Breathe Unity speaks at 1st Cyprus Running Community Forum
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The internationally-renowned OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO, taking place this Saturday 18th and Sunday 19th March 2017, will open its weekend celebration of running with the 1st Cyprus Running Community Forum on Friday 17th March.
A unique chance for runners, sports enthusiasts and the general public to learn about the various perspectives of the running industry and listen to a panel of inspiring keynote speakers, the Forum promises to be a fascinating precursor to all the sporting action of the weekend. It starts at 7pm on Friday in the Tassos Papadopoulos Amphitheatre of Technological University of Cyprus, and is open to all those living in or travelling to Limassol this week.
Rebecca Richardson is Managing Director and Founder of Breathe Unity PR, a leading Sports Public Relation company based in Manchester, UK.
Rebecca founded Breathe Unity in 2008 after having spent over 15 years in the Sports Industry, working for leading brands including adidas and Porsche. In its nine years the company has grown to be a recognised leader in PR for running and mass participation events, and is known for its unique UNITY way of working with clients and the running community.
“Our unique approach is all about uniting, connecting, collaborating and networking to create unrivalled structures, media exposure and strong foundations for our clients to grow and develop through positive visibility. We are proud to be so well known and recognised within the industry with the close working relationships we have with our clients and running industry community.
“We are all about great comms and ‘commUNITY’, I am very proud to be presenting at the 1st Cyprus Running Community Forum and feel privileged to be asked to be part of a legacy” commented Rebecca Richardson.
Rebecca will be presenting a case study about the promotion of OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO from a sports public relations viewpoint. She will be talking about how race promotion channels within the PR industry are changing and why commUNITY is key.
Breathe Unity, which offers PR services for the sports, health, fitness, wellbeing and tourism sectors, is perfectly placed to be delivering the PR for OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO and contributing to the Forum; the company specialises in brands, event and running PR and is known for being a leader in race representation.
The company has been praised for the excellent coverage that OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO has received within the UK, and is keen to build on this year’s success in years to come.
Joining Rebecca on stage at the Forum will be May El Khalil, Founder and President of the Beirut Marathon Association, which oversees the IAAF-accredited Beirut International Marathon. Mrs El Khalil’s talk is aptly titled ‘Peace-making is a marathon’. Having spent two years recovering from a near-fatal crash in 2001, Mrs El Khalil founded the marathon to help mend divisions in Lebanon and celebrate the gift of life. The marathon now unites thousands of people each year in one of the world’s most turbulent regions, and in 2015 the race and social movement attracted 38,000 runners from 104 countries. Mrs El Khalil has been recognised nationally and internationally for her influential work.
Speaking about the development of running culture in Greece will be popular Greek runner Nikos Polias. Mr Polias was a member of the Greek National Marathon team from 1996 to 2004 and competed in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, achieving a new National Course Record. He was the only Greek to finish the race and has continued to clock many landmark achievements since. Mr Polias is now Chief Editor and Publisher of Runner Magazine, the first Greek running magazine since 2005, and General Manager of sports event company All About Running. He is also an official timer of major running events in Greece.
The Fourth speaker is Charambos Ioannou, who will be taking about running for charity.
Presenting the 1st Cyprus Community Running Forum will be Cypriot-born George Loucaides, who has 25 years’ experience in elite sport as an athlete and eight years’ experience coaching elite and recreational runners. In 2014, Mr Loucaides’ athletes won all the middle and long distance men’s events at the Cyprus National Championships in Athletics.
About the race weekend:
The OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO comprises six races in total, starting with the PrimeTel 5K Corporate Race and the Andrey and Julia Dashin’s 1KM Youth Race on Saturday 18th March. The sporting action continues on Sunday 19th March with the AIMS-accredited OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO, the 13.1-mile Half Marathon, the Petrolina 10K Energy Race and the 5K City Race, all of which set off at 7am.
The OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO is fast and flat, covering long stretches of straight, traffic-free road, including the spectacular coastal road of greater Limassol. This makes it an ideal race for first time marathon runners as well as for elite athletes looking to achieve a PB, many of whom come from the world over to #RunLimassol and enjoy the warm welcome and friendly atmosphere.
OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO Race Director Andreas Spyrou commented: “We are looking forward to welcoming athletes and sports enthusiasts of all levels to the 1st Cyprus Running Community Forum on Friday 17th March. It will be a fitting start to a weekend of incredible sporting achievement, and a fascinating evening thanks to our high profile speakers of diverse nationalities and backgrounds.
“We hope that many visitors and locals will join us at the Forum to celebrate running, and we look forward to seeing the streets of Limassol filled this weekend with many thousands of runners and supporters. We are all set to deliver a superb weekend of sport and entertainment for our local and international guests. Anyone still wishing to take part in any of the races should sign up now.”
The Bank of Cyprus presents the 1st Cyprus Running Community Forum, organized by the OPAP Limassol Marathon GSO and supported by the Technological University of Cyprus. Full details on the Forum can be found at http://www.limassolmarathon.com/crcforum.php.
Entry for all races is still open, with individual race places costing 60 euros for the marathon, 45 euros for the half marathon, and 30 euros for the Petrolina 10K Energy Race and 5K City Race. The 1K Youth Race is free.
Go to http://www.limassolmarathon.com/ for further race details and to register now.
Like the Facebook page and follow @RunLimassol #RunLimassol #weadvance on Twitter to keep up-to-date with all the latest news about Limassol Marathon GSO.
