World Cup final referee Howard Webb signs up to Bupa Great Yorkshire Run

Howard Webb, referee of the 2010 World Cup final in South Africa, is taking part in this year’s Bupa Great Yorkshire Run on 5 September.

Webb will be participating in the 10k event in Sheffield, which aims to attract a record field. The father of three, from Rotherham, who has chosen to support Sheffield’s Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice, will be making his debut in the long distance event. Fresh from his duties in South Africa, Webb said: “I am delighted to be taking part in this year’s Bupa Great Yorkshire Run and raise money for charity. “Surprisingly I’ve never taken part in a run before, so I’m very much looking forward to 5 September and join all the other runners in Sheffield.” Sarah Champion, from the Hospice, added: “It’s wonderful that Howard Webb has decided to compete in the Bupa Great Yorkshire Run for Bluebell Wood Children’s Hospice. “It costs £2.5 million every year to help children in this region with life-limiting conditions who won’t reach adulthood and it’s thanks to people like Howard and all the other runners who take part in the Great Yorkshire Run for Bluebell Wood, that we can help as many children as we can have a lifetime of love and laughter.” 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 1.5k Mini Run, while the 3k Junior Run is for ages 9-14. Anyone interested in running can enter online now at www.greatrun.org. ENDS Notes to editors: 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 company, 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. 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. Issued on behalf of the Bupa Great Yorkshire Run by HR Media Ltd. For more information please contact Olivia Clifford-Beeston or Steve Hutton on 0117 221 0325 or by emailing olivia@hrmedia.org.uk. Alternatively visit www.hrmedia.org.co.uk.

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