JCB Mud Run 2016
More than 2,500 entrants slip and slide around 8km course to deliver £55,000 boost to NSPCC
A BUMPER field of more than 2,500 people scrambled and ran their way around JCB’s Mud Run course this weekend – delivering a huge cash boost to the NSPCC in Staffordshire.
The fifth annual JCB Mud Run raised £55,256 – bringing the grand total raised for the charity since the event started in 2012 to more than £230,000. Entrants had to slither and clamber their way over 35 obstacles around an 8km course on land near JCB’s World Headquarters at Rocester, watched by around 7,000 spectators.
George Bamford, son of JCB chairman Lord Bamford, was among the first wave of runners to set off, competing in a special 10km version of the race reserved for 9am starters. He said: ‘This is my fourth JCB Mud Run and every year the event just gets better. It’s fantastic to see so many people taking part and not only enjoying themselves immensely, but raising a fantastic amount of money for the NSPCC as well.
‘The JCB Mud Run is a great example of camaraderie, people helping others through the mud – that’s the kind of thing that it embodies. It has been amazing this year and it has been great seeing the smiles on people’s faces.’
The JCB Mud Run has gone from strength to strength since it was first staged in 2012, when 500 people entered. Today’s field attracted UK entrants from afar afield as Cornwall, London and the Isle of Man, while others flew in from Singapore, France, Germany, Spain and Holland.
The NSPCC is JCB’s nominated charity and the proceeds of the JCB Mud Run will support the work at Carole House in Newcastle-under-Lyme, the charity’s service centre which was set up after JCB and their employees completed a £2 million fund-raising campaign. Carole House is named in honour of Lady Bamford OBE and JCB’s support of the NSPCC over more than 30 years.
Kirsty White, NSPCC partnership manager, said: ‘On behalf of the team at Carole House, I'd like to say a big thank you to JCB for digging deep and hosting the Mud Run as part of their ongoing support for our work with the most vulnerable children in Staffordshire. Huge thanks also to all the mud-lovers who have braved this amazing obstacle course and raised vital funds to help keep children safe from harm.’
