BAXTERS Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running is delighted to announce the support of HSBC as Official Banking Partner for the 10K Corporate Challenge, one of the events taking place as part of the Festival on 2 October 2011.
The HSBC 10K Corporate Challenge is a team event, aiming to encourage people who work together to build fitness – and fun! – into their daily routine as they train for the 10K event on 2 October 2011.
John Rendall, CEO, HSBC Scotland, said: “HSBC is proud to be the Official Banking Partner of the 10K Corporate Challenge.
“We see the Highlands as a key area for the bank’s commercial banking operations in the north of Scotland and I’m delighted to have the chance to support local initiatives such as this.”
Malcolm Sutherland, race director of Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running, said: “We are excited to have HSBC on board as the official banking partner for the 10K Corporate Challenge.
“It’s a great opportunity to encourage people across the country to sign up to a healthier lifestyle as they train for the October challenge.
“Anyone interested in finding out more about taking part should visit www.lochnessmarathon.com for full details and to enter – it’s a fantastic way for people to have a bit of fun through training together or generating a bit of friendly rivalry and competition between teams.”
The HSBC 10K Corporate Challenge is open to employers and employees from all sectors of business and industry across Scotland. Teams comprise a minimum of four and a maximum of six employees from a single organisation or employer.
Prizes are awarded for the fastest team overall, as well as the fastest teams from various public and business sectors.
In this year of Active Scotland, the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running on Sunday 2 October 2011 is a super opportunity for all ages and abilities to take part in a running event. Entry is open now until 12 September for the HSBC 10K Corporate Challenge and the River Ness 10K.
For Marathon runners guaranteed entry is open until 1 May or sooner if race limit reached; charity and club runner places will be available after this date.
Visit www.lochnessmarathon.com now to find out more about all events, including the River Ness 5K Fun Run and the Wee Nessie for pre-school age children.
Notes to editors:
1. Baxters Loch Ness Marathon starts on the south side of Loch Ness, following a spectacular route north through stunning Highland scenery, and alongside the loch, before crossing the River Ness to finish adjacent to the river at Bught Park, Inverness.
The Baxters River Ness 10K, HSBC 10K Corporate Challenge (beginning on the south-side of Inverness, through the historic Highland capital, past the xastle and along the banks of the picturesque River Ness) and the Baxters River Ness 5K Fun Run (following a flat circular route beginning near Bught Park, and along the River Ness – suitable for wheelchairs) also finish adjacent to the River Ness at Bught Park, Inverness.
2. Sponsors and supporters include: Baxters, HSBC, EventScotland, The Highland Council, GORE Running Wear™, Highland Spring and Lucozade Sport.
3. Baxters Food Group: The Baxter family has been producing some of Britain’s finest soups, preserves, condiments, pour-over sauces and fruit specialities for more than 140 years. Today, Baxters is one of the UK’s leading food manufacturers, with over 150 premium products and some of the country’s leading brands, including Garner’s, Peppadew, Simply Delicious, PizzaExpress and Mary Berry. Baxters has been title sponsor of the Loch Ness Marathon since 2002.www.baxters.com
4. HSBC Bank plc: HSBC serves 15.6 million customers in the UK and employs approximately 58,000 people. In the UK, HSBC offers a complete range of personal, premier and private banking services, commercial banking for small to media businesses and corporate and institutional banking services. HSBC Bank plc is a wholly owned subsidiary of HSBC Holdings plc.
HSBC Holdings plc: HSBC Holdings plc, the parent company of the HSBC Group, is headquartered in London. The Group serves customers worldwide from around 8,000 offices in 88 countries and territories in Europe, the Asia-Pacific region, the Americas, the Middle East and Africa. With assets of US$2,364 billion at 31 December 2009, HSBC is one of the world’s largest banking and financial services organisations. HSBC is marketed worldwide as ‘the world’s local bank’.
5. The year of Active Scotland is a Scottish Government initiative and is one of a series of focus years and a legacy from Homecoming Scotland 2009, being delivered by EventScotland and VisitScotland, supported by sportscotland, NHS Scotland, Scottish Natural Heritage and the National Trust for Scotland, as key strategic partners, beginning on the 1st January 2011.
6. VisitScotland is Scotland’s national tourism organisation. Its core purpose is to maximise the economic benefit of tourism to Scotland. For more information and the latest news visit www.visitscotland.org For more information on things to do during the year of Active Scotland go to www.visitscotland.com/active
7. EventScotland is the national events agency that promotes Scotland as the perfect stage. Through their portfolio of events they aim to encourage and inspire everyone to get active. For more information on events in the year of Active Scotland go to www.eventscotland.org
8. Participants in the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running generated £785,200 for charity in 2010. There are six nominated charities for 2011 including Alzheimer Scotland, Breast Cancer Care, Erskine, Highland Hospice, Macmillan Cancer Support and Marie Curie Cancer Care, with over 35 associated charities.
9. Runners taking part in the 2010 Festival and visiting the area with friends and supporters are estimated to have benefited the local economy by spending around £2,060,000 on food, accommodation and associated activities.
10. The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon was voted the fourth best UK marathon and was in the top three most scenic running events in the UK by Runners World UK magazine (February 2011).
11. The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running was short-listed in the 2007, 2008 and 2010 VisitScotland Scottish Thistle Awards.
12. The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running was founded by the Scottish Community Foundation (SCF), which aims to distribute £7.5m every year to charities and constituted voluntary groups throughout Scotland. www.scottishcf.org
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