Charitable donations from Wales’ most scenic and toughest marathon, Snowdonia Marathon Eryri, have this year crashed through the £100,000 mark in 10 years of contributions to local community groups and organisations in Snowdonia.
Since 2007 the race has made a policy of putting its profits back in to the local area and 2018’s race was no exception with a record £17,000 going to community groups and causes from the annual funds raised from this iconic event.
As each year passes many local group’s funds are bolstered by the income that the marathon generates from the 2800+ runners that enter the race, with money from this year’s race helping to fund a wide variety of projects, including the Welsh Schools Football Association under-18s programme and the Ysbyty Gwynedd Maternity Unit in Bangor.
Donations will also help to fund some of the vital environmental work in Snowdonia undertaken by The Snowdonia Society, meaning that runners and their families can continue to enjoy the incredible natural environment that the race inhabits.
Race Coordinator Jayne Lloyd said:
“The Snowdonia Marathon Eryri has community at the heart in everything it does. We are extremely proud of the work that we do year-on-year and feel that we have a duty to put some of the funds the race generates back into that community which helps make the event happen.
“We rely heavily on the hard work of volunteers on race day, so it’s fantastic to be able to give something back to them. In a time when funding to organsations and support groups is under severe pressure we hope that our contributions can make a real difference to people’s lives. Our race is organised with very high sustainability credentials and supporting those that support us is the best form of sustainability we can think of.”
Event Charity Partner Tenovus is also one of the many causes that benefit from the event funds. In the last 7 years the Welsh cancer charity has been able to carry out their vital work with some of the £60,000 that has been collected through charity places and collections on race day.
Jayne continued:
“Next year’s event is already full, with entries selling out in a little over 2 hours on December the 1stthis year. We are now busily planning the 2019 race to ensure that the event continues to serve the community and also gives a great experience to the runners that travel from across the globe to run this wonderful marathon.”
The 2019 Snowdonia Marathon Eryri will take place on Saturday October 26th.
