MSD Switzerland to sponsor free entry for school teams at Lucerne CityRun
11.03.2025 07:00 CET
Lucerne, March 11, 2025 – Team runs for primary schools have been a long tradition at Lucerne CityRun and part of the race program since 1978. At the 47th edition of the event on Saturday, May 3, 2025, MSD Switzerland (Merck Sharp & Dohme AG) is sponsoring cost-free participation for 1,100 children.
Lucerne CityRun has always inspired adults, young people and children to take up running. Participation of school teams will become even more attractive starting this year: MSD, one of the world’s leading biopharmaceutical companies with the Swiss headquarters in Lucerne, will pay the entry fees for 1,100 children who participate in the school team races. In addition, as a new sponsor of the whole event, together with other companies from the region, MSD is sending out a strong signal in favor of promoting movement and health.
Thanks to this partnership, students from the third to the sixth primary school levels can sign up for any team competition free of charge. In this way, MSD is making an important contribution to promoting movement among children and youth, enabling more young runners to experience the unique atmosphere of Lucerne CityRun.
“We are proud to have MSD as the CityRun sponsor and are very happy that we can make participation even more accessible to students thanks to MSD. Movement is essential for the physical and mental development of young people,” says Andreas Grüter, Managing Director of Lucerne CityRun.
MSD strengthens its commitment in Lucerne
MSD operates in the main therapeutic fields of oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, and diabetes, and offers a broad portfolio of vaccines for children, youth and adults. With the opening of a new headquarters in Rösslimatt Lucerne next year, MSD is strengthening its long-term commitment in Central Switzerland.
“Supporting the Lucerne CityRun is a wonderful opportunity for us to show our connection to the region and make a positive contribution to health, sport and youth,” says Dimitri Gitas, Managing Director of MSD Switzerland.
The 47th Lucerne CityRun – Saturday, May 3, 2025
On Saturday, May 3, 2025, Lucerne CityRun is offering a running experience on routes of 660 m to 7.0 km, which is open to individual runners, company groups, families, school classes and children. The first starting gun at the 47th Lucerne CityRun will be fired at 2:30 p.m. The organizers are expecting 14,000 participants on the route and over 25,000 spectators.
Along with the atmospheric running experience through the Lucerne old town, all children will receive the popular CityRun shirt, the medal and the Migros lunch bag. Thanks to the Swiss Runners Ticket, all those who register will enjoy free travel by public transport from all of Switzerland.
The registration portal is open and can be accessed at www.luzernerstadtlauf.ch/anmeldung.
MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme in Switzerland
In Switzerland, MSD Merck Sharp & Dohme employs around 1,000 people at five sites in the cantons of Lucerne and Zurich. At MSD Zurich site, in “The Circle”, MSD operates a global innovation and development hub. MSD’s main therapeutic areas are oncology, infectious diseases, immunology, and diabetes. MSD also operates a broad portfolio of vaccines for the prevention of diseases in children, adolescents, and adults. Switzerland is part of MSD’s global clinical research program with more than 40 clinical trials annually. At our site in Schachen, we manufacture drugs for global clinical trials and operate a forensic laboratory. MSD also takes responsibility for the local community and has been involved in the “Trendtage Gesundheit Luzern” and the “Alliance Health competence”. In 2025, MSD received the “Top Employer Switzerland” award for the thirteenth time in a row.
FFor more information, please visit www.msd.ch, www.de.msd-animal-health.ch, www.msd-gesundheit.ch and follow MSD on LinkedIn, Facebook und YouTube
Media contact
Andreas Grüter, Director
andreas.grueter@luzernerstadtlauf.ch I Telephone: 041 375 03 36 or 078 667 44 25
Antonio Ligi, Head of Communications Switzerland I www.msd.ch
media.switzerland@msd.com I Telephone: 076 203 44 96
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Copyright © 2025 Merck & Co., Inc., Rahway, NJ, USA and its affiliates. All rights reserved.
CH-NON-02890, 03/2025