More than 1,700 runners took part in the annual running event at Port Sunlight Village on Sunday June 18.

 

 

This was the fifth annual Port Sunlight Village Road Race staged by independent race organisation BTR Liverpool, held in conjunction with Port Sunlight Village Trust (PSVT).

Unilever – which was originally founded in Port Sunlight as Lever Brothers in 1888 – supported the race day for a fourth consecutive year.

Despite soaring temperatures, new record times were recorded – including a new female 5K course record which was set by Helen Sahgal representing Liverpool Pembroke & Sefton Harriers.

Helen clocked a time of 18 minutes 25 seconds – knocking 32 seconds off the previous record of 18:57 set by Megan Ball in 2015. She also came second in the BTR Port Sunlight 10K last year.

A group of 115 runners took on an extra challenge, running in both 5K and 10K races.

In addition to their 5K and 10K finishers’ medals, the double runners also received two race T-shirts and goody bags, as well as special 15K T-shirt for their extra efforts.

The winner of the 5K was Joseph Boden from Wallasey AC with a time of 16:12, narrowly missing out on setting a new record by just two seconds.

 

Lee Jones from Deeside AAC took the top honours in the 10K race with a winning time of 34:27.

Taking the female honours in the 10K was Carmel Triggs, who clocked a time of 39:21.

Port Sunlight Village was founded by William Hesketh Lever in 1888 for the employees of Lever Brothers Port Sunlight.

Port Sunlight Village Trust is an independent charity set up in 1999 to be responsible for the preservation and promotion of the Port Sunlight Conservation Area.

The Trust invests nearly £3million each year in building maintenance and repair, heritage conservation, and lifelong learning programmes for residents, the local community, and domestic and international visitors.

Paul Harris, CEO of Port Sunlight Village Trust, said: ‘Port Sunlight Village is the perfect setting to host a running event – and what a wonderful day for everyone involved.

‘It was brilliant to see runners cross the finish line with big smiles on their faces, despite the very hot weather. I’m already looking forward to taking part next year.’

 

The field of runners also included a team of 85 runners representing sponsors Unilever – 30 of whom have successfully completed the Couch To 5K running training programme.

Unilever’s sponsorship is part of its brightFuture campaign.

One of the company’s goals is to help a billion people around the world improve their health and well-being by 2020.

BTR Liverpool is the leading independent organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline race events across Liverpool City Region.

Its portfolio also includes the Mersey Tunnel 10K; Liverpool Santa Dash; 26-mile Whistle Stop Tour Of Wirral; and the award winning Wirral Half Marathon/10K.

BTR Race Director Alan Rothwell added: ‘A new race record set, glorious sunshine and a fantastic turn-out – all important factors which go a very long way to make race day a huge success.’

The date for next year’s BTR Port Sunlight Village Road Race is confirmed as June 17 2018.

Entries will open later this week.