Nestle has renewed its sponsorship of local athletics club St Patrick’s AC.

The agreement coincides with the 50th anniversary of the club which will soon be organising the popular Dingli 10K – on 19 March.

Addressing a news conference yesterday, club president Stephen Spiteri said that they were expecting around 150 runners to take part, even if last year, the number reached 160.

He added that besides the main race, there will be other activities including a Walkathon which will start at 8.30am and a junior race for the Under 17s.

The main race will start at 9am from Dingli Square going down towards Nigret area in Rabat and crossing Fiddien Valley, over to Dingli Cliffs and back to the finish at Dingli Square.

Spiteri thanked Nestle for their continued support and sponsorship. He said that without such a sponsorship it would not be possible to organise such events.

The first edition of the Dingli 10K was held in 1991 and was won by Gerald DeGaetano. The course record is still in the hands of Italian Alessio Sementari, established in March of 1998.

The club owes its existence to Fr Aidan Murray and Bro Michael O’Meara of the Salesians School of St Patrick, Sliema, way back in 1962. The school always gave a lot of importance to sporting activities, in particular athletics and cross country events.

In that same year, the Saints made a strong impact winning the 1962 Combined Secondary Schools cross country race (team event) at the first time of asking.

Since then St Patrick’s have been among the front runners of the local cross country scene, making inroads also in track and field events.

Naum Janakiev, Country Business Manager of Nestle Malta, said the company was delighted to be associated with St Patricks AC through such a sponsorship.

“This deal forms part of the company’s commitment to promote sporting activity as part of a healthy lifestyle. All Nestle products, in fact, effectively contribute towards a balanced and healthy diet,” he said.

He also pledged his company’s commitment to help consumers make informed decisions about eating the right food. “A diet must be supplemented with physical exercise. This partnership which we are announcing enhances these credentials,” he reiterated.