New Medals Revealed for the Vitality Reading Half Marathon

PRESS RELEASE: 07 January 2016

NEW MEDALS REVEALED FOR THE VITALITY READING HALF MARATHON

The Vitality Reading Half Marathon returns on Sunday 3rd April 2016 and Race Organisers, Sweatshop have revealed an added incentive for runners. The thousands of participants hoping to cross the finish line will receive one of these striking medals. The pink Vitality themed ribbon holds a spinning lion centre-piece that represents the Maiwand Lion war memorial in Forbury Gardens, Reading town.

The Half Marathon route not only takes in the highlights of Reading town centre where athletes will experience huge crowd support, but also passes through the beautiful grounds of the University campus. The 33rd Reading Half Marathon is expected to attract seasoned distance runners as well as thousands of newcomers to the running community. The world renowned course will lead runners from Green Park, through the beautiful grounds of Reading University to a momentous finish inside Reading Football Club’s Madejski Stadium where they will be greeted by an eager crowd of supporters.

Judith Manson, Race Director, comments: “We are really excited to be returning to Reading for the Half Marathon. We worked hard to create a medal that participants will wear with pride and this design truly represents Reading. We’ve also had great feedback on the spinning feature - it’s definitely one which will stand out in any medal cabinet.”

For more event information and to sign up, please visit: www.readinghalfmarathon.com.

~ENDS~

PRESS ENQUIRIES

Sophie Nelson

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01628 507 661

Editor’s notes:

Vitality Reading Half Marathon, 22 March 2015:

In 2015, 68 athletes completed the race in under 71 minutes.

Male 2015 winner: Amos Kiplagat

Female 2015 winner: Lily Partridge

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.`

For more information visit www.sweatshop.co.uk

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

Vitality - the game changer for health and life insurance:

Vitality is the new name for PruHealth and PruProtect. Vitality is insurance that rewards you for being healthy. As well as protecting you when things go wrong with award-winning health and life insurance, it also helps you lead a healthier life – meaning you don’t have to claim to be able to benefit. It’s the way insurance should be.

Vitality has partnered with a number of Vitality Ambassadors, Jessica Ennis-Hill, Sebastian Coe and Jonny Wilkinson, who are role models that embody the values of Vitality. They are all using their passion for living a healthy lifestyle to motivate others to make positive changes. Taking small steps today can dramatically improve wellbeing over the long-term, regardless of your current state of health.

VitalityHealth and VitalityLife

VitalityHealth is one of the UK’s leading private medical insurers which have pioneered a new type of cover – Lifestyle Health Insurance. As well as providing first class cover and clinical care for when people are ill, it focuses equally on prevention and keeping people fit and healthy. It launched in the UK in 2004 as a joint venture between two large international financial services companies – Prudential plc and Discovery, a South African listed company operating in the USA, China and Singapore as well as the UK and South Africa www.vitality.co.uk/health.

VitalityLife was launched in September 2007 as an extension of the joint venture between Prudential and Discovery. One of the fastest growing life insurers in the UK, it is unique to the current UK protection market, and its suite of products includes Life Cover, Income Protection Cover and severity based Serious Illness Cover, additional benefits and Business Protection. By recognising people's efforts to look after themselves, VitalityLife is able to offer a more comprehensive set of benefits than traditional providers at a very competitive price www.vitality.co.uk/life.