Betfair Launches ‘back Yourself’ For Marathon

20 Apr 2015 | sigadmin

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Betfair has launched a new website offering the chance for runners competing in this year’s London Marathon to back themselves with a free £20 bet on whether they’ll reach their target time.

As 40,000 entrants make their final preparations for this weekend’s race, the website – www.back-yourself.com – asks runners to enter a number of details about their running history, training efforts and target time and then calculates the odds of them hitting their target. Runners can then place their £20 free bet.

If the target time is reached, the runner will need to send a screenshot of their official time to Betfair, and the bookmakers will donate the winnings plus their £20 stake to the runner’s fundraising page. If the target time is missed, the £20 free stake will be donated to Cancer Research UK, the London Marathon official charity.

Naomi Totten, spokesperson for Betfair, commented: “The London marathon is a truly admirable test of human endurance, nobody enters the 26 mile race half-heartedly. With just a few days to go, runners will be unable to thrash out any more long runs and will be focusing on carb loading and maximising their fundraising so that they know it’s all been worth it.

“We’ve decided to reward the gruelling training that runners, up and down the country have put themselves through over the past 6 months and give them a chance to really boost their charity efforts by backing themselves with a free £20 bet.”

Betfair has said it will donate up to £35,000 to charities as part of the campaign.

Laura Tinkler, a first time marathon runner who has already backed herself through the system, commented: “I am running the London Marathon for Cancer Research a charity that is close to my heart, it’s also my first ever marathon! It’s been a challenge with training but I’m excited for the day to be here now. Setting myself a target with the Betfair back yourself campaign will keep me focused right to the finish line.”