Bid for 'unique' 2020 Fun Run medal

Bid for 'unique' 2020 Fun Run medal

A UNIQUE piece of memorabilia for one of the Midlands' biggest and most popular charity events is coming up for auction at Lichfield.

A single medal for the cancelled 2020 Great Midlands Fun Run, which sees thousands of people take on the route through Sutton Coldfield for numerous good causes, is to go under the hammer with Richard Winterton Auctioneers on Monday, September 14.

As with so many mass participation events, the 18th Great Midlands Fun Run, originally scheduled for May 31 and then rescheduled for September 20, was hit by Covid-19 restrictions and eventually cancelled for the first time in its 38-year history.

But five sample 2020 Great Midlands Fun Run medals had been manufactured ahead of full production. Four of those samples remain with medal sponsor Cookes Furniture, medal designers SMT Merchandise Limited, and two with the Fun Run itself.

That leaves one medal and this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to own a unique piece of Fun Run memorabilia.

The medal will be auctioned as Lot 100 in the online-only Antiques & Home Sale of Monday, September 14, with 100 per cent of the proceeds being donated to charity. View the online catalogue via our auction dates page.

The auction will be held online-only live from The Lichfield Auction Centre – Richard Winterton Auctioneers has been conducting all sales behind closed doors due to Covid-19 and cannot accommodate members of the public for live sales.



Fun Run event director Tracey Spare, pictured with the medal, said: “Charities and voluntary organisations are probably facing their toughest ever challenge with so many fundraising events being cancelled.

"In a small way we wanted to try and turn what has been a disappointing but wholly understandable position into a positive direction.

"Richard Winterton generously agreed to waive all charges and commission to enable 100 per cent of the successful bid to be donated to a charity or voluntary organisation.

"The Fun Run ethos has always been to enable participants to raise money for a charity or voluntary organisation of their choice, so we will continue the spirit of the event and enable the successful bidder to choose a charity or voluntary organisation of their choice, with one proviso – that the chosen charity or voluntary organisation is located in Sutton Coldfield, Lichfield, Tamworth, Walsall or Erdington.

"I’d like to express our gratitude to Richard Winterton and his colleagues for generously supporting this auction to enable us to maximise the amount of money distributed to charity during these challenging times."



Auctioneer Richard Winterton said: “The Great Midlands Fun Run is the beating heart of Sutton Coldfield’s annual calendar and its huge success and popularity throughout not just the Royal Town itself but neighbouring areas has seen a fantastic amount of money raised for charity over the years.

“As one of the many events understandably unable to take place in 2020 due to coronavirus, it’s left a real void in terms of funds for important local causes and saddened the thousands of loyal GMFR followers and participants.

“Just five samples of the 2020 GMFR medal were produced and this is a unique opportunity for someone to own a piece of fun run history – and help a local charity at the same time.

“It is so in the spirit of the Fun Run to enable the winning bidder to nominate a local cause to receive the proceeds of this auction.

“It is also wonderfully fitting that the sale is on September 14 – the very day of the 2003 event, the first after the Royal Sutton Fun Run was relaunched as the Great Midlands Fun Run to recognise how it had evolved and grown.

“The Sunday following our Monday sale, September 20, was the rescheduled date for 2020, sadly now cancelled.

“Let’s hope that the GMFR can return at full power in 2021, an important event in the very fabric of Sutton Coldfield.”