Perfect Motion | Derbyshire 10k

A record breaking number of people took part in the Derbyshire Building Society 10k and Fun Run, organised by Sporting Futures, on 20th April. Close to 3000 people ran the 10k and just under 900 ran the Fun Run, the largest number of people yet.

Martin Whitehouse, who came second in the race last year, moved up to become this years winner with a time of 0:31:27. Of the result, the 31 year old said:
“Last year when I ran it, it was the first time I'd run in a while, I’d just got back from injury and was still finding my fitness. My actual time was quite similar but they said it would be a little bit longer this year. You don't realise what the medals mean until you're injured. That's when you appreciate it." He sounded optimistic about future events saying:
"I've got the Manchester 10k in a couple of weeks. I'll be looking to go under 30 minutes there. I know I can do it."

In second place came Johnny Gilby at a time of 0:31:42, and following close behind was Ian Williams at a time of 0:32:17, almost a minute behind Whitehouse. None of the winners managed to break the 31 minute barrier, but there’s always hope for next year!

The first woman to come through the finish line was Beth Eburne from the Hinckley Running Club, with a time of 0:36:08, only four minutes behind the winner. Following closely behind were the next two women runners, Nicola Clay from the Stilton Striders and Sharron Orrridge of Long Eaton RC.

There were prizes for the first three teams who took part in the Championing Derbyshire Corporate Team Challenge. In first place was The Derby Runner, taking away, 10 tickets to the Alton Towers theme park. In second place were the Toyota UK Runners 2 who won a hospitality package from the Derbyshire County Cricket Club, and in third place were the PWC Elites, winning 10 Derby county match day tickets to a game of their choice.

The Championing Derbyshire Corporate Team Challenge was introduced last year and has grown significantly since then. This year, Derbyshire Sport drove the expansion from 29 teams involved last year to a total of 63 teams this year. Entries for the Corporate Challenge had to close early this year, because they had already reached their maximum capacity. Derbyshire Sport hope to drive further growth in this area next year.

There were spot prizes for those who took part in the Championing Derbyshire Corporate Team Challenge, including a range of sports goodies from Kukri Sports Clothing, 10 day passes to Virgin Active and 5 family passes to the National Ice Centre in Nottingham. The team challenge attracted more people and this year included team prizes, entry to the hospitality suite, refreshments, secure baggage area and free massages.

David Joy, Director of Derbyshire Sport, who also took part in the 10k team challenge said, “More businesses are aware these days of workplace health, and are encouraging their employees to get active and involved in sport. The team challenge offered a perfect opportunity for business practising improvements in workplace health to get on board and take part.”