Oh Me Lads....It's almost the Blaydon Races
Generous Geordies taking part in this year’s Blaydon Race have raised a whopping £5,500 in donations so far for charity Smile For Life.
Generous Geordies taking part in this year’s Blaydon Race have raised a whopping £5,500 in donations so far for charity Smile For Life.
The runners were all given the option to make a donation to the Tyneside children’s charity when they registered for the race online - and the sporting souls obliged generously.
Smile For Life was chosen by the Blaydon Race organisers as this year’s official charity to support due to the work that it does in the North East – providing specialist equipment, memorable experiences and work experience to disabled and disadvantaged young people.
Paula Gascoigne, Chief Executive of Smile For Life, said:
“I am so grateful that people in the North East have been so generous with their donations. We feel very honoured to have been chosen as the official charity for the Blaydon Race this year and the money raised will help so many young people right here in the region.
As well as fundraising we hope to raise a lot of awareness about Smile For Life and the work we do. We are looking forward to seeing everyone at the start line on June 9th and would like to wish everyone taking part the best of luck.”
One of those taking part is Smile For Life charity Patron, Danny Adams. The comic and panto star is looking forward to the event – despite having had no time for training.
He said:
“I am touring until two days before so hopefully I will get a day’s training in before the race. I am going all out though – I am hoping for a personal best!
I used to be a runner competitively – but that was about 20 years ago and haven’t ran since.”
A team from Smile For Life will be at the race starting point at Collingwood Street, Newcastle, as well as the finish line at Shibdon Playing Fields, collecting donations – and Danny says he’ll be helping out too:
“This is a charity very close to my heart, I love the North East, it is my home. Like the Blaydon Race, Smile For Life is all about the North East and supporting those who live here, so to have thousands of people all together running and helping local people is just amazing. It will be a great event.”
There are 4,500 runners signed up for The Blaydon Race, which is the maximum amount of people allowed.
Race organiser Lynn Craig says it always overwhelms her at how popular the race is, and how generous people can be.
She said:
“On behalf of Blaydon Harriers I would like to thank the runners for donations given to our chosen charity this year Smile For Life. This is a local and very worthwhile charity that stood out for us, amongst many others vying to be the main charity, due to the diverse opportunities on offer for disabled and disadvantaged children.
We wish all the runners good luck for the race, enjoy and stay safe.”
For more information on Smile For Life Children’s Charity go to www.smileforlife.org.uk or call the office on 0191 2844166.