Airdrie & Coatbridge Advertiser
Sporty Stephen is backing the Beatson
Running 10k on 10 consecutive days
The staff have been nothing short of incredible
A Coatbridge man is putting his best foot forward in a series of sporting challenges to raise funds for the Beatson cancer charity.
Stephen Kirley has just completed the task of running a 10km route each day for 10 consecutive days – and is now preparing for a fundraising match at New Broomfield on Sunday.
He smashed through his fundraising target at an early stage, having already raised more than £ 2000 by the halfway point of the running challenge which took him around Scotland.
Stephen picked up the idea to tackle “10 days of 10ks” after learning of running groups in Liverpool and Manchester who have run similar challenges; and after being unable to find a similar challenge locally, he developed his own.
He said: “I thought it was a great idea but couldn’t find anything like it locally, so I decided to do it off my own bat.
“The idea is to do a different 10k each day and I’ve been away with work during that period, so I had routes in Inverness and Aberdeen, as well as Chatelherault in Hamilton and finishing with the Glasgow men’s health 10k.
“Despite having sore and tired legs, I somehow managed to beat my personal best by over a minute and recorded a time of 44 minutes 26 seconds.
“All the rest were completed at home by running around Coatbridge – there’s a route called the Airdrie chase, which is all uphill for the first half, past Monklands Hospital to Airdrie cross and then looping back.
“People also run Drumpellier Park; as well as the loch there’s miles of paths by the canal, and you can sometimes forget there’s something as nice on our doorstep.”
Stephen’s next project is Sunday’s 11-a-side friendly at the home of Airdrieonians – in which he will be turning out for both teams.
It will be contested between players from his regular eight-a-side squad, who play every Monday at St Ambrose High, and his fellow members of the Glasgow Reds Liverpool supporters’ club.
The game kicks off at 4pm and all are welcome to attend; donations can be made at the gate and there will also be a tombola and other attractions.
Stephen said: “Lots of the guys from both football teams were interested in the 10k challenge, but we couldn’t all get together at the same time and place; then the charity match idea came about instead.
“I haven’t quite figured out how to split my playing time between the two sides yet, but I’m hoping to turn out for each team!
“We’ re hoping the standard on the day will be quite competitive; people can pay on the day to come along and it would be great to make another few hundred pounds.”
Stephen chose to raise money for the Beatson cancer charity as his fatherinlaw is a patient at the Glasgow centre.
He said: “The staff there have been nothing short of incredible – they’re real unsung heroes and provide wonderful care and attention to patients.
“The Beatson charity is very close to our family’s heart at this particular time and we feel very humbled. As little as £35 can pay for a reflexology session to help relax patients after their treatment ; every penny counts and to have raised the amount we already have is incredible.”
● Stephen’s fundraising page is at www.justgiving.com/fundraising/stephenkirley