Stansted Airport staff turn runway into running track for Medcare, Magic Breakfast and The Children’s Society

Stansted Airport’s runway was transformed into a running track for a unique charity event in the middle of the night.

Starting at 1am on Monday (October 28), nearly 100 staff ran, jogged or walked a 5.4km (3.35-mile) course in aid of the three chosen charities of Stansted owner Manchester Airports Group (MAG).

Sponsorship pledges are expected to raise up to £10,000 to be shared between Medcare, Magic Breakfast and The Children’s Society.

To avoid disruption to the airport’s daily operations, the run was organised for the early hours when no aircraft were scheduled.

The route was managed by the airport’s airside operations team, who were also in charge of safety and timekeeping.

The charity run HQ was the airport’s Radisson Blu Hotel, which provided refreshments and sponsored the event to cover hosting and organising costs.

The airport’s operations director, Nick Millar, who took part in the run, said: “This was the fourth London Stansted runway run and, as on previous occasions, the event was a huge success, with people of all ages and abilities coming together to experience the unique opportunity of running on one of the UK’s busiest runways.

“I’m really proud of everyone who took to the Tarmac and joined us overnight. I’m also grateful to all the volunteers who gave up their sleep to be with us too, particularly the Radisson Blu Hotel and its team who supported the event, looked after the runners and helped us raise so much money for these wonderful charities.

“At London Stansted, we believe in giving back to the community where possible and supporting good causes that are close to our hearts, so the runway run is always a brilliant way to combine our love of running with raising funds for our charity partners.”