Up to 1000 to run with ray in athlone tomorrow

Up to 1,000 people are expected to join SPAR and Ray D’Arcy for 5k in Athlone Institute of Technology (AIT) tomorrow.
The lunchtime run, which is organised in association with Athletics Ireland, coincides with Clubs and Societies Day on campus, and will see the popular Today FM presenter broadcast his morning show live from AIT’s campus.
According to Ray D’Arcy: “When we began these events four years ago I hoped to get a lot of people turned on to running, with the hope that it might be the start of something new for them – a new and healthy lifestyle that they will embrace for the rest of their lives.”
Anne Gallagher, SPAR Marketing Manager, said: “Since beginning this initiative four years ago, over 20,000 people have taken up the 5k challenge. At SPAR we’ve been successfully promoting leisure running in Ireland over the past number of years through our support for events including the SPAR Great Ireland Run and the Join SPAR and Ray for 5k initiative. For us it’s a really meaningful approach to sponsorship as more people aim to get out and get healthy.”
The Join SPAR and Ray for 5k Athlone event is being organised locally by the AIT Athletics Club. Paul McNamara, Athletics Ireland’s Development Officer, on campus said: “It is great that Athlone has been chosen as one of this year’s locations. We look forward to welcoming Ray, SPAR and the team on the sixteenth. We’re delighted that so many people have signed up for what promises to be an enjoyable event and to fly the flag for Westmeath.”