Flying Start For Great Scottish Run

3 MAR2011

Scottish track heroine Lee McConnell led an outdoor training session this week to launch the 2011 Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run. Runners, including staff from Bank of Scotland, who took part in last year's race and are participating again this year, were also at the session in George Square - along with giant cut outs of iconic Glasgow landmarks representing the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run race route.

Lee lined up alongside STV Sport Centre's Gerry McCulloch and Sheelagh McLaren, Clyde 1 presenters George Bowie and Romeo, together with Bank of Scotland's Susan Rice and Councillor Archie Graham, the Deputy Leader of Glasgow City Council.

Last year's record-breaking Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run was the biggest ever with an incredible 23,386 people signing up for the event. This was an impressive 12% up on the 2009 record of 20,868 and does not include 3,000 children who attended a schools' day as part of race weekend.

Giving people of all ages and abilities the chance to take part, the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run combines the half marathon and 10k senior races, which take place on Sunday, September 4, with the 1.5k and 3k junior races taking place on Saturday, September 3.

Organisers Glasgow Life are already working round the clock to ensure that this year's event is bigger and better than before and are expecting the usual mix of elite athletes, first-time runners and those running to raise money for a charity close to their heart.

Councillor Archie Graham, the Executive Member for the Commonwealth Games, who ran the 10k last year, said: "It is a hugely exciting time for sporting events in the city with the 2014 Commonwealth Games on the horizon.

One of the main attractions of the Bank of Scotland Great Scottish Run is that it offers the chance to see some of the best sites in Glasgow with the race route starting in Glasgow's George Square and finishing in the picturesque Glasgow Green. Along the way runners get the opportunity to cross the River Clyde on the Kingston Bridge - one of the busiest traffic bridges in Europe.

Enter the Great Scottish Run online at the Run Glasgow website.