Top Tier Charity Partners Announced for 2017 Vitality Bath Half Marathon

The organisers of the award-winning Vitality Bath Half Marathon have announced their Featured Charity Partners for the 2017 race which takes place on Sunday 12th March.

The Lead Charity for the 2017 Vitality Bath Half Marathon is Cancer Research UK and the official Family Fun Run Charity is Cancer Research UK Teens & Kids. It is the first time that the same charity has supported both parts of race day, and it is a reflection of the valuable work Cancer Research UK does in general and in the local area particularly.

The official Local Charity is Dorothy House Hospice Care, which provides compassionate care and support to people with life-limiting illnesses. The charity focuses on quality of life, at home or in the hospice, for a community of 550,000 patients and their families across Bath, parts of Somerset and Wiltshire.

As Lead Charity, Cancer Research UK will be committing all money raised at the Bath Half to research and education in Bath and the South West. Over the next year the charity will be making a difference to the local area by inspiring local school children to lead a healthy lifestyle and educating local people about healthy living.

As the official Family Fun Run Charity, Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens raises money for research into cancers affecting children, teens and young adults, in search of cures and kinder treatments for young people facing cancer.

The iconic Vitality Bath Half Marathon is well known for being a fantastic platform for charity fundraising. It is one of the top three fundraising road races in the UK, having raised over £18 million since the introduction of its Official Charity Race Scheme in 2000. In 2015 a record figure of over £2.1 million was raised for charity, and the 2016 figure is expected to surpass even this.

The 2017 Vitality Bath Half Marathon is open for entries and places are already selling fast. General public places have sold out every year since 2000 and, as always, runners are being advised to secure their place early to avoid disappointment. Of the 15,000 places available for the 2017 race, 30% are reserved for the Official Race Charities.

The Family Fun Run is a hugely popular element of the Bath Half, allowing runners of all ages and abilities to get involved and experience the inspirational race day atmosphere. Setting off just after the start of the half marathon, it sees 1,200 Fun Runners take on a ¾ mile course to and from the official Vitality Bath Half gantry in Great Pulteney Street. Fun Runners are encouraged to raise money for the official charity and help raise awareness of the life-changing work it carries out. Entries for the Family Fun Run will open shortly.

Mel Taylor, Charity and Creative Director commented: “The Vitality Bath Half Marathon provides a great fundraising platform for charities of all sizes and we are thrilled to welcome Cancer Research UK, Cancer Research UK Kids & Teens and Dorothy House Hospice Care for next year’s race. This is the first time we’ve had one charity as both our Lead Charity and Family Fun Run Charity, and we are looking forward to helping them raise a record amount in the fight against cancer and promote fitness and wellbeing to kids and teens. It is great also to have Dorothy House back again as our Local Charity.

“It is also a privilege to work with so many other charities to raise the profile of other deserving causes, both locally and nationally. We are extremely proud to be the largest single day charity fundraising event in the South West and one of the top three fundraising road races in the UK, and to be able to make a difference to so many people’s lives.

“Both the public places and the charity places will be filling fast and we would urge runners to register now and to secure their place on the start line of next year’s race. Entries are now open on the website.”

Claudia Ratcliffe, Sports Partnership Manager at Cancer Research UK commented: “We are delighted to be the Lead Charity for both the 2017 Vitality Bath Half Marathon and the 2017 Family Fun Run. Over the next year we are committed to making a difference in Bath and the South West and all money raised from our partnership with these fantastic events will go towards research in the local area. Together we will beat cancer sooner.”

Emily Knight, Events Fundraiser at Dorothy House Hospice Care said: “We’re over the moon to be chosen as the Local Charity for the 2017 Vitality Bath Half Marathon! We’ve had a great relationship with Running High Events over the years and are really looking forward to recruiting lots of amazing Team Dotty runners to take part in this prestigious event. Over our 40 years we have supported more than 45,000 patients and families in Bath and North East Somerset, parts of Wiltshire and Somerset. We are delighted to have this partnership in our 40^th birthday year which will raise vital funds to provide care when it matters most.”

The Vitality Bath Half Marathon is one of the most popular road racing events in the UK, known for its fast and flat two-lap course, stunning UNESCO World Heritage site setting and fantastic crowd support.

Go to www.bathhalf.co.uk to register for the 2017 Vitality Bath Half Marathon and to

http://bathhalf.co.uk/charities/list-of-charities/ to sign up to run for one of the official charities.

You can also like the Facebook page www.facebook.com/BathHalfMarathon and follow @bathhalf #bathhalf on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest news about the Vitality Bath Half Marathon.