This year’s Island Run is gearing up to be another fantastic event on Sunday May 21st with the usual two ten mile run or walk from Leysdown to Sheerness and a two mile fun run from The Leas, Minster to Sheerness.
Participants may recall that it looked like last year’s Paul Trigwell Island Run was going to be the last one as the organising team struggled to cope with the demands of organising such a popular event.
For the last ten years the run had been organised by Fiona Trigwell and her family, friends and loyal supporters in memory of her late husband Paul. Former Head Teacher of St Georges Middle School, Paul had been an organiser and supporter of the event until his untimely death in 2006.
Fiona set up the Paul Trigwell Memorial Fund to advance the education of children aged 4 – 18 years of age on the Isle of Sheppey, in particular but not exclusively for those who are socially and economically disadvantaged. In the last ten years the run has raised over £100,000 and that is all down to the loyal supporters and participants of the Island Run.
“After my announcement last year that 2016 would be the last run I was overwhelmed with pledges of support, with some recalling their participation in the event going back to the 1970’s!”
“I was delighted when the Rotary Club of Minster on Sea approached me as they share so many similarities with the Paul Trigwell Memorial Fund and have the same overriding ethos. I truly hope that everybody will continue to support them in the same way that they have supported us throughout the last ten years.”
“We are taking a back seat but helping them with our support and guidance to take over the organising of the run in the hope that this legacy will continue for many more years to come.”
Tony Potter, a member of the Rotary Club of Minster on Sea explained why the local charity have stepped in to ensure the Island Run continues:
“Fiona and her team have done an amazing job in growing this event year on year and we don’t want to see that effort go to waste and the legacy come to an end.”
“Just like the PTMF we formed our Club 10 years ago with an ethos to support the local community. Over the years our members have also raised well over £100,000 for the local community. And again like the PTMF we try to rely on a very supportive local community of sponsors and supporters to ensure that every penny that we raise goes to charitable causes. We want to ensure that the PTMF continues to be funded from the money raised by this event.”
“We are also really lucky that we have the Kent Sports Trust Foundation on board with their ethos of encouraging participation in sport in order to create positive health outcomes and help build communities.”
“Our sincere thanks go to Steve Wolfe for the marketing support, guidance and ideas that he is bringing to us to help The Island Run continue to grow.”
“However we also cannot do all of this on our own. As Fiona said, we hope the local community, supporters and sponsors will continue supporting this event.”
Entry is by sponsorship only. A minimum of £5 for the 2 mile event and £10 for the 10 mile event. Of course they hope that participants will raise a lot more in sponsorship.
You can find more information and register to take part on-line at www.ptir.org.uk or pick up an entry form from Balloonatic in Russell St, Sheerness or St Georges Middle School or Minster Working Men’s Club.
Finally they need volunteers. It takes a minimum of 70 marshals to run this event on the day. If you are over 18 and would like to help on the day please register as a marshal on the website and they will contact you with further details.
You can also email the team at [email protected] and checkout the Paul Trigwell Island Run Facebook page – https://www.facebook.com/PaulTrigwellIslandRun/
The Rotary Club of Minster on Sea are a charity registered organisation made up of volunteers who meet up on a weekly basis to enjoy social activities and support the local community through many fundraising events throughout the year.