Category: Events

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!

We all know how much children enjoy playing.  When that play involves water, mud, swings and tyres, suddenly that play becomes more fun!  Tough Mudder can only be described as a big playground for adults – except that the results are probably wetter, muddier and more like torture at times!  In May, we had two volunteers running around the 12 mile Tough Mudder course near Kettering raising money for the ICT.  Richard and Jack were subjected to the Funky Monkeys, Arctic Enema, Cry Baby and Skidmark… to name but a few!

The aim of the game is not to get around the course in a quick time.  It is simply to survive!  Many runners find the obstacles a struggle but both Richard and Jack did the ICT proud by completing all 15 of them – and in some style!

For Alison and Dave watching from the side, it was hard to pick out a favourite moment.  There was the passion shown at the beginning as all runners in their clean clothes pledged their allegiance to the Tough Mudder.  There was the moment when Richard was too good running over floats across the river that he splashed into the water instead of crashing into Jack in front of him.  There was the heart-stopping moment that Jack fell off the rings on to his back, only to get straight back up in determination to complete the last of the obstacles. There was inevitably the proud moment when they crossed the finish line!

Both boys did an incredible job that we hope will inspire others to do the Tough Mudder in 2016.  Raising £938.75, Richard’s fundraising achievements matched his athletic achievements on the day!  Thanks to them both for an incredible effort!

Former athlete Mark Foster may have been a swimmer during his Olympic career, but in May it was his bicycle legs and those of 8 other cyclists that were put to the test.  With the sun shining and everyone ‘geared’ up for a great day, our team of 9 cyclists took to the streets of London to cycle down to Brighton raising money for the International Children’s Trust.

This is not your typical Sunday cycle with 60 miles of country roads and hills to deal with (not to mention the Sunday morning London traffic).  Unlike the last ride in 2014 though, no one took a wrong turn this year and managed to navigate their way safely to Brighton.

Of course, this was not a race, but it doesn’t stop a little bit of competition. A two mile steep hill at Ditchling was the undoing of all of our cyclists last year, apart from one.  By sharp contrast of our 9 cyclists in May, every single one made it up to the top without stopping.  Sally and Libby need a special mention for kicking hard up the hardest hill and beating all of the boys to the top. Based on the climb, this was an incredible achievement!

Many thanks to John, Mark, Danny, Disco Dave, Stephen, Sheldon, Libby, Nick and Sally for all of their effort on the day and in fundraising for the International Children’s Trust!   Between them, they managed to raise £8,452.25.  This ride could, of course, not take place without hard work and dedication with special thanks goes to John who, as one of our trustees, is also the brains behind the cycle.