The Bahrain Road Runners (BRR), a popular sports group in the kingdom, plans to hold 10 major events, including triathlons, half marathons and track and field races in the coming months.

It has teamed up with the Bahrain Athletics Association (BAA) and Bahrain Round Table (BRT) and is calling for sponsorship from the community.

'The BRR has always conducted running and multi-sport events throughout the year and this year we're continuing that legacy,' said BRR public relations officer Hisham Shehabi.

'We hope to attract more people to take part in both and will actively try to prepare participants through our smaller events such as social runs and weekly races.

'Also, by working with other groups such as the BAA and BRT, we are able to ensure that our events do not coincide with other major events and therefore will ensure greater participation by the community.'

The first event on the calendar is a track and field race to be held during Ramadan, the exact dates of which will be announced later.

A biathlon will be held on September 30 and a super sprint triathlon has been scheduled for October 21. The Grand Prix series of running races, which will include 5km, 10km and 15km options, will take place on November 11, 18 and 25.

A Cross Island race will also be staged on December 16. The first event of next year will be a half marathon on January 6, followed by a marathon on February 10.

Al Areen Wildlife Park will then host a race on February 24. A duathlon will be held on March 16, followed by an Olympic triathlon on March 30.

The final event will be a sprint triathlon to be held on April 20.

Sponsorship is being organised event by event and anyone interested should contact the BRR for more details. In order to motivate participants, the BRR has set up a points system for each person taking part.

Booklet

'The aim is that as people participate or volunteer in our events and through running, they collect points and at the end of the season, the person with the highest number will be awarded prizes,' said Shehabi.

'We also hope to make them enticing to make sure it pulls people out of their laziness and on to the road.'

More details about ways to sponsor the BRR will be available through a booklet being released soon.

'We are finalising work on a sponsorship booklet which we will be distributing to corporations in a bid to secure funding for our events early in the season,' said Shehabi. 'Previously, funds were collected on a race by race basis, however, to strengthen our planning capacity for the BRR we will try to do this at the beginning of the season.'

The booklet will highlight details about future events, how corporations can interact and support the BRR and provide information about how the group positively affects society through charity work and encouraging healthy lifestyles.

'We will publish the booklet soon and would be very grateful if corporations get in touch with us to find out how we can work together,' said Shehabi.

The BRR also intends to beef up its presence on social media networks and on the Internet.

'We have set up Facebook and Twitter accounts and are now in the phase of commissioning a web designer to give a new look to our website with enhanced functionality,' said Mr Shehabi.

'We hope this will keep people more interested in the BRR and its events and will work towards strengthening our brand as a group of people that promote health and awareness in Bahrain through the sport of running.'

BRR members meet on Thursday evenings and Friday mornings at 6am for its social run at Al Jazair Beach next to the Sailing Club in Zallaq. – TradeArabia News Service