The countdown is on until one of the most iconic races in British athletics returns – and yesterday the individual races for the Tour of Tameside opened for those runners who don’t want to complete the full marathon challenge.
Runners can take part in any one of three running events or take on all three stages, and run the distance of a marathon over the three days. The Ultimate 3 Day Running Challenge will start on Friday 19 June with the Copley Fell Race, and run through until Sunday 21 June, featuring a special memorial race dedicated to PC Nicola Hughes and a ‘Run with Dad’ challenge.
The first race will commence on Friday evening with a 6 mile fell race at Copley Leisure Centre in Stalybridge. The High Peak Half Marathon, which runs along the Longendale trail, is dedicated to PC Nicola Hughes who tragically lost her life in an incident in Tameside, and will take place on the Saturday morning. The weekend event draws to a close on Father’s Day with a seven mile race through Hyde.
Marathon legend Ron Hill MBE, who founded the original Tour of Tameside in 1983 is supporting the return of the event and is encouraging fathers and sons to take part together.
Ron, who recently ran with his son Graham in a run to mark 50 years of running every day, said “I think runners should get involved in the Hyde 7 on Father’s Day and the last day of the Tour of Tameside as it is not a difficult course and the road surfaces are good.”
Chris Bird, Chief Executive of Sports Tours International, added “It’s brilliant to see that so many people have already signed up to take on all three stages of the Tour of Tameside. We understand some people might not be able to commit to all three races so we have created three fantastic races and runners can chose whether to enter one, two or all three of the stages.”
Prizes up to £250 for each individual race for both men and women will be awarded, and the overall winning male and female for the Tour of Tameside will each receive £500 plus a trophy.
Active Tameside, Tameside 4 Good and Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council are involved and working closely with Sports Tours International to engage local communities, community groups and businesses. New Charter Homes is meanwhile an official partner to the Tour of Tameside.
Tickets for the event are on sale at www.touroftameside.com.
www.sportstoursinternational.co.uk
