The British 10k London Run has become an annual fundraising event for the International Children’s Trust and this year we had four new runners out pounding the streets of London on the 12th July.  Dave (Charity Secretary), Xavier, Amy and Bethan were all ready and raring to go early on the Sunday morning.

London, of course, is full of iconic streets and monuments. The runners are still treated to views of St. James’ Palace, Piccadilly Circus, Trafalgar Square, the Houses of Parliament… the list goes on!  And yet there was little time to be a tourist!

With over 13,600 runners starting the 15th anniversary race, there was a real mix of age, experience and motivation.  Perhaps the most striking runner was the one making his way around the course with a fridge strapped to his back!  This was not something that any of our four runners are planning for the future.  Instead, they were all quite content with running their first every 10km races, with some particularly good times.  For Dave, it was simply the sense of achievement having not done any running (or training for a race) in over 2 years.  Maybe his time of 56 minutes, 22 seconds could be beaten if he would get out of the office and into his running shoes more often!

Thankfully the weather was pretty perfect for our novices.  The sun was behind the clouds, but the rain stayed off until the end.  Not only did this make the day easier for the runners, but it helped everyone supporting (including Programmes Director Alison Sanderson and trustee Wahiba Kiared) to enjoy the achievements of everyone making their way around the course.  The crowds were phenomenal as always and encouraged everyone along. Maybe the most fun part of the race is the reaction of children all along the route who try to get as many runners to Hi 5 them as possible!

A special mention should go to Xavier who was our star fundraiser this year.  In total, our four runners managed to raise £2,071.25 for the International Children’s Trust.  As always, this money will go towards ensuring that our work continues with all of the children in programming.  Every pound and every running step continues to make a difference!