Aberdeen International Airport runway run. Image by Abermedia
More than 300 runners have completed a midnight charity dash, running two lengths of the runway at Aberdeen International Airport.
The second Aberdeen Runway Run, hosted by Aberdeen International Airport and CHC Helicopter, has raised funds for two charities – Befriend a Child and Veterans with Dogs.
On Saturday, June 22 at midnight into Sunday, June 23, 300 runners took on the runway challenge, equating to a distance of 3.5km.
With final fundraising totals to be confirmed, last year’s event, organised by CHC Helicopter Captain Ryan Broadhurst and the Aberdeen International Airport operations team, raised more than £30,000.
Steve Szalay, Aberdeen International Airport managing director said: “This has been an amazing event and I have to thank Captain Ryan Broadhurst from CHC for having the vision and tenacity to pull this off. A huge well done to all the runners that took part in this brilliantly organised event. We’re proud to partner with CHC Helicopter to give runners of all abilities the opportunity to run down our runway.”
CHC Helicopter captain Ryan Broadhurst said: “To see the community support, the smiles, the hard work and effort was incredibly humbling.
“When the dust settles, the event will have raised over £30,000, meaning that we will have raised £70,000 over the two years since it started. I would like to thank Mark Abbey and CHC Helicopter for its enormous support and countless volunteers on the night, and also Steve Szalay and Aberdeen International Airport for allowing use of the exclusive location to which the event is what it is.
“So many people come together to make this event possible, and it takes the professionalism and attention to detail to make it seem flawless. A big thank you to all the participants for the fundraising efforts and working so hard to fulfil this exclusive opportunity of running on a runway.”
First place went to Richard Strachan who completed the course in a record 11 minutes 14 seconds, followed by Jamie Reid (12 minutes 2 seconds) and Mark McDonald MSP (12 minutes, 18 seconds).