RunThrough has launched its #WarringtonRises campaign ahead of the Warrington Running Festival on September 24, 2023, which is billed as the ‘world’s first free closed road running festival’.
Held at Bank Park in Warrington, North West England, the event will feature 6,000 participants, all of whom gained their places via a ballot in which over 20,000 people applied. Participants will run in the 10k and half marathon races. There will also be a junior race taking place that is presented by Kids Planet Day Nurseries.
The Warrington Running Festival is supported by the RunThrough Foundation with the aim of improving mental and physical health in communities across the UK through running.
According to RunThrough… ‘The #WarringtonRises campaign aims to bring people of all ages and fitness levels together to celebrate the power of running and its positive impact on health and wellbeing.
‘As well as the campaign aiming to inspire people to be active it also aims to inspire those not able to take part in Sunday’s event to unite as one town and support all those taking part. There will be plenty of additional activities and entertainment in Bank Park where the race starts and finishes so supporters will be able to cheer on runners and enjoy a fun-filled day out.’
The campaign will be delivered across a range of platforms including organic social media, paid social media, traditional print media as well as digital out of home billboards which will be visible throughout Warrington in the days leading up to the event.
By launching the #WarringtonRises campaign alongside the running festival, RunThrough hopes to bring attention to the role that physical activity plays in promoting physical and mental wellbeing.
Ben Green, Co-Founder of RunThrough and a Warrington native, said “It is incredible to think that we are now less than a week away from holding the world’s first free running festival in my hometown of Warrington.
“And to launch this campaign around the event, which not only aims to unite the town in support of the festival but also to inspire more broadly to be active through running, fills me with a great sense of pride. I can’t wait to see all of the runners and supporters out on the streets of Warrington on Sunday and know that it will be an experience that won’t be forgotten.”
Of the 6,000 free places assigned to runners via the ballot, having worked closely with Warrington Borough Council, RunThrough was able to prioritise all applicants from low income areas of Warrington and assign places to 100% of these applicants with the remaining entries being awarded on a draw basis.
This was undertaken as part of the RunThrough Foundation’s objective of empowering people from low-income areas. One measure of delivering against this objective is that there are reportedly a large number taking part for whom this will be their first time participating in a running event.
www.warringtonrunningfestival.com
