The Run Sunderland Festival 2018 saw thousands of people – of all shapes, sizes and ages – running through the city at the weekend.
The festival – which took place on Sunday – featured three races: the Active Sunderland Big 3K, the Siglion Sunderland City 10K and the Siglion Sunderland City Half Marathon.
All the races started and finished in Keel Square, a site that reflects Sunderland’s maritime history and which is being increasingly seen as a symbol of the city’s regeneration.
The Mayor of the City of Sunderland, Cllr Doris McKnight, said, “It was a pleasure being here to start the runs. I was particularly impressed by the amount of young people taking part in the 3K.”
“It is fantastic to see just how many sporting events and activities are planned for the city. Every year this number grows and as a council we continue to dedicate ourselves to supporting and promoting the delivery of some of the biggest events in the region.”
“I hope everyone who ran, walked or watched today had a great time enjoying being part of this fantastic event. As a city, our eyes are now turning towards July and our next iconic event when the magnificent Tall Ships arrive.”
Samantha Miller – who is a sail trainee preparing for The Tall Ships Races Sunderland 2018 – took part in the 10K race. Samantha said, “Well, today was tough but fun.”
“I enjoyed the training that I managed to do over the last few months and now hopefully I’m fit enough to really enjoy myself racing across the North Sea in July as part of The Tall Ships Races.”
“I hope everyone in Sunderland goes along to see the ships and welcome the visiting crews to the city.”
North-east athletics hero Steve Cram – who is the founder of the Run Sunderland Festival and the chancellor of the University of Sunderland – said, “Sunderland has an amazing maritime heritage, which has always been reflected in the routes of the Siglion Sunderland City Half Marathon and 10K.”
“Starting and finishing in Keel Square, a symbol of the city’s maritime history, our runners crossed the Wear twice and followed the river to the marina before taking in some of the seafront.”
“We worked closely with Sunderland City Council to make sure that our event did what it could to promote the Tall Ships Races by supporting the sail trainees who took part and pushing our #runwiththetide message.”
To learn more about the Tall Ships Races, please visit www.tallshipssunderland.com. You can also follow @TallShipsSund on Twitter or TallShipsRacesSunderland on Facebook.
(The image in the article shows Cllr McKnight with the crew and sail trainees from the James Cook.)
