As you may know, we at Kiltearn like to undertake a challenge on an annual basis and in doing so, support and raise awareness for our chosen charity, Bethany Trust.

We have gradually ramped up our challenges over the years, starting with a mere 26 mile walk in the Pentland Hills on the outskirts of Edinburgh in 2014 and 2015, followed by a 54 mile walk as part of the Caledonian Challenge in 2016 which left us battered, bruised and blistered, the 3 peaks challenge in 2017 and most recently, an expedition to tackle the Cuillin Ridge on Skye. This has enabled usto raise more than £100,000 for Bethany Trust.

In a break from tradition, in 2019 we will be hosting two events. The first is the EMF Edinburgh half marathon and relay on Sunday 26th May 2019 and the second, a charity golf day on Monday 16th September 2019.

First, fast & flat, the Edinburgh Half Marathon on Sunday 26th May follows the marathon course which was voted the fastest marathon in the UK by Runners World, ideal if it’s your first half marathon or you are looking for a PB. The Edinburgh Half Marathon has sold out every year since 2012 and is one of the largest half marathons in the UK. 

Second, on Monday 16th September, Kiltearn will host its inaugural charity golf day in conjunction with Bethany Trust.

The event will be held at Craigielaw Golf Club (https://www.craigielawgolfclub.com/),
a classic Scottish links course which hosted the Scottish Senior Open in 2018 and has been used as a qualifying course for The Open championship & Senior Open. The course is located near Edinburgh close to Muirfield, North Berwick & Gullane. See picture below – though we cannot guarantee the same weather for the event!

We are looking to run a ‘shotgun’ tournament, i.e. 18 ‘teams’ of 4 players tee off simultaneously from different holes, using a Texas scramble format. As such, the event is capped at 72 players. There will be a Longest Drive & Nearest the Pin competition, the options of purchasing mulligans etc.. as well as a silent auction before the event – all to raise funds for Bethany Trust.

It would of course be remiss if we didn’t include some information on our chosen partner charity, Bethany Trust. 

As a result of our direct fundraising last year, Bethany Trust were able to purchase a new care van for use in Edinburgh, re-purpose & re-fit the old care van so it can be used to launch the service in Glasgow as well as fund community support services in both Edinburgh & Glasgow. For those who don’t know, the care van travels out on its two routes through Edinburgh an amazing 571 times a year, providing over 27,000 meals
annually to the homeless and those in need. Kiltearn staff have been fortunate enough to help out from time to time on the care van route and, without exception, everyone has found it to be a humbling and moving experience. In 2019, there isn’t one single goal (such as there was last year with the Care Van); however, there are many worthwhile projects which we can help pioneer and launch, that may be years away without our help and donations. These include dedicated care shelters & residential recovery projects as well as providing ongoing support for the care van and the broader work of Bethany Trust.