Olympic heptathlon champion unveils giant runner in Battersea Park to mark launch of eight-event series including the Bath and Reading half marathons

Jessica Ennis-Hill helped launch the Vitality Run Series on Wednesday, with the new annual running series featuring eight events including next month’s Run Hackney half marathon and the Bath and Reading half marathons next March.

As part of the launch, the Olympic heptathlon champion unveiled a giant runner positioned near the Millennium Arena in London’s Battersea Park.

“I am delighted to support the Vitality Run Series by revealing this giant sculpture which will be a memorable and inspiring feature at each of the events,” said Ennis-Hill, Vitality ambassador for series sponsors PruHealth and PruProtect.

“There are eight fantastic events taking place over the next year starting with the exciting new Run Hackney half marathon on June 22 through to the famous Reading and Liverpool half marathons next March.

“With the summer now upon us, this is a great time for runners of all standards to head outside, start training, and enter one of our events around the UK,” added the 28-year-old, who is currently pregnant with her first child.

“Being a heptathlete, running is obviously a big part of my training regime and every day life and it is something I enjoy.”

The series begins with the Run Hackney event on June 22 before the British 10k on July 13, the Oxford Half in October and next year’s Brighton Half, Bath Half, Reading Half Marathon, North London Half Marathon and Liverpool Half Marathon. It is expected to feature over 100,000 runners in its inaugural year.

“The Vitality Run Series is all about inspiring many more people to make the step up to successfully to complete one or more of our leading challenge running events,” explained Mark Whitehead, CEO of series organisers Achieve Events.

“Our races are open to all and our motivation is to help people achieve their goals by assisting them on every step of their journey, through the preparation months all the way through to a first-class event-day experience which will live long in the memory.

“With the support of fantastic partners like PruHealth and PruProtect with Vitality and Laureus, we aim to build a lasting community around the Series which will enable members to share their experiences and enjoy access to unique content, offers and incentives. Look out for more announcements in this regard as the Series develops during its first year.”

See vitalityrunseries.com

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