Event professionals are banding together in the name of charity,
to embark on a 100km run around the Caribbean Island of Antigua.
The run, taking place between 11 and 14 October 2023 aims to raise
£100,000 for The Sandals Foundation, a fundraising body for local charities.
All funds raised will be donated to two charities: The SickKids
Caribbean Initiative, a charity concerned with childhood cancer, and the Paediatric
unit of the St Johns Medical Centre which cares for unwell and premature babies.
Graeme Saunders, senior manager of groups and MICE at Unique Vacations (UK Limited) for Sandals & Beaches Resorts, said the Sandals team came up with the fundraising idea after running the Royal Parks Half Marathon for events chairty Meeting Needs in 2022.
"We wanted to do something for the Sandals Foundation to help those on the islands that we have resorts on, so after lots of discussion, came up with the idea of running for four consecutive days, totalling 100km. We had a long chat with our Foundation as to how best support them with the funds raised and they came up with the selected charities."
Saunders is one of the 11 official runners. "Running around the island is going to be a huge highlight as we will get to see most of it, which will be great. The biggest highlights of the event will be visiting a project that our money is going to support and also the camaraderie that will be built up with all of the runners."
To date, more than £57,000 has been raised and the Just Giving page will
remain live until after the run.
The runners
- Lee
Anderson, Corpay
- Beth
Spacey , EMC3
- Ryan
Irving, Hays Travel
- Peter
Davenport, Mail Metro Media
- Tom
Leader, Mail Metro Media
- Martin
Balmer, Northstar Meetings Group
- David
Mitchell, Runners World/Good Housekeeping/Hearst Magazines
- Samantha
Heaton, Sam Heaton Therapies
- Andre
De Souza - Webbeds
- Billy
Ryan, 7Stars
The route
Day 1: 27km starting at Sandals Grande Antigua and finishing
at Jolly Harbour
Day 2: 26.7km starting back at Jolly Harbour and finishing
at English Harbour
Day 3: 24.8km from English Harbour up to the Antigua Cricket
Stadium
Day 4: The final day will see the group begin at the Cricket
Stadium and finish back at Sandals Grande Antigua covering a half marathon
distance
Those who can’t commit to the 100km run have been invited to
join a 10km fun run on island followed by a beach BBQ brunch.
Event
professionals from across the industry have been showing their support for The
Sandals Foundation whether they are running or not. Anna-Marie Trzebinski,
founder of ATM Events, for example, has started her own Just
Giving page, with funds raised donated to The Sandals Foundation. While
Anna-Marie isn’t participating in the Island Run, she is using the fundraising initiative
to drive her own fitness, recently launching her ‘Fitness Back To Business’ newsletter.
Find out more about the Island Run and how to donate here.
A desire to travel led Holly Patrick to the business meetings and events world and she’s never looked back. Holly takes a particular interest in event sustainability and creating a diverse and inclusive industry. When she’s not working, she can be found rolling skating along Brighton seafront listening to an eclectic playlist, featuring the likes of Patti Smith, Sean Paul, and Arooj Aftab.
