There's just a month to go before thousands of runners and walkers take to the streets for the Midlands’ biggest 10k.
The Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k takes place on Sunday, May 26 – Bank Holiday Weekend – and entries are still open for anyone who fancies the challenge of their first organised running event.
Or perhaps you’re in training for the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham Run half marathon on Sunday, October 13? A May 10k is the perfect addition to the schedule.
As the countdown begins, here’s five facts about the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k to inspire you to sign up and get active in 2019…
1. Amazing Anu will be the honorary starter
Northfield schoolgirl Anu Saha spent the first 17 months of her life in hospital after she was born with her umbilical cord wrapped tightly around her leg, cutting off the blood’s circulation.
Sadly, the leg could not be saved and she was also left with heart and lung damage, requiring mechanical ventilation at hospital and later at home to help her breathing.
However, thanks to a unique pink prosthetic sports blade purpose-made by the West Midlands Rehabilitation Centre in Selly Oak, where Anu receives regular assessment, physiotherapy and prosthetic support, she became an internet star in 2017 when a video of her running on her blade in the playground captured the hearts of millions around the world.
Now, to recognise her remarkable outlook on life Anu will be an Honorary Starter at next month’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k, which takes place on Sunday, May 26.
Anu and her family will stand alongside the Lord Mayor of Birmingham to sound the starting horn for thousands of 10k runners and walkers as they set off from the event’s new start-line on Colmore Row in the city centre.
Not only that, Anu’s dad Anirban has been so inspired by his daughter’s incredible outlook on life, he has pledged to take part in the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k.
2. Support a charity close to your heart
Last year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K and Simplyhealth Great Birmingham Run helped raise an estimated £2 million for local and national good causes.
Hundreds of local and national charities benefit from the incredible fundraising efforts of participants at the two events.
Why not pledge to raise a few pounds, while shedding a few pounds, at this year’s 10K, for a cause close to your heart?
3. Your company can get involved
The Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K features the ENGIE Business Challenge, which sees Midlands companies of all shapes and sizes compete for fastest-time trophies and bragging rights among your corporate competitors.
Categories are defined by the size of the company, which means smaller businesses can take part alongside the industrial giants.
Professional services giant PwC will be out in force for the 2019 Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K with a team of more than 200 taking part in the ENGIE Business Challenge to raise funds for city grass-roots charity LoveBrum.
4. It’s a celebration of city centre landmarks
This year’s Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K route will be a Bank Holiday Weekend celebration of Birmingham as it passes some of the most famous landmarks in the city centre.
Runners and spectators will get to see iconic locations such as New Street, the Rotunda and the city’s most photographed resident – the Bullring Bull.
This is the first time the 10K will take runners and walkers through the historic heart of Birmingham city centre and along New Street.
In another first for the Great Birmingham 10K, there will be two start lines – both on Colmore Row either side of its junction with Bennetts Hill. Depending on which side of Colmore Row participants start they will assemble along Waterloo Street and Victoria Square or towards Birmingham Cathedral.
The route then follows Bennetts Hill and turns left on to New Street, crossing Corporation Street alongside the Apple store, the stunning grade II-listed building built in 1869 as the head office of the Midland Bank.
After passing the Rotunda and Bullring, runners will see the world’s biggest Primark store on High Street among other new retail and leisure attractions.
5. Run alongside heroes of the NHS
Staff from Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust are taking part in the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10k on Sunday, May 26, as part of #TeamBWC.
To help promote staff health and wellbeing, this is the first time healthcare workers across Birmingham Women’s and Children’s NHS Foundation Trust are coming together as one united team to walk, jog or run the Great Birmingham 10k.
For the first time participants will be able to walk or run alongside the expert doctors and nurses at the two hospitals who deliver world-class care every day.
Find out more at https://www.bch.org.uk/event/teambwc
Anyone who enters the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham 10K will receive £10 off their entry fee for the Simplyhealth Great Birmingham Run half marathon, which takes place on Sunday, October 13, 2019. Sign up now at greatrun.org/great-birmingham-10k
