Run to the Beat

Infobox Athleticrace
bgcolour = green


imagesize = 150px
caption = 2008 Run to the Beat Logo
date = October 5, 2008
location = London, United Kingdom
type = Road
distance = Half Marathon
est = 2008
record =
homepage = [http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk/ Run to the Beat]

Run to the Beat was the first half marathon event to be held in London. [ [http://www.tri247.com/article_2841.html/ London's First Official Half Marathon, Tri247, 23 January 2008 ] ]

2008 Race

Organisers expected more than 12,000 runners to take part in the inaugural race in the London borough of Greenwich on October 5, 2008. [ [http://www.metro.co.uk/gimme/article.html?in_article_id=219099&in_page_id=4/ Metro UK, 15 July 2008 ] ] But bad weather on the day and tube delays saw just 7252 runners cross the startline. Of those 55% were female and 45% were male. [ [http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk/Event/~/media/PDFs/RTTB_Full_Results.ashx/ Run to the Beat Official Results ] ]

Winner of the men's race

* 2008 John McFarlane, 1:10:12

Winner of the women's race

* 2008 Birhan Dagne, 1:18:22

Event Information

The route started and finished at The O2. Runners then headed along the river towards the Thames Barrier, past Firepower - The Royal Artillery Museum, the Royal Artillery Barracks and Greenwich Park. A main stage was located next to the start/finish line and music was played at 16 stages along the route.

The theory behind the event comes from Dr Costas Karageorghis [ [http://www.brunel.ac.uk/about/acad/sse/ssestaff/sportsstaff/costaskarageorghis/ Dr Costas Karageorghis Biography - Brunel University ] ] , associate professor of sport pyschology at Brunel University. His research [ [http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk/Music/The%20Science.aspx/ The Science Behind "Running to the Beat ] ] claims to show that selecting the right tunes could improve individual performance by 20 per cent, [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/10/fashion/10fitness.html?_r=1&em&ex=1200200400&en=e014f8a95c53b552&ei=5087%0A&oref=slogin/ "They’re Playing My Song. Time to Work Out." - New York Times, January 10, 2008 ] ] depending on a number of factors.

Official Charity

Leukaemia Research is a British charitable organisation, established in 1960, dedicated to the fight against Leukaemia, Hodgkin's and other lymphomas and myeloma. More than 24,500 people in the UK are diagnosed with a blood cancer each year. [http://www.lrf.org.uk/en/1/disstahome.html] Anyone at any age can be diagnosed with a blood cancer, but it is the main cause of cancer death in the under 35’s. [http://www.cancerindex.org/medterm/medtm2.htm]

ponsorship

On July 16, 2008 Sony Ericsson were named as the title sponsor of the event. [ [http://www.brandrepublic.com/News/831651/Sony-Ericsson-backs-half-marathon-event/ Sony Ericsson backs half-marathon event, Ed Kemp Marketing, Brand Republic, 15 July 2008 ] ]

Associate Sponsors

*Gatorade
*Heart FM
*Evening Standard
*Asics
*BMW

References

External links

* [http://www.runtothebeat.co.uk/ Official Run to the Beat website]
* [http://www.sonyericsson.com/cws/ Sony Ericsson website]
* [http://www.imgworld.com/home/default.sps/ IMG Mass Participation and IMG Digital]