1500 Glasgow walkers raise over £50k for cancer charity at Off the Beatson Track event

More than £53,000 has been raised so far by walkers who took part in Beatson Cancer Charity’s ninth annual 10k walking event ’Off the Beatson Track’ on Sunday 28 August.

Over 1500 people were involved in the walk, which began at the Riverside Museum in Glasgow at 11am last Sunday.

Many supporters set up Just Giving pages before the event to raise funds for the charity - many of which are still receiving donations.

Hundreds of walkers brought their dogs to join them on the route, who made use of the ‘Beatson Doggo Station’ which provided water and treats before the walk began.

Over 12000 people have taken part in the event in the past, raising a total of £750,000 over the years to help support thousands of current and former Beatson patients and their families.

Supporters this year included corporate teams such as Optical Express and teams from East Dunbartonshire schools: Bishopbriggs Academy and St Ninian’s High School.

BBC’s David Farrell and STV’s Laura Boyd were on the main stage and interviewed several participants to find out why they were taking part, before they introduced supporters to ‘Glasgow’s Zumba Sisters’ who hosted a Zumba session to get the walkers warmed up.

Eight year-old Lexie Allen took part in the walk with the rest of her family from Tillicoultry, and got to push the plunger to signal the start of the event. ‘Tam the Piper’ led the first wave of walkers off.

Walkers left the Riverside Museum in waves, making their way to the Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre, along the River Kelvin, past Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum and back to the Riverside Museum to finish.

Participants started arriving at the finish line at 1pm and enjoyed the sunshine throughout the day.

Off the Beatson Track’s event sponsor, Go Radio, provided music at the Riverside Museum, alongside a Melts Ice Cream Parlour, which provided ice cream for walkers at the halfway point - with 50% of sales going to Beatson Cancer Charity.

Maisie McCormick, community fundraising manager for Beatson Cancer Charity, said: “There’s no feeling quite like watching a sea of yellow take over the streets of Glasgow after two years of virtual events.

“Sunday’s walk was just incredible and reading everyone’s messages on the back of their t-shirts which explained why the walk was so important to them was so emotional.

“We’d just like to thank everyone who gave up their Sunday to come out and support our charity – the money raised will allow us to support more cancer patients and families in the future.”