Ten jogging enthusiasts have been rewarded for their dedication with free places for this weekend’s Great Manchester Run.

MMU Sport have recognised Run Leaders and Manchester Metropolitan University’s jogging club members for their unwavering hard work with entry to the annual event.

Running is a popular activity at Manchester Met with various clubs operating across the campus.

Founder of the Student Union Jogging Club Mike Barry explained why he set up a running group:

“We started in January this year when a couple of the other staff agreed to join me on my lunchtime runs. We were doing a weight loss challenge as a group of staff and it seemed like a good way to kick start that for some of us,” he said.

“There were already various running groups around the university but the timings weren’t right for us. We are lucky enough to have some flexibility with our lunchtimes so it became our lunchtime thing. We’re going to see if we can get some student staff involved as well.”

Despite his enthusiasm for the club, Mike admits the run will be a challenge:

“I ran the Great Manchester Run a few years ago and kind of enjoyed it. I like the idea of such a large positive mass participation event in Manchester and it showcases the city, the people and our unique personality to the world,” he said.

“10K is my least favourite distance though! I always get my pacing wrong. They’re too short to run at a sensible pace and too long to go all out like in a 5K. Give me a 10 mile run up a hill any day!”

Senior Lecturer in Law and Law School running group founder, Vicky Martin, added:

“I was not really interested in running until about 10 years ago when I decided to get fit. My mum put me to shame having started running and completed her first marathon in her forties. I started mentioning my running at work and was amazed at how many runners there are out there. This coincided with a school decision to set up a wellbeing group. As a result I decided to set up a Law School jogging group,” she explained.

A final place was given to MMU Sport’s HealthyU Camp member, Rebecca Fabian, a first year Psychology student, for her tireless smile and dedication to the sessions.

“It was my mum that pointed out HealthyU to me and I signed up as quickly as I could! Doing sport in groups has always made me feel uncomfortable and self-conscious but when you know it’s with a group of people in the same boat, it’s not as daunting!” she said.

“I can’t believe I’m going to be doing the 10K Great Manchester Run. I’m nervous but it’s such a great opportunity, I can’t wait! To be recognized for my hard work felt amazing and made it all worth it. Having the 10K to aim for has also helped me keep it up and I’ve already signed up for other runs during the summer to keep me motivated!”

MMU Sport are always looking for new ways to increase wellbeing on campus and keep our staff and students healthy. Whether that’s putting on Free Active Lifestyle Classes or inviting guide dogs in to de-stress students.

MMU Sport’s Active Lifestyle Officer Abi Dean said:

“We are proud to have the opportunity to reward the hard work of our Run Leaders and jogging club members.

“They all turn up come rain or shine and go for a jog together and for some of our newer members the Manchester 10K is a local great event to work towards,” she said.

The Great Manchester Run will take place on Sunday 22nd May. Good luck to everyone taking part!

If you’re not taking part, you can still go along and support our student and staff runners! Why not use our #HealthyMMU and we’ll try to re-tweet as many as we can.

Visit the Great Manchester Run website for more information.