ContiThunderRun 24Hr

The ContiThunderRun returned with a bang in 2021. After all that has happened over the past couple of years it was incredible to bring everyone together again for another memorable event. To help us remember the good times here are the final standings and a selection of images.

Lizzie Tovey

The best thing about Conti Thunder Run is our community of runners.  Over the years we have had the honour of meeting and getting to know some truly wonderful and inspirational people, none more so than Lizzie Tovey.

As a visually impaired runner, Lizzie already had to overcome more obstacles than most of us.  After only taking up running in 2018, she was soon covering big distances and completed the London Marathon with her guide runner, raising money to fund a guide dog.  Her enthusiasm and passion for running kept on developing and she was set to run Thunder Run in 2020 as a solo competitor. 

Then at the start of the year life put another hurdle in her way when Lizzie was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer.  But you can’t keep a good girl down and Lizzie kept on running, focusing on being fit and well enough to take part in Thunder Run.  Even when we had to postpone the event Lizzie wasn’t deterred and switched her focus to the VR24 virtual challenge.  Her updates in the VR24 group inevitably lifted the spirits of everyone involved in that challenge, not to mention raising a smile with her seemingly endless wardrobe of fancy dress costumes!  No matter how tough things were, Lizzie always had the most upbeat outlook, and her infectious positivity made her a much loved part of the TR24 family.

Sadly, Lizzie lost her battle with cancer at the end of 2020 but some of her closest friends are determined to keep her memory alive by putting on their ‘positive pants’ and taking on a number of charity fundraising challenges to raise bucket loads of money in her name.  Lizzie’s close friend Sonia has set up a Just Giving page and a Facebook page for people to share updates on the fundraising challenges

Sonia explains why Lizzie was such an inspirational friend:

“It was the running that kept her alive.  It gave her focus, a goal, a determination to strive to accomplish so many things!! She phoned me from the hospital distraught, not because they told her that the chemo hadn’t worked, and her tumours were bigger, and it had spread. She sobbed because they told her that she had to stop running and walking.  I sadly watched her flame blow out afterwards. The fact that she couldn’t do what she loved doing broke her heart. In my opinion the running kept her alive!! I loved running with her.  We would have so much fun. I miss her so much. I hope she is up there running free and has the wind in her hair!! I have never met anyone as beautiful inside and out as she was a huge inspiration - we should all be a bit more Lizzie!! There are lots of events being planned to make sure her legacy lives on!! She may be gone but she’ll never be forgotten xxxxx”

#BeMoreLizzie

Tyre soles made of tyre technology - innovation and tradition

The cooperation with adidas started in 2007 at a workshop. adidas were working on a project to increase the grip of their shoes. In the search for a competent partner from the rubber industry , the choice quickly fell to Continental. "Initial test samples confirmed our assessment that we can make improvements to previous soles," recalls Fabian Dettmer of Continental.

Soles for marathon shoes, running shoes, outdoor shoes and hiking boots - with our tyre technology - have been part of the adidas repertoire since the cooperation. 

View our range of tyres