Are you ready?

Annual fun run is just around the corner

We've been jogging alongside you for more than 20 years.

Suburban Newspapers, publisher of the North Shore Times, has a long history with the Ports of Auckland Round the Bays fun run that pre-dates its official role as a print supporter from the early 1990s.

Its sister paper, the old Auckland Star, climbed on board as a sponsor in 1974 – just two years after the waterfront event was launched by the Auckland Joggers Club.

Suburban Newspapers, a subsidiary of Fairfax Media, picked up where the Star left off and has encouraged thousands of Aucklanders to get involved ever since.

People like the late Ray Glasgow who completed the popular waterfront event 25 times – including the very first one in 1972.

The father of six finished his last Round the Bays in a wheelchair at the age of 95.

He had been declared legally blind some 15 years prior but kept on jogging with the support of family and friends.

And it was a broken leg – not old age – that kept him off his feet at his last event.

"Ray really epitomised everything Round the Bays stands for," Suburban Newspapers general manager David Penny says. "He loved to have fun with his friends, family and the people of Auckland.

"Ray appeared in many of our publications over the years urging people to get out and have a go – he appreciated the fact that our papers serve the same community he took great pleasure in being a part of and was keen to help us spread the message far and wide.

"He died in 2009 but his legacy lives on and we're certainly still carrying a torch for Round the Bays in his memory – it's a fantastic event and a great benefactor for the many charities that receive a portion of the proceeds."

This year's Ports of Auckland Round the Bays Fun Run is on March 18 and marks the event's 40th anniversary. It begins at 9.30am and proceeds will go to the Child Cancer Foundation, Kidz First Children's Hospital, the Make-a-Wish Foundation and the Garden to Table Trust.

Entry is $10 for children (16 and under) and $15 for adults and organisers are calling for more people to register online at www.roundthebays.co.nz.

"We want the 40th anniversary Ports of Auckland Round the Bays to be the biggest and best yet, as every extra registration means more money to our nominated charities," Fairfax Media group sales and marketing manager and event spokeswoman Sandra King says.

The 8.4km run follows the waterfront from Quay St along Tamaki Drive to St Heliers.