PAVEY PLANNING TO CHASE ANOTHER BUPA GREAT SOUTH RUN VICTORY

After a four year absence, former champion Jo Pavey will be chasing another victory on her return to the Bupa Great South Run in Portsmouth on the 24 October.

Pavey, who celebrated her 37th birthday on Monday, is already preparing for the challenge of lifting the title again. This year will be the milestone 21st staging of the world’s premier 10 mile road race, which has attracted a record entry of 23,000 runners. The highly experienced British international is now well on the way back to full fitness after a toe injury excluded her from the recent European Track Championships. Forced to withdraw from attempting a 5000/10000 metres double in Barcelona, Pavey resumed competitive racing at the beginning of September, when she finished seventh against world class opposition at the Women's 5K Challenge in London. “I would have liked to run faster," she said, "but it’s always difficult in your first race back from injury and I’m just glad to be racing again. "I'm looking forward to Portsmouth, where I scored a very satisfying victory in 2006. It is a fast, flat course which really suits my style of running." The Bupa Great South Run is one of only 23 global meetings holding an International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) Gold Label rating - the highest accolade any road running meeting can be awarded. "It is a few years since Jo competed here, but injuries and, on a happier note, the birth of her son Jacob just before last year's race have kept her away," said Peter Riley, the Bupa Great South Run elite athletes manager. “It will be great to see her back in action and I know she will be eager to give it her best shot to regain the title." end Editors notes Nova International The Bupa Great South Run is brought to you by event organisers Nova International and is sponsored by 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 largest half marathon 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

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