MOTTRAM TO CHASE BUPA GREAT YORKSHIRE RUN TITLE NEXT MONTH IN SHEFFIELD

Former World Championships 5000 metres bronze medallist Craig Mottram will fly in from Australia to compete in next month's Bupa Great Yorkshire Run.

Mottram, now recovered from a serious long term Achilles injury, confirmed his fitness to race organisers and is determined to win the 10 kilometres road race taking place in Sheffield on September 5. The presence of the 28-year-old Aussie who five years ago in Helsinki became the first non-African to win a 5000m medal for 18 years, is a massive coup for the meeting. Mottram, after resting his troublesome Achilles for over a year following the 2008 Beijing Olympics, has turned down lucrative offers to race in the United States since re-commencing his career. Now he is heading for Sheffield and the fourth staging of the mass participation Bupa Great Yorkshire Run where he will compete against an international field including Stefano Baldini, Italy's former Olympic marathon champion. "We're delighted to have Craig come on board as I know he has received many other favourable offers from event organisers around the world," said Andy Caine, Bupa Great Yorkshire Run elite athletes manager. "He's no stranger to taking part in the Great Run Series and in the past has won the prestigious Bupa Great Manchester Run and Great Ireland Run in Dublin. "I think this worked in our favour as we have always had a very close relationship with him. "Dublin and Manchester are both 10 kilometre races and although a star track performer at 5000m, he has shown the ability to mix it on the roads with the best in the world." Mottram, a former Australian junior triathlon champion from a sporting family, has British parents and his father Brian played football for Wimbledon. The Bupa Great Yorkshire Run will start on Arundel Gate, before heading along Penistone Road to Sheffield Wednesday’s Hillsborough stadium, before returning to the city centre and is televised on Channel 5. Participant levels have increased year on year with 4,500 participating in the inaugural race in 2007, 6,000 in 2008 and more than 8,000 last September. The Bupa Junior and Mini Great Yorkshire Run will for the first time take place on the same day as the main race (Sept 5) and involve a city centre route. Youngsters aged 3-8 can take part in 1.5km Mini Run, while the 2.5km Junior Run is for ages 9-14. Anyone interested in running can enter online now at www.greatrun.org. Bupa Great Yorkshire Run The Bupa Great Yorkshire Run is brought to you by a partnership between Yorkshire Forward, Sheffield City Council and Nova International, event organisers, and is sponsored by leading international healthcare group, Bupa. Nova International, headed by Olympic Medallist Brendan Foster is one of the UK’s leading event management and sports marketing agencies. The company’s current brand portfolio also includes some of the biggest running events in the world all based on the Bupa Great North Run, the world’s biggest event with over 54,000 entries. Nova International was established in 1988 and has a strong sporting pedigree. Based in Newcastle upon Tyne, Nova have established themselves as a market leader in the world of sports marketing and event management. For more information please visit www.greatrun.org. About Bupa Bupa’s purpose is to help people lead longer, healthier, happier lives. A leading international healthcare group, we offer personal and company health insurance, run care homes for older people and hospitals, and provide workplace health services, health assessments and chronic disease management services, including health coaching, and home healthcare. With no shareholders, we invest our profits to provide more and better healthcare. We are committed to making quality, patient-centred, affordable healthcare more accessible in the areas of wellness, chronic disease management and ageing. Employing over 50,000 people, Bupa has operations around the world, principally in the UK, Australia, Spain, New Zealand and the USA, as well as Hong Kong, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, India, China and across Latin America. For more information, visit www.bupa.com. Alzheimer’s Society Alzheimer’s Society and Alzheimer Scotland are calling for runners to support them in one of the 2010 Bupa Great Runs across the country. For further details visit www.alzheimers.org.uk/greatrun or telephone 0870 417 0192. Runners in Scotland can visit www.alzscot.org or telephone 0845 260 0789. Ends Tracy Effard Nova International Tracy.effard@nova-international.com Tel: 07921 582 509

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