Barista Bar serves up continued support of Mallusk 5-Mile Road Race

This year’s race takes place on Friday, August 9, throughout the Newtownabbey village of Mallusk, once again providing a challenge for its hundreds of local runners who take on the famous 1.5 mile incline from the starting line.

This year, Barista Bar has challenged athletics clubs from across Northern Ireland to take on the Barista Bar Team Challenge, where teams of five men and teams of four women across the line from each club will have their times added together, with the lowest aggregate time in each category being declared the winner.

Keavy O’Mahony-Truesdale, Barista Bar Brand Manager at Henderson Foodservice, added: “The winning team will receive a hamper full of goodies from Barista Bar, as well as the crowning glory of being the fastest club team to take on the Mallusk 5-Mile Road Race, of course!

“We are delighted to be back on board with the Mallusk Harriers Athletic Club and this legendary event which they put so much into each year. We will be fuelling runners on the day with a complementary drink, a Barista Bar sports bag and so much support from our colleagues in Mallusk to cheer on the runners on the night.”

Alex Davidson, Chairman at the Mallusk Harriers Athletic Club, which organises and hosts the race each year, says the event could simply not run without such sponsorship: “The Mallusk 5-Mile Road Race is our biggest event of the year, and it takes a huge amount of effort from all of our club and volunteers to make it as successful as it has been since we started it 10 years ago.

“Having the support of a local business and brand like Barista Bar, which is right in the heart of where we operate in Mallusk, makes a huge difference to the standard of event we can offer runners from across Northern Ireland.

"The Mallusk 5-Mile Road Race has grown every year since its inception a decade ago, and bringing sponsors on board helps us sustain that growth for future years, while also making the race the best and most competitive event it can be to all who have registered. We’re really looking forward to the night, which has once again sold out.”

There will be over 365 runners taking part on Friday, August 9, and each finisher will also receive their Legendary Status medal and post-race catering after the event, alongside their treats from Barista Bar. Podium placed winners will receive a cash prize, while there are also age category prizes to be won.

The Mallusk Harriers will make a donation from the proceeds of the race to NIPANC, following the death of one of the club’s members last year, Michael Crossan, who had been diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer.

This year, 25 of Michael’s family and friends will be running the Mallusk 5-Mile Road Race in his memory, raising both money and awareness on behalf of NIPANC. To date, Mallusk Harriers have raised over £2,000 for the charity, with the team running in his memory raising over £1,000 so far.

For more information on the Mallusk 5-Mile Road Race visit malluskharriers.co.uk, and for more on Barista Bar, visit mybaristabar.com