MOBAY CITY RUN gets massive boost
BUOYED BY a flurry of corporate support, the organisers of the MoBay City Run say they are “quietly confident” that this year’s 10k and 5k run for charity will be its biggest yet.
And there are good reasons for the optimism as already, the
RIU hotel has stepped up to the wicket in a big way, registering a whopping 790 participants and
counting.
“We are aiming for 800 and will not stop until we hit the jackpot,” said an elated Frank Sondern, general manager of RIU Palace and RIU Reggae.
RIU is one of many of the island’s resorts supporting the charity 10K and 5K Run and Walk, set for this Sunday, May 5, starting from the Old Hospital Park in Montego Bay. And never one to be left flat-footed, hotel giants Sandals Resorts International has considerably upped its sponsorship of the charity event, pumping in what the event’s organisers are simply calling “more cash and kind”. The company’s sister brand, Appliance Traders Limited, will provide three Amaroks to be used on the race route, while Holiday Inn, S Hotel, Sea Gardens and Deja are housing international and local media as well as the timing team. Meanwhile, resorts such as TenSing Pen, Royalton, Hilton Rose Hall and Couples have confirmed a number of prizes for participants.
In addition to the strong support from the hotel sector, a number of business process outsourcing companies have already registered hundreds of participants, with Conduent having the largest group so far.
This comes as MoBay City Run’s biggest partner, Courts (Unicomer) Jamaica Limited, has offered to sponsor 340 persons this year as part of their 60th anniversary celebrations. Courts will also adopt two school-feeding programmes under the MoBay City Run banner.
”We will be sponsoring the MoBay City Run to the tune of $2 million,” said Unicomer Jamaica (owners of the Courts Jamaica Limited brand) Commercial Director, Janet Sylvester.
“We were a partner since the inception and will continue for a very long time. This year, Courts celebrates its 60th year, which will see us sponsoring 60 persons in four communities to participate on race day, collaborating with the Montego Bay City Run committee to identify and support the feeding programme for two schools and on race day, creating a chill zone filled with activities for all the participants.”
For his part, MoBay City Run’s logistics coordinator, Emerson Whittley, said, “a better script” could not have been written for this year’s event.
“We have to say a big thank you to all our sponsors who have really stepped up their game for this run for an education event,” said Whittley, adding that he expects to see more than 4,000 participants come May 4.
He added that he was both impressed and excited to see that the event had now sparked a lot of global interest, pointing to the number of international media personnel who will be in Jamaica to cover the event.
The Mo Bay City Run has provided nearly $20 million for students who have both been hard-pressed and financially challenged to take up places or complete their courses at tertiary-level institutions in western Jamaica.