Microgaming to Sponsor Isle of Man Marathon

Microgaming continues to shine in the social responsibility arena with the news that it will be involved in this year's Isle of Man Marathon and Half Marathon.

This is the fifth year in a row that Microgaming will sponsor the marathon, voted as one of the top 10 running events in the United Kingdom.

In addition, the Microgaming Half Marathon was acknowledged as the Runner's World 50 Best UK Races in 2016.

This year's event will take place on August 13th and will, for the first time, also feature a 4 leg relay race.

The latter will comprise of a team of four runners that cover the marathon course (4 x 6.5 mile stages), so that new runners have the opportunity to take part in the even with family, friends or colleagues.

Additions to Microgaming Marathon

The Microgaming Isle of Man Marathon and Half Marathons are organized annual by the Veteran Athletes' Club.

Terry Bates, the chairman of the club said after announcing the opening of entries for this year's marathon: "The event is growing year on year which is great to see, but what we have done by including a relay event is provide new or not so experienced runners to partake and experience the feeling of a marathon event. It’s something completely new for us to try, and is a first for the island, so we hope it’s a popular addition to the event."

It is hoped that the addition of the relay race will attract even more people than the 448 runners who passed the finish line in last year's events. 101 people ran the full marathon, while the rest registered for the half marathon.

Last year's men's marathon was won by Phil Martin.

Microgaming's PlayItForward

The sponsoring of the Isle of Man Marathon and Half Marathon comes under Microgaming's umbrella of PlayItForward, which continues to contribute to charity and social causes on the Isle of Man and beyond.

The Head of Microgaming's PlayitForward, Claire Coleman said: "This will be our fifth year working with the IOMVAC marathon committee and I’m delighted to see how much we have grown the event over the years. I think the addition of the relay will only encourage more people to get involved. With entries now open, we hope to see numbers increase yet again for 2017.”