City Runners raise more than £9,000 for Sunderland's Red Sky Foundation

A Sunderland heart health charity is celebrating after runners raised thousands of pounds to support its work during the recent City Runs event.

The Red Sky Foundation, which carries out cardiac health education and funds the installation of life-saving defibrillators, fielded 150 participants in three races who together raised more than £9,500.

More than 2,700 participants tackled events at the Sunderland City Runs last month, taking on the Sunderland City 10k, Half Marathon or Active Sunderland BIG 3k.

Organised by Events of the North in partnership with Sunderland City Council, the Runs kicked off Sunderland’s summer as a ‘SWIM BIKE RUN’ city

Across the half marathon and 10k, 130 adult runners were raising money for Red Sky Foundation, while 20 children did the same in the 3k.

Co-founder Sergio Petrucci was delighted : "Our goal was to create a sea of red and white and we certainly did just that," he said.

"It’s a brilliant partnership we’re enjoying with Events of the North and we look forward to adding even more runners into the mix for next year’s event.

"Red Sky Foundation always goes the extra mile for our runners and we provided them all with a free vest and post-race refreshments and leg massages to soothe those aching limbs.

"The money that we raise goes straight towards helping babies, children and adults right here in the North East and enables us to add more public access defibrillators across Sunderland and the wider region."

City Runs founder Steve Cram added: "The charity partnerships that we make for all of the Events of the North races are really important to us.

"Running can be a hugely positive force in numerous ways, and fundraising is at the heart of that. It was amazing to see so many Red Sky Foundation runners in action, all clearly very motivated to complete their run and contribute to an excellent cause."

The 2024 Sunderland City Runs will take place on Sunday, May12, next year and entries are now open. Visit www.sunderlandcity10k.com to sign up.

To find out more about Red Sky Foundation and how to fundraise for the charity, visit https://redskyfoundation.com.