This year’s Baxters Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running looks set to be another ‘monster’ success with entries flooding in for the Marathon, River Ness 10K and 5K Fun Run. There are guaranteed places available until 1st September for anyone who signs up to run the marathon for one of the 35 official charities associated with the event.

The five nominated charities are Highland Hospice, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, Leonard Cheshire and the Scottish Community Foundation, and runners should contact one of these charities direct or visit the website: www.lochnessmarathon.com/charities for further information. There are also 30 other associated charities that benefit from sponsorship funds raised by runners.

Many charity runners have already signed up for the event, including 66-year-old Fergus Speed, who will be taking part in the Loch Ness Marathon for the third time, raising funds for the Children’s Hospice Association Scotland (CHAS). Over the years he has raised £10,500 for the charity but he has announced that he is retiring from running after this year and aims to raise £5,000 as a grand finale.

Three runners from Swansea, Wales will be running Loch Ness Marathon on 7 October as part of a ‘Celtic Tri-Marathon’ effort. They have set themselves a tough challenge – running at Loch Ness on 7 October, then running the Snowdon Marathon on 27 October, jumping on a ferry to Ireland to compete in the Dublin Marathon on October  29th – and all for charity.

As part of its pledge to support the local community, Baxters Food Group, title sponsor of the event, will enter a team to raise funds for a nominated charity.  Last year, a group of 20 Baxters employees ran the River Ness 10K in aid of Macmillan Nurses, who specialise in cancer and palliative care, providing support and information to people with
cancer, as well as their families, friends and carers.

In 2006 the Baxters Loch Ness Marathon and Festival of Running raised a staggering £408,311 for charity, with over 5,500 runners participating in the three different races.

Malcolm Sutherland, Event & Race Director said: “We’re delighted to see so many choosing to run for one of our official charities and pleased to be working with such a diverse range of charities again this year. The combination of a stunning location, superb support for runners en-route and the promise of a fun festival atmosphere at the finish line attracts runners to Loch Ness from across Scotland, the UK and overseas. It’s a great achievement to raise this amount over the Festival of Running weekend, and with a large field expected again this year, we hope all our charities will benefit tremendously from this year’s event.”

The 2007 Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running takes place on Sunday 7th October.  To see if your favourite charity has places visit: www.lochnessmarathon.com/charities
For further information visit: www.lochnessmarathon.com 
Or call the Event Hotline on: 0870 127 8000 (national call rates apply)
Notes to Editors:
• Baxters Food Group, a world-renowned producer of quality foods, has been title sponsor of the Loch Ness Marathon since 2002. www.baxters.com
• The event is supported by the Highland 2007 Regional Events Programme, which is funded by EventScotland. www.highland2007.com
• Other sponsors include: Highland Spring, Lucozade Sport, GORE Running Wear™, Scottish Co-operative and Run and Become.
• The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon & Festival of Running was founded by and is organised by the Scottish Community Foundation (SCF).
• The Scottish Community Foundation aims to distribute £7.5m every year to charities and constituted voluntary groups throughout Scotland from 2012. www.scottishcf.org
• The five nominated charities in 2007 are Highland Hospice, Marie Curie Cancer Care, Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, Leonard Cheshire and the Scottish Community Foundation. The 35+ plus associated charities are listed at: www.lochnessmarathon.com/charities
• The Baxters Loch Ness Marathon starts between Fort Augustus and Foyers and follows a point-to-point route along the south side of Loch Ness; the Baxters River Ness 10K and River Ness 5K Fun Run take place in the Highland capital of Inverness. All three races finish in Inverness Queens Park Stadium.

For further press information, please contact:
Sue McKichan, marketing matters      Tel: 07802 685454                   Email: s.mckichan@btinternet.com