The Mass Participation Sports Organisers (MSO) today celebrated the return of mass participation sports events outdoors as the government confirmed that England will move into Step 4 from 19 July.
This gives the green light for the return of the most famous mass participation outdoor running events across the country and MSO members, including the organisers of the London Marathon, parkrun, the Great North Run, Brighton Marathon, the ASICS London 10K, London Landmarks Half Marathon, The Vitality Big Half, Manchester Marathon and This Mum Runs, have worked together to plan protocols and operational solutions that ensure the safe return of mass participation events outdoors.
14,000 registered runners will return to the streets of Westminster on Sunday 25th July 2021 for the ASICS London 10K, produced by Limelight Sports Club, with participants contributing to a global study into the effect of movement on mental wellbeing and the power of running to uplift London through the ASICS Mind Uplifter™ Tool. ASICS London 10K will help move minds and Uplift London with the largest closed road celebration of running since March 2020.
“We’re excited for a new season of mass participation events to commence. At LimeLight Sports, we’re leveraging our 30 years of experience in the sports industry to return to racing in a safe, secure and responsible way. It’s been a challenging 16 months, but community and running has played such an integral role with regards to people’s mental and physical health. We can’t wait to see runners back on the start line of the ASICS London 10K on 25th July.”
James Robinson, Managing Director, Limelight Sports Club
The MSO has worked with Run Britain, the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) and Sport England to agree protocols that ensure mass participation outdoor events can be held safely. You can learn more about the ASICS London 10K COVID-safe race day measures here.
Over the coming months, the MSO event calendar includes:
20 July: Standard Chartered Great City Race
21 July: return of This Mum Runs community runs
24 July: return of parkrun (in England)
25 July: ASICS London 10K
1 August: London Landmarks Half Marathon
8 August: return of Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life and Pretty Muddy events
22 August: The Vitality Big Half
5 September: London Summer Run
12 September: Great North Run
12 September: Brighton Marathon
19 September: Great Bristol Run
26 September: Hackney Half
26 September: Great Manchester Run
3 October: Virgin Money London Marathon
10 October: Royal Parks Half Marathon
10 October: Manchester Marathon
17 October: Oxford Half
The Standard Chartered Great City Race, a corporate 5K challenge that takes place in the City of London, will be the first event to be held on closed roads in the capital since the pandemic hit in March 2020.
About the MSO
The Mass Participation Sports Organisers (MSO) group was formed in 2019 to work together to create and introduce sustainable practices in mass participation sports events in the UK.
MSO includes Cancer Research UK, ChampionChip Ireland, Goldline Events, Grounded Events, GSi Events, Human Race, LimeLight Sports, London Landmarks Half Marathon, London Marathon Events, parkrun, Run 4 Wales, Running High Events, RunThrough Events, The Great Run Company, This Mum Runs and Threshold Sports