Run England volunteers in London honoured in England Athletics regional awards

London’s Athletics community met on Wednesday 4 December 2013 at The Institute of Sport Exercise & Health for England Athletics' London Region Volunteer Awards.

The Run England Awards have once again been an important part of the England Athletics Regional and National Awards - supported by Sweatshop, Athletics Weekly and the AAAs. 

The Awards have given us the opportunity to reward the contributions and commitment to running these people have shown over the past 12-month period.

The packed awards room at The Institute of Sport Exercise & Health was filled with well known faces and guests. One of Great Britain’s best ever female marathon runners gave an uplifting speech on the importance of athletic discipline and sticking to your training plans no matter what your level and age.

Mara Yamauchi, who runs for Harrow and is coached by her husband Shige Yamauchi, finished 6th in the 2008 Olympic Games Marathon and reminded the on looking crowd of the basic lessons in preparation when approaching a big occasion. The now retired athlete helped present the awards in the Run England categories. Chris Jones of England Athletics was also on hand to join London and National chair Tony Shiret with handing out the awards during the evening.

Congratulations to all of our winners from the London Region!

Leader of the Year

Winner: Anne Davidson

Group leader at Sutton Blind and Visually Impaired Runners, Anne Davidson (pictured, right) helped initiate the first blind and visually impaired Run England group. She continually leads blind and Visually Impaired runners every week and helps out in every way possible, such as by giving them lifts to the sessions.

Group of the Year

Winner: London City Runners

London City Runners (pictured, top left) are made up of a whopping 2,000 registered participants - not bad for a group that only started in 2010. The group even now organises a 10K run around Southwark Park.

Project of the Year

Winner: Sutton Blind and Visually Impaired Runners

Sutton Blind and Visually Impaired Runners (pictured, left) are the inaugural group of this kind. In partnership with NHS South West London, Pro-Active South London and Metroblind Sport Group, runners attend from across a wide area.

Photos by London Athletics.