Nearly 400 ‘Run the Runway’ and raise £5000 in charity event

Around 380 runners, including adults and children, got the rare opportunity to run the runway at a charity event held on a blisteringly hot Saturday afternoon.

The event, which brought together members of the public and personnel from British Forces Gibraltar, was to raise funds for two charities, UK Cancer for Children and the GBC Open Day.

Adult participants ran 5km on the runway, while children ran 1km.

The aim of the run was fun and it was clear a number of runners took that on board, with family members and friends waiting in an area of Winston Churchill Avenue to offer words of encouragement as people ran past.

All the participants received a medal bearing an image of an A400 transport plane against the backdrop of the Rock.

And while it was not a competitive race, Island Games triathlete Philip Macedo was clearly a winner and was first to cross the finish line in a time of 17mins 25 seconds.

Organised by RAF Gibraltar, the event was led by Squadron Leader David Walker, who first saw the potential of using the runway as the track for a charity run.

The event was managed by an inter-services team with support coming from the Gibraltar Defence Police, Joint Police Security Unit (JPSU), the Royal Gibraltar Regiment, the Airfield Fire Response Services who provided cooling ‘rain showers’ at either end of the runway, St. Johns Ambulance, the Air Cadets and BFBS who were on-site providing musical entertainment and broadcasting live from the start and finish lines creating a lively festival atmosphere.

Commander British Forces Commodore Tom Guy was also in attendance, praising the runners participating and highlighting the mental and physical benefits of running, describing it as a fantastic opportunity to bring together British Forces Gibraltar and the wider local community.

Squadron Leader Walker said “the event was a huge success, raising £5000 which will be split between Children with Cancer UK and GBC Open Day” supporting those in need, locally and in the UK.

He added that while Run the Runway 2026 is not currently being planned, “it appears appetite is high, so watch this space.”