Mo Farah Hosts Free Running Club For Holiday Inn

For immediate release: Wednesday 14 September 2011

MO FARAH HOSTS FREE RUNNING CLUB FOR HOLIDAY INN

OLYMPIC HOPEFUL BRINGS HIS GOLDEN TOUCH TO LONDON'S RUNNERS

Today Holiday Inn, the official hotel provider to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games, hosted a free running club with world championship gold medallist Mo Farah.

Starting and finishing at Holiday Inn London Regent's Park, the 5000 metres run was open to all running enthusiasts and fans of Britain's best track and field athlete.  The first 250 runners that completed the run were rewarded with a free breakfast served outside the hotel.

The run was Mo Farah's last UK appearance in 2011 before he returned to the United States to train for the Olympic Games. 

Mo Farah is on Holiday Inn's Athlete Engagement Programme which supports 50 emerging and established British athletes including Rebecca Adlington and Victoria Pendleton in their quest for medals by giving them over 1,500 free room nights.

Holiday Inn has given athletes free overnight stays at hotels around the world under the InterContinental Hotels Group (IHG) family of brands that include InterContinental, Crowne Plaza, Hotel Indigo, Holiday Inn and Holiday Inn Express in the lead up to London 2012.  Athletes and their support teams can use the stays while they are training, competing or during rest and recovery.

In return for hotel rooms, participating athletes provide unique experiences for Holiday Inn staff and guests.

Farah said: "As I spend a lot of nights away from home at track and field events around the world, it's great to have this support from Holiday Inn.  It's really nice to have my coaching team and family with me when I'm away training or competing.

I've really enjoyed hosting this running club for Holiday Inn and it's been great to see so many Londoners turning out and taking part."

As part of its London 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games partnership Holiday Inn will also:

• Work with LOCOG to host the athletes in the Athletes Village. Holiday Inn will use its hospitality expertise by providing residential managers, receptionists and concierges.

• Employ a number of aspiring Olympic and Paralympic athletes on a flexible basis at hotels in the lead up to the Games helping athletes to build their work experience and earn money while they train and compete.

• Use its hospitality expertise at all stages of the Games to deliver a warm welcome for everyone. As part of this partnership, Holiday Inn will support the Olympic torch relay, hosting the team as they travel around the UK.
• Welcome guests, including staff from LOCOG and other organising bodies, into hotels across London in the lead up to, during, and after the Games.
  
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Adrian Phillips
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Notes to Editors:

IHG (InterContinental Hotels Group) [LON:IHG, NYSE:IHG (ADRs)] is a global company operating seven well-known hotel brands including InterContinental® Hotels & Resorts, Hotel Indigo®, Crowne Plaza® Hotels & Resorts, Holiday Inn® Hotels and Resorts, Holiday Inn Express®, Staybridge Suites® and Candlewood Suites® . IHG also manages Priority Club® Rewards, the world’s first and largest hotel loyalty programme with almost 60 million members worldwide

IHG is the world’s largest hotel group by number of rooms and IHG franchises, leases, manages or owns, through various subsidiaries, a portfolio of over 4,400 hotels and more than 656,000 guest rooms in 100 countries and territories around the world

IHG has more than 1,100 hotels in its development pipeline and expects to recruit around 160,000 people worldwide over the next few years.

InterContinental Hotels Group PLC is the Group’s holding company and is incorporated in Great Britain and registered in England and Wales.

IHG offers information and online reservations for all its hotel brands at www.ihg.com/ and information for the Priority Club Rewards programme at www.priorityclub.com/. For our latest news visit www.ihg.com/media, Twitter www.twitter.com/ihgplc or YouTube www.youtube.com/ihgplc