Barclays Hold Bloomberg Square Mile Relay Crown
The City’s fiercest competitors took to the streets of London on Thursday night for the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, with Barclays retaining their prized crown with a stunning victory over their rivals.
The Barclays team crossed the line more than a minute ahead of their closest rivals – Bank of America – to secure first place in front of a packed Guildhall Yard and the Sky Sports cameras. With the top two finishing in 56 minutes and 21 seconds and 57:25 respectively, third-placed Legal & General (58:39) completed the group of teams to break the one-hour mark for the demanding ten-mile course.
They were three of more than 100 teams – totalling more than 1000 runners – who tackled the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay, which is partnered with Virgin Active, Karrimor, Sports Direct and Sport magazine as well as headline partner Bloomberg. Barclays’ win also saw the team secure a cheque for £5,000 for their designated charity, Richard House children’s hospice.
Individually, Nicholas Torry of Commerzbank, Haris Sakketos of Byrne Bros and David Nightingale of Capstone led the way – Torry and Sakketos in 4:56 and 4:58 respectively, and Nightingale hitting the five-minute mark to the second.
The race – the seventh annual edition of the unique event – saw those 1,000 City workers pound the streets down alleyways, up staircases, and along an arcade of shops through the heart of the Square Mile. They were joined by Olympians, Paralympians, Aviva Premiership Rugby players and TV stars, all keen to take on the best the City had to offer.
Competing for Virgin Active as part of Team VA, Olympic gymnast Louis Smith said: “Between my gymnastics and my dancing I’m no stranger to fierce competition but for an intense competitive atmosphere, the Bloomberg Square Mile Relay is right up there! You can see how much these guys are desperate to beat each other and it was serious competition out there – even though it was a lot of fun!”
