Charity, Europe, Events, Sport, United Kingdom

Sun Shines Bright on Run for the 97 as 1,650 Runners Support Legacy Event

27 May 2026

Image credit: Image courtesy of BTR Liverpool/Picture by Erica Dillon

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Over 1,650 runners participated in the 12th annual Run For The 97 event in Stanley Park, Liverpool, to honour the 97 Liverpool FC fans who died in the 1989 Hillsborough disaster. The event, supported by both Liverpool and Everton football clubs, included a 5K and a 1-mile fun run, with participants from various countries and virtual runners worldwide. The event raises funds for charities like Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation and LFC Foundation, supporting community outreach and remembering the victims and their families.

Press Release

Wednesday 27 May 2026

The sun shone bright in Stanley Park at the weekend as runners turned out in force for community legacy event Run For The 97.

More than 1,650 adults and children walked, jogged, and ran to honour the 97 Liverpool Football Club fans lost at Hillsborough in 1989.

This was the 12^th staging of the community legacy event, supported by both the red and blue sides of the city.

The event on Saturday (23 May) took place in Stanley Park, located between Liverpool FC’s Anfield Stadium and Everton FC’s Goodison Park, the new home of Everton Women.

The 5K participants collected their commemorative T-shirt on event morning to wear for the fun run – showing everyone coming together as one. This was followed by a 1 Mile fun run.

Runners had travelled from Ireland, Denmark, Norway, and Switzerland to take part.

This year, more than 100 virtual runners also took part across the world. They were sent their run number, T-shirt, and medal ahead of event day so they also take part on the same day. International participants took part in Australia, Canada, Demark, Germany, Hong Kong, Singapore, and the USA.

Run For The 97 was first staged in 2015 as a positive inclusive event to celebrate the lives and honour the 97 Liverpool Football Club fans who died at Hillsborough on 15 April 1989. Last month marked 37 years since the disaster.

The event also remembers the families of The 97 and the survivors, who have since tirelessly fought for justice with the utmost dignity. They continue to campaign for a Hillsborough Law.

The official charity partners are Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation; Liverpool Football Club’s official club charity LFC Foundation; and Stanley Park junior parkrun and its three sister parkruns at The Mystery Park in Wavertree, Derby Park in Bootle, and Norris Green.

Hillsborough family members and justice campaigners included Margaret Aspinall, Steve Kelly, and Sue Roberts – they have all been involved in Run For The 97 since the very beginning. They continue to spearhead the Hillsborough Law campaign.

Margaret Aspinall is the former Chair of the now disbanded Hillsborough Family Support Group (HFSG), she lost her 18-year-old son James at Hillsborough. Steve Kelly lost his brother Michael, aged 38. Steve helped to create and shape the event. Sue Roberts, former HFSG Secretary, lost her 24-year-old brother Graham.

Former Liverpool Football Club players Jamie Carragher, Chris Kirkland, and Sammy Lee all supported the event.

Guests also included Nicola Carragher, wife of Jamie; Matt Parish, CEO of the LFC Foundation; Liverpool City Region Metro Mayor Steve Rotheram; and Ian Byrne, Labour MP for Liverpool West Derby and co-founder of Fans Supporting Foodbanks.

Dennis Adelsberg, aged 96 from Ormskirk, is a regular at Run For The 97. He missed last year’s event due to a broken leg. But he was determined to be back for 2026. Family members joined Dennis for the 5K fun run.

As part of the community legacy aspect, runners were invited to donate non-perishable food items to Fans Supporting Foodbanks.

Rock Choir Liverpool were in fine voice as they entertained runners on the 5K route as they passed the Isla Gladstone Conservatory.

Run For The 97 is organised by BTR Liverpool – the leading organisation for creating, managing, and delivering headline running events across Liverpool City Region.

Football club anthems of Liverpool and Everton, You’ll Never Alone and Z Cars, rang loudly from the stage, followed by a minute’s applause to honour the lives of The 97. The Hollies with He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother played as runners crossed the start line.

The 5K accessible route took runners through Stanley Park, along Walton Lane, Priory Road, Arkles Lane, back into the park before passing the Eternal Flame on 97 Avenue at Anfield Stadium, before heading to the finish line in the middle of the park.

