Sprintathon is back

EVENTS
Sprintathon is back
with a bang

After 18 months of virtual Sprintathons and Santathons we finally got together in person again on the track. Sprintathon is a marathon relay run in 100m sprints by companies that support Stand Up To Cancer. The aim is to speed up a marathon and accelerate progress in life-saving cancer research.

On 9 September Direct Line Group held their annual Sprintathon with teams competing simultaneously in Bromley, Bristol and Leeds. This year saw a slightly different ‘Power Hour’ format where teams attempted to race as many laps as possible in an hour. As the first in-person event after such a long break the atmosphere was electric and the race was incredibly close with the team in Leeds taking the crown in the end.

Employees from across the marketing industry came together in Battersea on 15 September for the annual Marketing Industry Sprintathon. Organised by The Marketing Society this year, the event benefitted both the Marketing Industry’s mission to support rising talent and Stand Up To Cancer. Teams from companies like Just Eat, Tesco, ScottishPower and Google as well as many agencies and consultancies came together to raise a fantastic amount of money and run a marathon in under two hours. It all culminated in a touching tribute round led by an employee of The Marketing Society, who paid tribute to a friend who sadly passed away from bowel cancer in 2016.

Both events together raised almost £170,000 for Stand Up To Cancer so far and counting, taking the total raised through Sprintathons since 2016 to just over £603,000.

Mark Evans, founder of the Sprintathon and Managing Director of Marketing and Digital at Direct Line Group, said “Both 2021 Sprintathon events went like a dream and allowed people both to reconnect and do something truly meaningful. The last 18 months have been a tumble dryer for everyone, so it was fantastic to get together again to enable more people to smash a two-hour marathon whilst supporting Stand Up To Cancer.”

If you’re interested in hosting a Sprintathon with your corporate next year, get in touch at: corporatequeries@cancer.org.uk.