Yuasa have jump started Christmas in style by donating the batteries for the 15th annual Santa Fun Run, hosted by Rotary Club of Marlow Thames. The event saw 3,000 Santa Claus’ run through parks and the High Street of Marlow in Buckinghamshire on Sunday 1 December.
Yuasa, the world’s leading battery manufacturer, donated the batteries for the charity event in order to power the lighting around the run route, including those in giant inflatable Santas. A record number of runners put on their iconic red suits and hit the streets of the historic town, watched by thousands of spectators.
Organised by the Rotary Clubs of Marlow, the festive 5k event raised around £45,000, which will go to charities predominantly in the local area. This year’s main good causes – Wycombe Homeless Connection and Buckinghamshire Mind, each were presented with cheques for £3000.
The batteries used to power the event were NP12-12 batteries from Yuasa’s industry leading NP series. These batteries were the ideal choice, due to their superb recovery from deep discharge, AGM technology and extended life. Yuasa have been European market leaders for standby batteries for over 30 years and a proven track record of long-life performance.
Olympic Bronze medal winner at the 2008 summer Paralympics, Naomi Riches MBE, started the race at the bottom of the High Street, while the participants took eight minutes to clear the start line. Riches was also present to hand out the awards to the winning male and female runners.
Dermot Kelly, Head of the Environmental Committee at Rotary Club of Marlow said, “This is one of the largest Santa Fun Run events in the South of England. The money raised for charity by the runners and by the Rotarians of Marlow who organise the event has a huge impact on local and national charities.
“This year we wanted to place greater emphasis on recycling Santa suits, food waste and general waste to reduce the environmental impact of our event. We wanted to use inflatable signs to get the message across, but these needed electrical power from a sustainable source. Usually we use generators but with the support of Yuasa, we were able to use appropriate batteries fed from clean energy.
“It has made us think about how we can all reduce our requirements for stand-alone power with the switch to battery power and make a difference to the environmental impact of our event. This wouldn’t have been possible without the contributions from Yuasa”.
As market leader in the UK for automotive, industrial and motorcycle batteries, Yuasa are proud support local communities and dedicated to caring for the environment. 98% of a lead acid battery can be reclaimed through recycling. The lead, plastic and acid components are re-processed and manufactured into an array of other products including guide posts, cabling and detergents.
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