DEX's Horsforth Runners are ready for the off (From Wharfedale Observer)

DEX's Horsforth Runners are ready for the off

12:00pm Thursday 27th September 2012 in Sport By Sportsdesk

Entries are still open for the popular Horsforth 10K road race, organised by Horsforth Harriers.

This year’s race will take place on Sunday at 10am from its established base at Woodhouse Grove School.

Horsforth Harriers are delighted that they will once again receive the generous sponsorship of Horsforth medical software company TPP, with additional support from local running retailers Up and Running.

This year’s nominated charity is the Deaf Ex-Mainstreamers’ Group (DEX).

It is an entirely deaf-led organisation that exists to raise awareness of the daily struggle that deaf children have in mainstream education.

Horsforth Harriers member Serena Blackburn nominated the charity. Serena, who has been profoundly deaf since birth, was nominated by DEX to be a torchbearer in the Paralympic Torch Relay last month.

Her amazing honour followed years of campaigning for improvements in the education of deaf children.

Serena was thrilled to carry the Paralympic flame and described her place in the relay as a “fantastic, once-in-a-lifetime experience”.

Race committee member Ian Park said: “Every year we choose a different charity to benefit from our race.

"The ever-generous running community support the charity via additional funds with their entry, which we, as a club, match pound for pound.

“Our choice of charity usually reflects something that has happened to one of our club members over the years, and the criteria also requires that it must be locally based so it will benefit people in our area directly.”

The Horsforth 10K course mainly sticks to roads as it heads back towards Horsforth following a sharp uphill start, with a long stretch of flat on the canal towpath from near Rodley back to Apperley Bridge, with just the final couple of hundred metres on the grass of Woodhouse Grove playing fields.

The race has been previously won by 2012 Olympic Triathlon champion Alistair Brownlee.

Race director Bob Foulkes said: “As ever, we hope to make our race a memorable experience for all runners.”