South Shields FC supports cancer charity as trio take on Great North Run
The Chinese businessman has ‘fallen in love with the area’.
Three bosses from South Shields FC are competing in this weekend’s Great North Run to raise funds and awareness for local charity Cancer Connections.
Mariners technical director Chris Bell and commercial director Carl Mowatt have race numbers for the iconic half-marathon. They will be joined by Shao Junwei; part of the international consortium that secured majority ownership of the National League club during the summer.
The Chinese businessman made his first visit to South Tyneside recently and is said to have fallen in love with the area.
He now hopes to use his participation in the race as a sign of the group’s “commitment to embracing the local culture, heritage and community spirit”.
Shao is described by the club as a seasoned runner and now swaps life in the boardroom for pounding the roads with a record 63,000 runners on the 13.1 mile course which ends on South Shields’ famous coastline.
Mariners chairman Geoff Thompson told the Gazette: “It’s fantastic to welcome Shao back to the North East so soon after his first visit, and I think it says a lot about him that he wanted to return and throw himself straight into something as iconic as the Great North Run.
“For me, this is about much more than running 13.1 miles.
“Our new investors are getting to know South Shields, our supporters and the wider community, and there probably isn’t a better way of experiencing the passion and warmth of the North East than being amongst 63,000 runners and thousands of people lining the route.”
Mowatt has added another considerable challenge to his own efforts to raise funds for Cancer Connections. He will run dressed as South Shields FC’s official mascot, Sandy the Mariner.
He hopes Shao, Bell and himself can cross the line together and raise much-needed funds for a charity close to their hearts.
However, his own preparations for the run were hampered by a dislocated shoulder and stress fracture sustained during training, although he is now fit and ready to go.
Mowatt added: “Chris and I are really looking forward to sharing the day with Shao. Hopefully we can all cross that finish line together in South Shields, although I might be slightly easier to spot dressed as Sandy the Mariner.”