One of Ireland’s largest mass participatory sporting events, The Bon Secours Hospital Great Limerick Run, was launched in Limerick yesterday by Mayor of the Limerick Metropolitan Council, Cllr. Sean Lynch.
Speaking at the launch Mayor Lynch wished Bon Secours Hospital Group every success as new title sponsor while also acknowledging their exciting development plans to expand the range of medical procedures at the hospital.
The organisers of the 9th annual Bon Secours Hospital Great Limerick Run expect to exceed last year’s participant numbers of 14,200. Based on the current increased level of early registrations that have taken place with nearly 3,000 people have already availed of early bird discounted race entries over the three race distances.
A Sport Social & Economic Impact report commissioned by Limerick City Council, estimated the event will deliver a welcome €4.5 million boost to the local economy over the course of the May bank holiday weekend.
The run is now the largest mass participatory event outside of Dublin and the only annual ‘Tier One’ event in the Mid-West region. From the inaugural race in 2010, over 70,000 people have crossed the finish line raising €2.1 million for various charities while simultaneously contributing €25 million to local and regional business.
Speaking at the launch of the 2018 event today, Race Director, John Cleary confirmed that the Munster Athletics Council have again designated both the Marathon and Half Marathon as their official Munster championship races.
In anticipation of the increased demand for places in the children’s ‘UL Sport Run for Fun’ which takes place in the University of Limerick on Saturday May 5th, capacity has been extended to accommodate 3,500 children which is now the largest children’s event nationally. To date the ‘UL Sport Run for Fun’ has raised over €85,000 for those primary schools with participating children.
On behalf of Bon Secours Hospital Limerick at Barringtons, Hospital Manager, Jason Kenny said “We are proud sponsors of the Bon Secours Great Limerick Run which promotes Limerick and the wider Mid-West region in a positive manner on a national and international scale. We have worked closely with the BSHGLR team as the new title sponsors on many aspects of the event to ensure that all those participating and visiting Limerick have a memorable and enjoyable race weekend experience.”
For full details on how to enter the Bon Secours Hospital Great Limerick Run please visit www.greatlimerickrun.com ; Follow us on Twitter @BSHGLimerickRun or Like us on Facebook
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