Supercars race along Edinburgh Airport’s runway for Hospices: Race the Runway 2010

Friday, 2 July 2010

Edinburgh Airport was host to a different kind of high speed vehicle yesterday, as owners of some of the world's top sports cars raced along the runway to raise money for two Scottish hospices - St Columba's Hospice in Edinburgh and The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow.

Race the Runway saw 31 cars reach adrenaline pumping speeds of almost 190mph, as they duelled in heats to qualify for a spot in the two finals. Supercars on the day included Ferraris, Lamborghinis, Jaguars, Porsches and Bentleys.

The first race was won by Colin Millar, who drove his unique Ford 1932 hotrod to victory against a Lamborghini. The second race saw two Lamborghinis go head to head in the final, but the race was won by Timothy Marshall, the driver of the Lamborghini Superleggra. The top speed on the day was achieved by Stephen Ross, whose Ford Granada reached an incredible 186mph.

The 1.8km secondary runway was transformed into the longest drag strip in Scotland for the day, and is only the second time Edinburgh Airport has closed one of its runways for the charity event.

Lesley Christie, Director of Fundraising for St Columba's Hospice said:

"It's an important time for St Columba's as we're currently trying to raise £7 million to rebuild our hospice, so we're absolutely thrilled to have been involved with Race the Runway again this year. Our thanks go to BAA Edinburgh Airport for giving us this unique opportunity, as well as all of the drivers for their involvement." 

Morag Cunningham, Director of Fundraising and Communications at The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice said:

"Once again, we're delighted that the Hospices are benefitting from the Race the Runway event. The atmosphere on the day has been outstanding and we always welcome new, innovative and above all, fun ways to raise the £2.6 million in voluntary donations which is required to keep the doors of Glasgow's Hospice open."

Gordon Dewar, managing director at Edinburgh Airport, helped engineer the event. He said: "We are absolutely delighted to host the Race the Runway at Edinburgh Airport. It has been great fun for everyone taking part and has raised funds for two charities that are very close to my heart."

Race the Runway 2010 is a fundraising event organised by Edinburgh Airport. All proceeds from the event will go towards St Columba's Hospice in Edinburgh and the Prince and Princess of Wales Hospice in Glasgow.

Ends

For more information please contact:

• St Columba's Hospice: Isabelle Herlt, PR and Communications Manager at St Columba's Hospice on 0131 551 1381 or iherlt@stcolumbashospice.org.uk
• Prince and Princes of Wales of Hospice: Jo Parker Morgan, Communications Manager at The Prince and Princes of Wales Hospice on 0141 429 9878 / 07815 635 936 or jo.parker-morgan@ppwh.org.uk

Notes to editors about St Columba's Hospice:

St Columba's Hospice provides free specialist palliative care to patients and support to their loved ones. Our aim is to improve the lives of people whose illness cannot be cured. We help people to live as actively as possible after diagnosis to the end of their lives, however long that may be. We care for around 1,000 terminally ill patients each year.

It costs £11.61 to run St Columba's Hospice for just one minute, which means that it costs more than £6 million to run our charity each year. We rely on donations of more than £3 million annually from our friends and supporters who believe in what we do.

St Columba's Hospice is about to undertake an essential rebuild of our facilities to create a new, modern hospice - enabling us to continue providing the highest possible standards of specialist palliative care to patients and support for their loved ones. Over the next five years, our entire site will be redeveloped, creating improved patients rooms, better facilities for families and a new education wing that will house our Centre for Excellence in Palliative Care Education. Our rebuild will cost £26 million - £7 million of which we still need to raise through fundraising appeals.

Notes to editors about The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice:

The Prince & Princess of Wales Hospice, based on the river Clyde in the centre of Glasgow provides care and support for patients for whom cure is no longer possible and their families and carers.

In order to continue to maintain our range of specialist services, the Hospice must raise £2.6million in voluntary donations each year.

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