Following on from our fantastically successful participation in GDST Gets Active during FitFeb, we have decided to get outside once more for our next fundraiser. Our aim is, as a community, to run 1000k in a day in aid of St Christopher’s Hospice in Lawrie Park Road. We would like to support St Christopher’s in its work offering world class palliative and end of life care to everyone who needs it, whenever or wherever that may be.

On Friday 18 June, staff and pupils will run round the astro to add their kilometres to our target for the day and we hope that family and friends will sponsor them as they pledge their distances over the coming weeks. Running saw a huge rise during lockdown as we swapped the gym and classes for the great outdoors for our daily bout of exercise. Public Health England’s Couch to 5k app was downloaded 858,000 times between March and June last year, a 92% increase on 2019. But it is not all about the physical benefits, research published by Macmillan Cancer Support shows an estimated 7 million turned to running during the pandemic to boost their mental health. One in 7 said running helped them deal with stress since the first lockdown, with the activity proving more popular than yoga or meditation. About a third said running helped them feel calmer and more positive, whilst one in five said it made them feel mentally stronger. Our fundraiser is not how far you run, nor how fast. It could be 1k, it could be 10k, what matters is raising money for a brilliant cause. 

It costs £500 for one day of inpatient care, for one patient, £100 for a group therapy session for bereaved children and £5 for a meal for a patient staying at the hospice. We hope that as a community we are able to raise over £1000 for our 1000k in a day challenge and be able to offer some valuable support for our local hospice.