SPAR title sponsor of Great Ireland Run

SPAR, one of Ireland’s largest retail food store chains, has become the title sponsor of the Great Ireland Run 2010 which will take place in the Phoenix Park, Dublin on Sunday, 18 April.

2010 is the eighth running of the event in Dublin which has grown rapidly in popularity since the first Run in 2003. The event will be called the SPAR Great Ireland Run.

The elite field for the event has been boosted with the confirmed entries of Irish half-marathon record holder Martin Fagan, current European cross-country champion Hayley Yelling from Great Britain and former World cross-country champion Benita Willis from Australia. Yelling and Willis will provide strong opposition for Sligo’s Mary Cullen, who will also compete.

The Run is Ireland’s largest mixed 10k road race and is open to runners, joggers and walkers of all abilities.

Willie O' Byrne, Managing Director of SPAR Ireland said: 'We are delighted to be the title sponsor of the Great Ireland Run. At SPAR we are strong supporters of athletics on both a local and international level and we see our involvement with the Great Ireland Run as an embodiment of what SPAR stands for in relation to supporting community initiatives.'

Last month the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), the world governing body of athletics conferred an IAAF Road Race Label on the Great Ireland Run, in recognition of the event’s high standard of organisation, elite participation and media profile.

This is the first time an Irish event has been recognised in this way by the IAAF. The Run will be broadcast live on RTÉ Two television and RTÉ.ie.