Tomas Allan (14)’s design, featuring an avocado running in trainers, beat more than 60 entries from schools across Aberdeenshire to win the top prize of £75 worth of vouchers funded by Dandara and Run4It.

Giving Tomas his prize was Claire Bathgate, head of sales at Dandara Aberdeen, who said: “There were so many good entries it was hard to draw up a shortlist, but Tomas’ design really stood out. Everyone who saw it loved it because it was a bit different and showed he was thinking out of the box.

“It perfectly encapsulates the important role exercise and healthy eating play in ensuring our good mental health and wellbeing, especially after the last two years of the pandemic.

“We are so proud to be sponsoring the 10K again this year and I know local people will be delighted to be outside again cheering on the runners.”

Tomas explained the inspiration behind his design: “I knew the colour green was important to Run Garioch, and I wanted to draw something green that was running. I thought if I just did a runner, a lot of other people would be doing that too. I wanted to make it better, so I did some research and came up with the avocado.

“With my mum being a dietician and my dad being a PE teacher, it was always destined to be a fruit.”

The Dandara 10K is part of Run Garioch, a major fundraiser for Inverurie’s Garioch Sports Centre.

The annual festival of running will also include 5K and Half-Marathon distance events, three children’s runs and a bustling event village.

The 2022 Dandara 10K will mark a decade of the housebuilder’s support of Run Garioch and the local community. The company became the first sponsors of the festival’s 5K race when it was launched in 2013, taking over sponsorship of its flagship 10K race when it became available in 2014.

Starting and finishing at the Garioch Sports Centre, the festival – which started life as the ‘Garioch 10k’ – has been part of Inverurie’s community calendar since 2006. Anticipation is building for its return to ‘real life’ this year with over 2000 runners already signed up to compete.  

Graham Morrison, race director for Run Garioch, commented: “We were delighted to receive so many entries from children across Aberdeenshire for our first ever design contest. Tomas’ design put a smile on all our faces and makes us look forward to race day even more. We can’t wait to see all our runners, volunteers, spectators, charities and spectators back on the start line in just a few weeks’ time.”