The junior parkrun team hosted a warm-up ahead of the 1 Miler, before youngsters set off on their own fun run to the sounds of The Farm’s Altogether Now.

The entry fee pays to stage and deliver all aspects of the event including run numbers, T-shirts, medals, virtual entries, event day staging, safety measures, and runner facilities.

The event provides a platform for participants to fundraise or to make a one-off charity donation. Since it was first staged, Run For The 97 has helped to raise over £45,000 for good causes in the city.

The trio of beneficiary charity partners – Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation; LFC Foundation; and Stanley Park junior parkrun – support the vision of creating a legacy to honour The 97, while ensuring local communities benefit through their work. Funds raised will be split equally between the charities for vital community outreach programmes.

For a second year, fundraisers The Red Indians presented a cheque on stage for a generous amount totalling £1,020.97

The official fundraising Just Giving page can be found at https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/runforthe972026

Alan Rothwell, BTR Liverpool Founder, commented: “This is the 12^th Run For The 97 – and each year it becomes more poignant. Over the years we gotten to know a number of Hillsborough family members, we recognise familiar faces who return year after year, and it’s important we keep educating the next generation through sport.

“The sun was most definitely shining bright for The 97. Stanley Park was a sea of red T-shirts all walking, jogging, and running for an incredibly special reason. As a city, red and blue standing side by side, Hillsborough is something we will never forget.

“Run For The 97 embodies everything that Liverpool stands for – camaraderie, compassion, pride, and strength. And once again we witnessed that in abundance.

“Please donate to the Just Giving charity fund to help the charities continue their vital work in our local communities – Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation, LFC Foundation, and the group of four junior parkruns in Liverpool and Bootle. Education, wellbeing, and supporting community projects is a powerful legacy in the name of The 97.”

Run For The 97 has continued every year since 2015. During the pandemic it went ahead as a virtual run in 2020 and 2021, ensuring people could still support the cause and fundraise.

The BTR Liverpool annual calendar of competitive races and fun runs take place between March and December. The portfolio also includes Liverpool Half Marathon, Liverpool Santa Dash, Mersey Tunnel 10K, Women’s 10K and 5K Liverpool, and Wirral 10K.

In 2025, BTR Liverpool and its successful portfolio of events was acquired by Run For All. Mass participation events company Run For All is wholly owned by the Jane Tomlinson Appeal, and continues to honour her ongoing legacy.

Next up in the BTR race portfolio is the Port Sunlight Road Race 10K and 5K on Sunday 7 June 2026.

