Jeremy Guscott, former rugby union England international, will be starting the first ever Frome Half Marathon and 10km race, on Sunday 22nd July.
The event is being held to celebrate the Olympic year and will be one of the biggest participation events in Frome’s sporting calendar.
Both the half marathon and the 10k race start at the Frome Town Football Ground at 10:45am and make their way through the streets of the town and surrounding countryside returning through the town centre to the Frome Town football ground for a grandstand finish.
The organisers – The Rotary Club of Frome and the Frome Running Club – are hoping that as many people as possible will participate either by running or turning out to support the race.
Organiser Mike Cole said, “At present we look to have achieved our target number of 400 runners taking part which is a brilliant response from the running community and the town and we’d love to reach our dream number of 500 in this, the first Frome Half Marathon that takes place just one week before the opening ceremony of The London 2012 Olympic Games.
“There’s still time to enter – just visit our website for full information at http://fromehalfmarathon.co.uk.
“It’s fantastic that Jeremy Guscott will be starting the race. He is one of England’s most capped rugby players. Nicknamed the Prince of Centres, he rose through the ranks at Bath to gain a regular place in the club’s first 15, and marked his international debut for England against Romania in 1989 with a hat trick of tries.
“Jeremy went on British Lions tours in 1989, 1993 and 1997, scoring one try on the 1989 tour along with an unforgettable series winning drop goal in the second test of the 1997 tour.
“Jeremy enjoyed the respect of his fellow rugby players and fans worldwide for his speed, determination and all round skill. He was a member of the England team which won successive grand slams, and his importance to both Bath and England was illustrated in his immediate selection to both teams after returning from a 17-month career threatening injury.
“In 65 test matches Jeremy Guscott claimed 30 tries, leaving him second in England’s all-time list behind Rory Underwood.
“In retirement Jeremy moved effortlessly into a media and PR role, having already gained television experience as a presenter of ‘Gladiators’ and ‘Body Heat’. It was during the filming of ‘Gladiators’ that Michael Aspel surprised Jeremy when he presented him with the famous ‘Red Book’ on ‘This Is Your Life’.
“Jeremy works regularly for BBC, Radio Five Live, The Sunday Times and The Rugby Paper and in 2006 became the ‘face’ of Austin Reed. In 2008 Jeremy was inducted into the Rugby Players Association Hall of Fame.
“Jeremy is one of 46 England legends that make up the Walk of Legends, a special walkway at Twickenham stadium, celebrating the pride of England Rugby fans and some of the greatest England players in history. “After retiring from rugby he walked in Ian Botham’s shoes and walked from Bath to Twickenham (via Newcastle) visiting all the rugby clubs on the way to raise over £250,000 for leukaemia research.” Photo by Adrian Sherratt from The Sunday Times