Ørsted, the global leader in offshore wind and main sponsor of the Great Grimsby 10K, has announced a further three-year sponsorship of the community event.
The renewable energy company has sponsored the race each year since its conception in 2016.
Formerly DONG Energy, with DONG originally short for Danish Oil and Natural Gas, the company changed its name last year to celebrate its strategic transformation to focus entirely on green energy.
This year will be the first year of the race under its new name, inspired by one of Denmark’s best known scientists, Hans Christian Ørsted.
Neil and Nicola Pattison, the Ørsted Great Grimsby 10k Race Directors from Tape2Tape said “We are very grateful to Ørsted for their continued support of our fabulous race. The Tape2Tape team together with North East Lincolnshire Council have spent the last 12 months making sure that the race is safe and enjoyable for everyone. The financial support provided by Ørsted and our other sponsors has allowed us to keep the entry fees to a minimum, and provide great value for money to the runners.
“We see this event as more than a race; apart from the 450 amazing volunteers that are helping on the day, it has inspired many local people of all abilities to lace up their trainers and give it a go. Lots of these runners have shared their humbling stories with us and told us how proud they are to run in their local town……the Great in Grimsby is certainly back!”
Cllr Jane Hyldon-King, portfolio holder for Health and Wellbeing and Adult Social Care at North East Lincolnshire Council, said: “I’d like to say a massive thank you to Ørsted and our other sponsors for their generosity and helping make the 10k such a huge success. It’s so moving to hear the different stories from people who have entered the race, especially those who have set themselves a challenge in memory of a loved one.
“Having a race like this on our doorstep is a powerful force that helps inspire people to get active, move more and put the Great back in Grimsby. The Ørsted Great Grimsby 10k is much more that a race, it’s hugely beneficial to the local community with thousands of pounds raised for good causes and hundreds of opportunities for volunteers.”
Emma Toulson, Lead Stakeholder Advisor for Ørsted in the Humber area, said:
“We’ve been investing in Grimsby for eight years; not only with big infrastructure projects like our new operations and maintenance base, but our activities here have also had a direct impact on jobs, skills and small businesses that all play their part in the offshore wind industry.
“As well as the clear economic benefits offshore wind brings to Grimsby, we also care deeply about the communities we operate from, as we’re going to be here for the long term. We have various ways of giving back, for example we drive skills initiatives like our partnership with local schools through charity Teach First, our Community Benefit Fund donates approximately £465,000/year to community projects and of course through enabling events like this.
“Not only do we sponsor the event, many of our staff who live locally get involved. We’ve gone further than that this year, teaming up with Havelock Academy to offer joint bootcamp sessions, including a session with Mark Lewis-Francis, Olympic track and field athlete! It’s my second year running it and thanks to the extra training I feel more prepared, and can’t wait for what will no doubt be a tiring, but great day, as always. Really happy to see we can continue our support from Ørsted.”