Whilst staff at Liverpool John Lennon Airport often see passengers running to catch their flight, later this year hundreds of people will be running together at the airport, but it won’t be to jet off overseas – it will all be in aid of the airport’s charity partner Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
At around 2:00am in the early hours of Saturday 22nd November, the runway lights will all be on, but instead of being used to guide aircraft for take offs and lightings, they will light the way for up to 350 runners who will all be participating in a unique 5K Runway Night Run along the length of the runway, whilst raising thousands of pounds for Alder Hey Children’s Charity.
All year round, flights operate in and out of the airport from early in the morning until late at night, however having looked at the airline schedules, the airport company will be opening up its runway to the public during a gap in aircraft movements between 2:00am and 3:30am, with sufficient time available to stage this 5k run, without impacting on normal airport operations.
This unique, one-off event is kindly being sponsored by a number of partners including, easyJet, easyJet Holidays, aviation security company Wilson James, general and business aviation operator Ravenair and the M&S Bank Arena.
Runners, fundraisers, aviation fanatics and supporters of Alder Hey will all have the chance to participate in the night run, by paying a registration fee of £35 and then raise a minimum of £100 in sponsorship, with all of the proceeds raised on the night going towards the airport’s target to raise £86k for medical equipment required within the hospital’s Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.
Participants will also have the chance to win some fantastic prizes too, including flights/vouchers kindly donated by the main sponsor easyJet.
Carol Dutton, LJLA’s HR and Community Director commented, “Opportunities like this don’t come round very often so we’re hoping that this unique event that we’ve been able to arrange to help raise much needed funds for Alder Hey, will attract significant interest from runners from across the region and help raise thousands of pounds for the charity.”
Katy Armitage, Corporate Partnerships Fundraiser at Alder Hey Children’s Charity said ‘We are so grateful to everyone who has helped to make this exciting event possible and can’t wait to see so many runners take to the runway in aid of Alder Hey! All of the money raised from this event will be going towards equipment for our new Surgical Neonatal Unit, helping us to provide vital care to some of our smallest and most vulnerable patients.’
Anyone interested in participating in this unique, one-off event should first register via the popular runABC running website using the link: https://entries.runabc.co.uk/
