Is it the wind in your hair? The time away from the stresses of daily life? Or just knowing you are keeping fit and healthy?

While neither Justin nor Martin, the directors behind GreenAir Cars, are keen runners, this did not prevent them from sponsoring the first ever half marathon to be held in Haverhill (the location of our operations base).

The 13.1m event, along with a 10km fun run, will take place on 11 May 2014 and is set to raise hundreds, if not thousands of pounds for St Nicholas Hospice.

We will be donating one of our vehicles for the day to transport marshals and equipment to water stations as well as providing all the water for the event to keep runners hydrated.

St Nicholas Hospice helps individuals and families coping with life-threatening illnesses, offering care and support in a variety of ways to patients and their families. The hospice relies on fundraising and donations to survive and the majority of the centre’s staff are qualified volunteers. As such, we think it is a great cause to support.

Notable runners of the inaugural half marathon include Haverhill MP Matthew Hancock.  In total, it is hoped about 500 runners with take part across both events.

The run has the support of all three of Haverhill’s county councillors and the bulk of the sponsorship has come from pharmaceutical giant Sanofi.

Race director Jack Tappin says: “Haverhill already has a vibrant athletics scene and it’s a shame the town doesn’t have its own race when neighbouring towns do, so hopefully this will act as a flagship run and become an annual event.

“I’m hoping this inaugural event will attract seasoned runners as well as those looking for a step up having completed 5km fun runs such as the Race For Life.

“I also hope lots of people will turn out to cheer on the runners as they head through the town centre at the beginning and indeed throughout the course.”

To enter the race or fun run please visit www.entrycentral.com/haverhalf or www.runbritain.com/races.