Member Article

Shortlist announced for Merseyside running community awards

The much anticipated shortlist for the inaugural Merseyside Running Community Awards has been revealed.

The awards are being staged to recognise and celebrate the thriving running community of Merseyside.

After opening up nominations to the public, a shortlist of three finalists has now been announced for six categories including overcoming adversity; volunteer team; and running personality. A seventh category to capture the best running image has 12 finalists.

The winners will be announced at an awards dinner on Friday, 24 October, to be held at The Richmond Hotel Liverpool, on Hatton Garden.

The Merseyside Running Community Awards is sponsored by BTR Liverpool, with support from sports brand Salming, Running Imp, Liverpool-based sports promotion company Wild Thang, and the Northern Running Guide.

Voting is now underway, and will be open until 11.59pm on Friday, 3 October.

The six individual categories are as follows, while all images for category seven for the running image and a description of all finalists can be found online:

Overcoming Adversity Award

• Pat Cross
• James Hughes and John Courtney
• Keith Peacock

Running Community Service Award

• Eamonn Brady
• Rachel Brown
• Alex O’Brien

Most Inspirational Individual Award

• Rachel Brown
• Mark Maddox
• David Marsh

Volunteer Team of The Year Award

• Claire House Volunteers
• Merseyside Army Cadet Force
• Parkrun Team

Running Personality of The Year Award

• Eamonn Brady
• Frankie Smith
• Kenny Worrall

Lifetime Achievement Award

• Mike Dooling
• Eddy Mountford
• Norman Waterson

The awards are the brainchild of RUN (Running Unites Network), a group of like-minded keen volunteer runners from across Merseyside who meet on a monthly basis to discuss all things running with RUN hosts, race organisers BTR Liverpool.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for race events and delivery in Liverpool City Region. Its portfolio of annual events includes the BTR Liverpool Half Marathon; BTR Wirral Half Marathon/10K; Mersey Tunnel 10K; and BTR Liverpool Santa Dash.

Collectively, RUN and BTR Liverpool have created the Merseyside Running Community Awards to showcase and celebrate all that is positive and inspiring about the local sport locally.

BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell commented:

“The Merseyside running community is full of very special, inspirational people, so we anticipated that we would receive a very diverse selection of nominations – but our expectations have been completely exceeded.

“We have received so many nominations for runners of all ages and abilities – it’s been a very humbling experience. The Merseyside Running Community Awards is something which has been missing from the sport, and we’re delighted that people responded positively to the idea and took the time to submit their nominations.

“It’s now time for people to cast their vote for their chosen winners. It’s going to be a tough choice as the shortlist of finalists is very strong. We look forward to announcing the winners at our special awards celebration evening.”

The Merseyside Running Community Awards dinner takes place on the evening of Friday, 24 October, at The Richmond Hotel Liverpool. Tickets are priced at £40, available from the BTR Liverpool office at 23 Hatton Garden.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Erica Dillon .