As title sponsor of Williams BMW Rochdale Half Marathon 10K/Fun Run on 25 September, we enjoyed supporting the major events once again this year, and congratulate all participants for their concerted efforts.
We are very proud to be part of the proceedings which sees over 1000 participants from across Greater Manchester, Yorkshire and Cheshire pounding the streets of Rochdale. As well as being the major sponsor, the retail centre also had a team of six taking part.
Runners started at Rochdale Town Hall and set out past the newly unveiled Gracie Fields statue, over the recently uncovered River Roch bridge on traffic-free courses taking in town and some of the north west’s most picturesque countryside scenes.
All runs ended with a final stretch back to the finish at Rochdale Town Hall, where they were met by hundreds of cheering spectators.
The half marathon was won by Rob James from Royton Road Runners in a time of 01:17:19. The first female was Hannah Oldroyd from Saltaire Striders in 01:25:22.
The 10K was won by Philip Bennett in 39:06, while the first female runner was Kirsty Johnson from Glossopdale Harriers in 40:34.
Rosangela Terim put in a terrific performance to win the one mile fun run in just 06:47.
Spectators came out in force to line many parts of the routes and on The Esplanade there was a ‘Sports Village’ featuring fitness and health stalls. The section around Hollingworth Lake proved a popular spectator spot too with hundreds enjoying the spectacle by lake bank. Many entrants took to social media to praise the scenic route which had been re-designed for 2016 to make the most of the boroughs green spaces.
We had another eye-catching presence on the Esplanade. The display included the latest collection of prestige motors including the i8, a beautiful plug-in hybrid sports car, X3.
Anyone who visited their stand was entered into a draw to win a BMW for a weekend.
The prizes were presented by Rob Gower, head of business at Williams Rochdale BMW, who said:
“Williams Rochdale BMW was very proud to be part of this wonderful event. Rochdale has gone running crazy over the last few weeks with lots of training sessions and preparation taking place. The interest and enthusiasm around this particularly over the last few weeks has been superb. On behalf of all the charities who will benefit financially from today, thank you. Events such as these make such a difference in raising much needed funds for valuable causes.”
The event was staged by Rochdale Borough Council in partnership with race organiser Cannonball Events, and Williams Rochdale BMW has pledged their support for a further two years, as part of a three year deal.