the previous year to £1.7 million pounds. The average amount raised by individual fundraisers through their platform rose to £520 which ranks the Bath Half Marathon in the top three running events in the UK, and the top race outside London for average per head fundraising.

As Mel Taylor, Charity Director at Running High Events explains, “Since we took over management of the Bath Half in 2000 an amazing total of £21 million has now been raised at the event. During this year’s race both our Lead Race Charity and our Local Charity raised records amounts, with Cancer Research UK raising just over £200,000, and Dorothy House Hospice Care raising £70,000. We are particularly pleased that three local charities rank in the top 12 of our overall fundraisers – Dorothy House Hospice Care, the RUH Forever Friends Appeal and Julian House.”

Now in its 36th year, the Bath Half Marathon attracts 15,000 runners and 30,000 spectators and is the largest charity fundraising event in the South West and one of the largest single day fundraising running events in the UK, with 130 official charity partners plus a further 380 other charities represented at the 2017 event.

For the 2018 event the Lead Race Charity is Alzheimer’s Society, with Action for Child Poverty Campaign as the Local Charity Appeal, and the Bath Half Marathon Community Fund as the Family Fun Run Charity. The choice of Alzheimer’s Society is a poignant one for Race Director Andrew Taylor as his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s four years ago.

Jade Smith, Events Fundraising Officer at Alzheimer’s Society said “We’re so excited to be the lead charity for the 2018 Bath Half Marathon. The Bath Half is set to be our biggest half marathon in 2018 for both income and number of runners after the Great North Run and London Royal Parks Half Marathon.”

The Action Against Child Poverty Campaign co-ordinated by St John’s Foundation is the official Local Charity Appeal for the 2018 event, and is funding the Lifestyle Change Project, a three-year targeted initiative to address child poverty within Bath and North East Somerset. The project is being delivered in partnership by six local charities including Sporting Family Change, the Southside Project, Wansdyke Play Association, SWALLOW, Mentoring Plus and Off the Record.

Participants in 2018’s Family Fun Run will be invited to fundraise for the Bath Half Marathon Community Fund, with all proceeds also being ring fenced for the Action Against Child Poverty Campaign.

Established in 2003, the Bath Half Marathon Community Fund channels donations from race entrants into grants for local community projects within Bath and North East Somerset. In the last 15 years, donations from entrants plus Gift Aid recovery has enabled cash grants worth just under £200,000 to be made to a total of 174 local sport, play and active lifestyle projects organised by 110 different local community groups through the Quartet Community Foundation.

The Bath Half Marathon 2018 takes place on Sunday 4th March. Registration can be completed online at www.bathhalf.co.uk