Member Article

Durham law firm puts spotlight on volunteering to support running festival

Staff at a Durham law firm are preparing to play an important role when a running festival returns to the city this week. Swinburne Maddison LLP has lined up volunteers for water stations at the Durham City Run Festival since 2019, and this year will be no exception, while other members of the team are in training to take part in the event’s 10k and 5k runs. Swinburne Maddison is also a sponsor of the festival and has strong links to the event’s official charity partner, Red Sky Foundation. The Durham City Run Festival will be held from 13-15 July.

Organised by Events of the North, in partnership with Durham County Council and Durham University, the Durham City Run Festival was launched in 2016. The festival is now a popular summer fixture on the city’s events calendar. At its heart are the Durham City Run 5k and 10k, which this year return to their original start and finish locations. Runners will begin on Saddler Street, and finish on Palace Green in front of the World Heritage Site of Durham Cathedral and Castle, providing a spectacular backdrop for participants and spectators.

Since 2019, volunteers from Swinburne Maddison LLP have handed out water to runners in the 10k as they head alongside the River Wear at around 6k into their race. A team of eight staff from the firm will be on duty again this year outside the Radisson Blue hotel, while others will be taking part in the races and accepting water from their colleagues.

Jonathan Moreland, managing partner at Swinburne Maddison LLP, comments: “As a Durham-based law firm, it is very important to us that we give back to our local communities and support key events in the city. We have sponsored the Durham City Run Festival for a number of years and when we heard that Red Sky Foundation was named as this year’s charity partner we signed straight back up. In February 2023, we had a community defibrillator installed by the foundation and it is available to anyone who requires life-saving medical assistance, any time or day.”

Steve Cram adds: “All big city running events – and other events for that matter – rely on the generous contributions of volunteers, and over the years the Durham City Run Festival has been fortunate to have so many enthusiastic helpers. The Swinburne Maddison team have been brilliant since the moment they first volunteered and we know that we can depend on them to do a great job at their favourite spot. It’s excellent to have this kind of backing from the city’s business community, and that support is one of the reasons that this event is always so special and vibrant.”

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Chris Lines .