For full details about the event visit www.btrliverpool.com

Notes to editors

About Run For The 97: Liverpool fan Dom Williams is the man behind the Hillsborough-Anfield Run, which was first staged in 2012. The original idea for Run For The 97 came from Liverpool FC fan Dom Williams, who had organised a number of team charity walks between Liverpool and Sheffield. For three years, the annual challenge saw a small team of runners from across the country come together for a challenging 96-mile three-day run between Sheffield and Liverpool. During this time, the team raised funds for the Hillsborough Family Support Group; Hillsborough Justice Campaign; Alder Hey Children’s Hospital; and The Children’s Hospital Sheffield. The group later reduced the distance to 75 miles between Hillsborough and Anfield which they completed for three years. Dom was approached by people who wanted to support the team’s efforts but were unable to commit the time to the challenge – which prompted his idea to create an inclusive event. Dom approached independent run event organisers BTR Liverpool in January 2014 and discussions began to plan and deliver the public event which took place for the first time in April 2015. When the event was first staged in 2015 it was called Run For The 96. In 2022 the event was renamed Run For The 97 to now include and honour LFC fan Andrew Devine, who sadly passed away in July 2021. Andrew received life-changing injuries at Hillsborough, he died 32 years after the disaster. About Jamie Carragher’s 23 Foundation: Bootle born and bred Jamie Carragher created the 23 Foundation in 2009, naming the charity after the squad number he made famous while playing for The Reds until he retired in 2013. He made 737 appearances and scored five goals for Liverpool FC, and was capped for England 38 times. The focus has always been to support children and their families, and the wider community. On average, the 23 Foundation has supported more than 1,000 good causes every calendar year including supporting schools, sick children, foodbanks, hospitals, and other charities. Jamie has never forgotten his roots and has always been keen to support as many good causes as possible on Merseyside and around the world. The 23 Foundation raises money through the sale of memorabilia, fundraising events and donations, and has now developed into an organisation that supports other charities, clubs, and young people globally. The capital investment will never be spent, allowing the interest generated and monies raised to benefit young people for many years to come. In 2020, the charity helped more than 1,000 families, and supported foodbanks, hospitals, and NHS staff as part of the Covid-19 community support response. www.jamiecarragher23.com About LFC Foundation: The LFC Foundation is the official charity of Liverpool Football Club; delivering a range of programmes and partnerships to create life changing opportunities for young people and families in the Liverpool City Region and beyond. The charity focuses its work in six key impact areas: Community Engagement, Education & Life Skills, Employment & Training, Heath & Well Being, Sport & Physical Activity, and Youth Interventions. It delivers just under 200 sessions per week including work in schools, community hubs and on sports pitches. Last season the Foundation supported almost 123,000 people. For every £1 spent by LFC Foundation, they generate £13.32 of social value. Being part of Liverpool FC means being part of the greatest football family in the world. We look out for each other, and particularly those who are in need. Building on the Club’s work in the community, the charity was formed to harness the power and passion of LFC fans and supporters worldwide. Our mission is to create life changing opportunities for young people and families. The LFC Foundation delivers a range of initiatives, seven days a week, in parks, community hubs, classrooms, and on football pitches. www.liverpoolfc.com/foundation About Stanley Park junior parkrun Stanley Park junior parkrun is a weekly free 2K timed run at 9am every Sunday for children aged four to 14. The event is run entirely by volunteers. The junior parkrun initiative is part of the wider parkrun programme – and is a great fit promoting health, wellbeing, and sport to young people. Run For The 97 is also supporting Stanley Park’s two sister junior parkruns at The Mystery Park in Wavertree and Derby Park in Bootle. https://www.parkrun.org.uk/stanleypark-juniors/ About Run For All and BTR Liverpool: In 2025, Run For All acquired BTR Liverpool, bringing together two highly respected organisations with a shared commitment to delivering high quality, inclusive, and sustainable running events across the UK. BTR Liverpool is the leading organisation for creating, managing and delivering headline running events across Liverpool City Region. Established in 2006, BTR Liverpool stages a number of major annual events that continue to grow year on year, offering a diverse portfolio of distances and terrains while maintaining a strong focus on sustainability. The organisation is widely recognised for the quality of its event delivery, its close links with the running community, and its engagement with local charities. The event portfolio features Liverpool Half Marathon, Liverpool Santa Dash, Mersey Tunnel 10K, Port Sunlight Road Race 10K and 5K, Women’s 10K and 5K Liverpool, Wirral 10K, and Run For The 97 5K. Run For All is part of the lasting legacy of Jane Tomlinson CBE, who raised £1.85million for children’s and cancer charities before her death from cancer aged 43 in 2007. Despite being diagnosed with incurable cancer, Jane inspired people worldwide by completing extraordinary endurance challenges, including the London Marathon, Ironman and triathlon events, and a 4,200-mile cycle ride across the USA. Run For All delivers a broad portfolio of successful mass participation events across the UK, including events in Leeds, Sheffield, York, Lincoln, Hull, King’s Lynn, Leicester and Bury, as well as the McCain Yorkshire Coast 10K. Its flagship events include the Leeds Half Marathon, Ramathon, Larking Gowen Ipswich Half Marathon, Sheffield Half Marathon, Altra Yorkshire Marathon Festival, and the Rob Burrow Leeds Marathon. The acquisition of BTR Liverpool strengthens Run For All’s national presence and reinforces both organisations’ shared missions to inspire people of all abilities to be active, support charitable causes, and deliver outstanding running events rooted in their local communities. www.btrliverpool.com www.runforall.com BTR RUNNING EVENTS 2026: