As you will be team captain and chief motivator, then it is right you look after your troops.

Think I will be chief motivator to you all

+ head cheerleader

I've thought about this in the past, and how the run could be themed to make it a bit different for those who run fairly regularly anyway (or just break the monotony). My idea was to get a team of people in full kit running 10k continuously passing a ball between them and every time it's gone through the full team someone would drop to one knee and play the ball to an acting half back and start over again - the down side is that the team might get in the way of other runners.

sounds a good idea Iain, but the size of me, if i get down to play the ball then i aint gettin up my friend to play the ball (unless it was the finishing line).

I was thinking that naturally we'd have to run in team colours so maybe when we have an idea of numbers andwhat have you we'd need to approach the club, if they let us put sponsership forms of the official site it would help create more chances to generate cash.

Will the club train us

Can we have a definite show of hands for who's definitely up for this, when we get the confirmed figure I'll make a few enquiries about the best run and what is needed to enter and register our chosen charity.

In all seriousness, i am at the quacks this friday because currently I have Knack knee in both legs, so before I volunteer (or my agent volunteers me) I will have to find out what the problem is. Then I can plan my training at the college fitness centre first before road work, so hopefully I may be in.

I am deffo in

I'm in.

As long as my knee holds up when i start training then i'm in. If not perhaps me, Gav Iain and whoever else could arrange to do one of the 24hr mountain bike rides that are organised?

I'm also doing the tour of flanders next year perhaps I could get some sponsorship sorted for that?

I'll give it a go.

I'll be doing the GM run anyway as long as I get a place (and am in the country) so may join these shenanigans. One detail that's not been mentioned thus far is the date - Sunday 15th May.

As for the mountain bikes, [url=http://www.nationaltrail.co.uk/penninebridleway/downloads.asp?pageid=37The Mary Townley Loop[/url is Red Preacher's suggestion.

Oh, Iain; do you know how many participants the GM run can cater for? And does demand exceed the amount of places available, generally speaking?

About 36,000 - and demand generally exceeds supply. Charities get x-amount of places that they sell to people who guarantee to raise them so much money, then it's first come first served when the places go on sale (cost about £30 last year), and last year they put the lat 10,000 places into a ballot. So basically, if you get in early enough you get a definite place, if you hang about it's the luck of the draw. There has been talk of making the whole run a ballot, but don't think that's in place yet.

As confirmed on P1 of the thread, me and CCNo1Fan are deffo in if it goes ahead.
Let us know the next step (ie registration etc)
Cheers

www.greatrun.org/events/event.aspx?id=4 Do people think this is the best option?? I think it gives us a fair chance of getting ready to run, is far enough into the season to use home games and hopefully some help from the club to raise awareness to make the maximum money for FR. Are we all OK making FR the only charity we are raising money for or should we split say 50/50 with a cancer charity as we did lose a valued contributor to the boards in Eric The Ready to cancer?? I've already registered my intention to run so if people think there is a better option then better let me know as I doubt i'd be up for 2 in one year.

www.greatrun.org/events/event.aspx?id=4 Do people think this is the best option?? I think it gives us a fair chance of getting ready to run, is far enough into the season to use home games and hopefully some help from the club to raise awareness to make the maximum money for FR. Are we all OK making FR the only charity we are raising money for or should we split say 50/50 with a cancer charity as we did lose a valued contributor to the boards in Eric The Ready to cancer?? I've already registered my intention to run so if people think there is a better option then better let me know as I doubt i'd be up for 2 in one year.

I don't mind a split with a cancer charity. Are we definitely going for the BUPA Manchester 10k rather than the City of Salford 10k?

Sadly now out, and not happy with being called old by the quack

One thing to note with the Manchester run being so big we're not guaranteed to all get the same starting times.

I'm easy going on which to go for, really depends what other people reckon I guess, though you'd have to think that the Manchester run would offer much greater exposure.

Think the split with a cancer charity would maximise what we raise and to some people on here Cancer will have touched them.

I'd find it much easier to get people to sponsor me if it was going towards something other than just FR. If it was just FR I'd be lucky if I got anyone to sponsor me in all honesty

Maybe we could make a donation to Chocoholics anonymous



Do think that splitting the money raised would help generate a better take for FR and whichever other charity we chose, personally I'd prefer to pick a cancer charity for obvious personal reasons.

I think a split with a charity would be good. Fungus has a fair point re starting times for Manchester; they start the run in 5 waves spread over about 2 hours depending on estimated run time (although you always get pricks who put down that they are faster that they really are and are blowing out of their and getting in the way after 2k). There's nothing to sto peveryone dropping back into the last wave though, the problems with crowding and blocking come from people who think they are better than they are.

I have to say I quite like the idea of doing the Salford 10k as it will encourage me to keep in training past May (as well as it's looking likely that I may be out of the country for the Manchester one) - anybody know the rough date of the Salford one?

It was on Sunday 5th September this year mate.

Just had this email from the Great Manchester Run.

I'm game to put my name and give it a go if there are few others, also think that maybe people might want to think about picking Help For Heros as the second charity with it being Help For Heros day today??

Just off out but when I'm back later this afternoon I'll be throwing my details down and registering.


**********************************************************************

=#FF0000Dear

Bupa Great Manchester Run runnersThank you for registering your interest in the nation's favourite 10k running event, the 2011 Bupa Great Manchester Run which will take place on Sunday, 15 May 2011. We are delighted to be able to inform you that general entries for the event will open online on Tuesday, 16 November at 08:30 at the Great Run website.

Entries will be available on a first come, first served basis, until the final 10,000 places are left. The entry system will then change to a ballot. The ballot will remain open until midnight on the 19 December 2010. We will then draw the ballot and advise all successful and unsuccessful applicants on or before 31 December 2010.

Haile GebrselassieAll applicants will be required to submit payment details at the time of entering the ballot. Payment will only be taken if the entry application is successful.

This will be the ninth staging of what has become Britain's premier 10k running event and one of the most prestigious in the world. it features a host of world class elite athletes alongside celebrities with a supporting cast of thousands of runners all taking part for their own reasons.

Enter the Bupa Great Manchester Run

Entry fee for 2011 event
Bupa Great Manchester Run 2011 Entry - £36

We hope to see you next May but please be aware that the entry ceiling is usually reached very quickly for the Bupa Great Manchester Run and we do anticipate this will happen again.

Good luck with your application and we look forward to seeing you at a Bupa Great Run event in 2011.

Bupa Great Manchester Run Team

registration.greatrun.org/login.aspx?StreamID=469&tkn=gmr201101