With fewer than two months until the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon 2025 takes place on 5th October, a number of enhancements and additions have been announced to mark the event’s 20th anniversary.
Over the past 20 years, the Marathon has grown steadily – in terms of runners and in the ways in which it touches the local community. Back in 2006, 300 runners took part in the first Jersey marathon. It was reported that during the event runners ate over 2,000 bananas and 1,200 energy bars and drank 9,000 bottles of water.
However, showcasing the event’s evolution, last year nearly 2,000 runners of all ages and abilities took part, from Jersey, the UK, France and further afield – all running for their own special reasons and raising significant amounts of money for charities on the Island and further afield. Plus, now there are water dispensers to reduce the use of plastic bottles.
Every year, a considerable effort is put into thinking about how the event could be evolved – to make it more accessible and inclusive, to boost participation, to make it more sustainable and to ensure the flagship community sporting event makes the biggest positive impact ever.
Last year, for instance, saw the introduction of a new Trainer Drop-Off initiative, with 80 pairs of trainers being donated by runners at the end of the race, which were subsequently distributed to charities. This year, organisers are adding a new Jumper Drop-Off scheme. With hundreds of people on the Island using clothing charity support all year round, these valuable donations and generosity help enormously.
In addition, to mark the 20th anniversary, there are special prizes this year for those runners who are the 20th , 120th , 220th , 320th , 420th – and so on – to register!
There will also be a number of extraordinary runners taking part once again – including Rhino Boy Chris, Jemma Henderson the Alphabet Runner, and Karl ‘the Jersey Hospice Shoe’ Fitpatrick – as well as a number of other surprise guest runners!
Looking ahead to this year’s marathon, Henry Baye, CEO of Standard Chartered Jersey, said: “We’re really excited about this year’s Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon – ever since the first race in 2006, the event has grown and grown to become a major fixture in the community sport calendar. We’re really proud of how it has evolved in terms of the range of local and visiting runners it attracts, the impact it has on charities, the way it has been supported by an army of dedicated volunteers, and how it brings the community together in a really unique way – and this year we are pulling out all the stops to make it an extra special event!
“Everyone has their own reasons for taking part – whether it’s to support important charity work or to succeed in a personal challenge – and I’m sure I will be inspired once again by the stories to come out of our 20th anniversary year. With the countdown now well and truly on, I’d like to wish all those taking part the best of luck as they fine-tune their preparations ahead of 5 October.”
More information about the Standard Chartered Jersey Marathon 2025 can be found here.
