In 2015, an exploratory meeting with the University of Manchester came at exactly the right time for The Great Run Company and led to an inspiring story of participation.
The University were keen to address the widespread issue of many students and staff being inactive, whilst recruiting entrants for the Great Manchester Run, Europe’s biggest 10k running event, was for the first time starting to become more challenging in the face of increased regional competition.
With the high-profile reputation the Great Manchester enjoyed in the city, the University were interested in entering a sizable team into the event.
It was an opportunity to work with the institution on a wider basis and develop a campaign with them to focus on both physical and mental well-being.
Working closely with their sports development team, we created an activity toolkit – offering motivation and encouragement, training plans for all abilities, PR initiatives and digital support.
The initial year one target for the campaign was 500 students and staff. However, the actual number was in excess of 1,100, and the University of Manchester ‘purple wave’ was born. Such was the level of interest; I was able to secure coverage of the initiative in the BBC broadcast of the Great Manchester Run.
Over 40% of participants classed themselves as physically inactive before the campaign began, leading to the initiative winning an England Athletics grass roots participation award.
Over the next three years, continuing to work closely with the team at the University, we were able to grow numbers to almost 3,000 students and staff, also creating campaigns with Manchester Metropolitan University and the University of Salford. The use of Mo Farah and Greg Rutherford in media activity helped provide another level of inspiration.
By 2019 20% of the entries at the Great Manchester Run came from these initiatives.
A template had been created that has been adopted by Universities in Bristol, Birmingham and Aberdeen, helping them champion physical and mental well-being, team spirit and achievement, whilst also delivering substantial numbers of paid entrants into Great Run events.
