SportsGiving selected as The Official Fundraising Partner of the Running Industry Alliance #TRC22 Conference

The Running Industry Alliance (RIA) is proud to confirm foundation members SportsGiving as The Official Fundraising Partner of the inaugural #TRC22 conference. Two charities will benefit from the “Running Celebration Evening: In honour of Dr Ron Hill MBE, Memory Lane Evening” on Monday 12 December 2022.

The “Running Celebration Evening: In honour of Dr Ron Hill MBE, Memory Lane Evening” has been organised as part of the conference to celebrate and honour the life and the achievements of Ron Hill with a showcase of a private collection of memorabilia, with items of
Ron’s that may never have been seen before. Alzheimer’s Research UK and The Running Bee Foundation have been announced as the two beneficiary charities, both with links to the late Dr Ron Hill.

The Running Conference attendees will also be offered a unique Ron Hill Memorabilia technical t- shirt in exchange for a charity donation. The special edition technical t-shirt will feature a print by artist and painter Brian Donnelly, based on an iconic photo taken at the 1970 British Commonwealth Games in Edinburgh where Ron Hill won the Marathon in 2:09:28.

Brian, who was a young boy at the time and feet away from Ron Hill breasting the tape on trackside when his running icon won the Marathon, has recreated the photo into a one-off original oil painting that, amongst other items, will be offered as a prize in a raffle on the night to raise valuable funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK and The Running Bee Foundation through SportsGiving. This unique print will also feature on the 200 Ronhill technical t-shirts especially commissioned by Ronhill for the Memory Lane Evening.

Dr Ron Hill MBE (1938 – 2021) founded Ronhill in September 1970, five months after becoming the first Briton to win the Boston Marathon in a record time of 2:10:30. Ron became the second man to break 2:10 in the marathon, laid claim to the marathon world record and ran two Olympic Marathons to name just some of his many outstanding running achievements. Co-Leads Rebecca Richardson and Jonathan Midwood from RIA said:

“We are proud to host this special ‘legend’ evening with Ronhill at The Running Conference, and to support two amazing
charities with this industry fundraiser on the Monday night. We can’t wait to all get together to celebrate and honour the life and the achievements of Dr Ron Hill MBE and to raise funds for Alzheimer’s Research UK and The Running Bee Foundation through the SportsGiving platform.

A big thank you goes to Ronhill, the charities, SportsGiving and to the artist Brian Donnelly for recreating that iconic photo into a one-off original oil painting.”

Will Golder, CEO of SportsGiving said:

“Since our inception in 2014 we have committed to bring new and innovative technology to the hands of event organisers and charities through our RaceNation // SportsGiving platforms. We are delighted that SportsGiving can form part of this event as the official fundraising platform in aid of Alzheimer’s Research UK and The Running Bee Foundation. We are looking forward to the evening and to meeting everyone throughout The Running Conference.”