PRESS RELEASE: 17 JANUARY 2018

2018 SAGE READING HALF MARATHON MEDAL UNVEILED

The new medal for the 2018 Sage Reading Half Marathon has today been unveiled. The race returns on Sunday 18th March 2018 with over 15,000 runners expected to cross the line and wear with pride, their shiny, new and hugely-deserved green ribbon medal.

One of the largest and fastest half marathons in the UK, nearly 15,000 registered runners took part in 2017, from first timers to Britain’s elite. The 2018 half marathon route promises to be as impressive as ever, taking in the highlights of Reading town centre. A world renowned course, huge crowd support, musical entertainment, beautiful University grounds and a field of seasoned athletes inspire a momentous finish inside Madejski Stadium, the home of Reading FC.

Judith Manson, Race Director of the Sage Reading Half Marathon, comments: “We take great pride in designing our race medals. Runners put their heart and soul into training for our event and so we want to reward them with a medal to be proud of, as they step across the finish line in March.”

It was announced, this week, that Sage, the market leader in cloud business management solutions, has become the main sponsor of the Reading Half Marathon from 2018. This partnership is another step forward for Sage’s philanthropic commitment through Sage Foundation, which empowers its customers, partners - and more than 2,000 colleagues in the UK - to get active in their local communities and fundraise for local causes.

Go to www.readinghalfmarathon.com to secure your place at the start line, Sunday 18th March 2018.

Half Marathon

UKA affiliated club runners £38.00 / All other runners £40.00

Green Park Challenge

£10.50

Charity Champion

£58

Corporate Challenge

£185

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PRESS ENQUIRIES

Nicki Petitt, 07967 019 426,

Reading Half Marathon, 19 March 2017:

203 athletes completed the race in under 80 minutes.

Male 2017 winner: Andy Vernon (1:03:08)

Female 2017 winner: Charlotte Purdue (1:12:15)

Race organiser, Sweatshop:

The UK’s largest specialist running retailer with shops nationwide. Sweatshop was founded by Olympic Champion Chris Brasher in 1971, with the aim to give every runner, from absolute beginner to international athlete, access to the very best equipment, supported by free gait analysis, sports bra fitting service and much more. Sweatshop’s first responsibility is to the runner and their mission is to help you Be The Best You Can Be. Sweatshop has been voted the ‘Best Retailer’ by readers of Runner’s World for eight years in succession including 2014. On top of this the store has been recognised in the 2014 Running Awards as the Best eTailer and Best Large Retailer.

Sweatshop staff are committed to providing outstanding customer service and to support this Sweatshop provides an extensive professional development training programme for all their staff including biomechanics, customer service, breast health and sports bra fitting.

The Sweatshop Running Community is free to join and the free weekly runs open to all ages and abilities see people rewarded for running regularly. www.sweatshop.co.uk

Sage:

Sage (FTSE: SGE) is the global market leader for technology that helps businesses of all sizes manage everything from money to people – whether they’re a start-up, scale-up or enterprise. We do this through Sage Business Cloud - the one and only business management solution that customers will ever need, comprising Accounting, Financials, Enterprise Management, People & Payroll and Payments & Banking.

Our mission is to free business builders from the burden of admin, so they can spend more time doing what they love – and we do that every day for three million customers across 23 countries, through our 13,000 colleagues and a network of accountants and partners. We are committed to doing business the right way, and giving back to our communities through the Sage Foundation.