Top leisure award for St Albans Half Marathon
St Albans Half Marathon has won a top leisure industry award for an outdoor event in the health, fitness and physical activity sector. The annual event won the ‘Go Outdoors’ category at the ukactive and Matrix Flame Awards 2015 on Wednesday 24 June. The awards ceremony was held in Telford International Centre in front of over 850 attendees including Chair Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson.
The St Albans Half Marathon, now in its 34th year, fought off strong competition from well-known organisations such as British Military Fitness and Nordic Walking UK. This year, the event as a whole attracted 6,300 runners, the biggest number of entrants ever, when it took place on Sunday 14 June 2015. There were races for everyone, making the event appeal to runners of all abilities and ages. Routes included the Half Marathon, Walking Half Marathon, 5k Race and 1.5 mile Children’s Fun Run. All the races started and finished in Verulamium Park, overlooked by the City’s magnificent cathedral.
The event is organised by 1Life, on behalf of St Albans City and District Council, and helps raise money for charity. Each year different charities and good causes are chosen to benefit from funds raised through entrance fees. This year the beneficiaries were ‘renaissance: St Albans', a fundraising campaign for a new museum and art gallery, and Headway Hertfordshire
which supports people with brain injuries. Money raised through ‘renaissance: St Albans’ will be used to help transform the Town Hall, in St Peter’s Street, into a new home for St Albans
Museum.
Cllr Annie Brewster, Portfolio Holder for Sports, Leisure and Heritage for the Council, said: “This competition is designed to showcase and celebrate exemplar events that are helping to shape the future of physical activity in the UK. This well-deserved award reflects the enormous popularity of an event which manages to appeal to all abilities plus raise money for great causes. I would like to congratulate and thank all the team at 1Life and the Council for making the St Albans Half Marathon such a success.”
Batchwood Sports Centre was also shortlisted in the ‘Health Club of the Year – Multi-use’ category at the ukactive and Matrix Flame Awards. It was the only Council run facility in the final five, the other finalists being private health clubs or country clubs. The facility is also run on behalf of the Council by 1Life. Neil King, managing director for 1Life, said: “The ukactive and Matrix Flame awards are the biggest leisure industry awards of the year and recognise the very best in programmes, innovation, operators, centres and outstanding people. To win an award is an incredibly high accolade and one which St Albans Half Marathon richly deserves. It was also very pleasing to see Batchwood Sports Centre being shortlisted for an award after only being open for 12 months - a demonstration of the excellent services provided to the local community by the staff at this centre.”
Full details of the ukactive and Matrix Flame Awards award winners are available online.
More information about St Albans Half Marathon is available at: www.stalbanshalfmarathon.co.uk.
Councillor contact:
Cllr Annie Brewster, Portfolio Holder for Sports, Leisure and Heritage for the Council
Tel: 01438 832255
Email: cllr.a.brewster@stalbans.gov.uk
Contact for the media:
Amanda Wilkinson,
Senior Communications Officer
St Albans City and District Council
Tel: 01727 819317
E-mail: amanda.wilkinson@stalbans.gov.uk
www.stalbans.gov.uk
Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/StAlbansCouncil
Notes:
1. Verulamium Park is set in 100 acres of beautiful parkland close to the city centre and is a popular attraction throughout the year with a wide range
of facilities. The Park is named after the Roman City of Verulamium on which it stands. The old Roman City walls and outline of the London Gate
can still be seen.
2. Work is underway to raise funds to transform St Albans’ grade II* listed Town Hall, in St Peter’s Street, into a new museum and art gallery. This
will provide a new home for the Museum of St Albans. St Albans City and District Council is working with St Albans Museums and Galleries Trust
and the University of Hertfordshire Galleries on the project. The St Albans Museums and Galleries Trust is leading the ‘renaissance: St Albans’
campaign to raise funds for the project.