Duracell champions three inspiring UK runners in new campaign
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Ahead of the Great Newham London Run that took place at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park on Saturday July 16th Official Partner of the 2016 Great Run Series, Duracell, released a new film that celebrates three of the UK’s most inspiring runners.
In the film, each tells the story of their own struggles and how running has helped them ultimately triumph. The three runners are:
- Christopher Goddard – A 25 year old who was diagnosed with MS last year and has faced his illness with an incredible determination. Running has been one of the ways he has become more active after his diagnosis, refusing to allow his illness to keep him down.
- Maxine Langtree – This quite extraordinary 68 year old started running at 66 and is now running 10ks alongside people 50 years her junior. Motivated by her sister’s death from cancer, she now says she is fitter than she was in her forties.
- Emma O’Gorman – Like many people, Emma had a New Year’s Eve wakeup call when she realised that she was living an incredibly unhealthy lifestyle. Having quite smoking and started running, Emma is now much healthier and is a great example for anyone looking to improve their health.
The film is part of Duracell’s campaign to help runners of the UK unlock their own power within to go further. Duracell is officially powering the 12 race series that sees 180,000 runners compete annually across the UK and includes marquee events such as the Great Manchester Run, the Great Newham London Run – which concludes with a lap inside the Stadium at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park – and the world’s biggest mass participation running event, the famous Great North Run. The partnership also includes turning the race pace makers into the iconic Duracell Bunny at each race to champion their role in helping runners go for longer. The brand is also reviving its iconic ‘running bunny’ commercial in a TV campaign later this summer.
“Everywhere you looked last weekend, another Brit was making waves as the very top of their sport. Murray, Watson, Reid and Whiley at Wimbledon; Froome and Cavendish in the Tour de France; and Hamilton at the British Grand Prix,” said Brendan Foster, a former British Olympic medallist and founder of the Great Run Series.
“But sport at the elite level is for only the dedicated few. For the vast majority it’s about converting the inspiration we get from champions in their field into personal goals. Films like this are very valuable in helping encourage people to get out and get active. I’m delighted that Duracell, a new sponsor of The Great Run Series this year, are helping to encourage greater participation in running across the UK.”
Alex Haslam, Duracell UK marketing manager said: “For all runners, motivation is a really important factor in them performing at their best. As part of our campaign we really want to help UK runners maximise their own performance and do the best they can, and we hope that the example given in this film by these three incredible individuals can help inspire the runners of the UK on to bigger and better things.
