Off The Beatson Track Charity Walk
Off the Beatson Track Charity Walk
For the last few years, I’ve been covering and documenting Off The Beatson Track, an annual fundraising 10k walk around the West End of Glasgow, put on by the Beatson Cancer Charity. It’s one of those events that really captures the spirit of the city when a huge number of people turn out to do their bit.
The Beatson Cancer Charity
The Beatson West of Scotland Cancer Centre in Glasgow is the second largest cancer treatment unit in the UK. Beatson Cancer Charity is the only charity exclusively dedicated to supporting the centre to help in the fight against cancer locally, nationally and internationally.
More than two million people are currently living with cancer in the UK alone. In fact, one in three across the UK will be directly affected by cancer at some point in their lifetime.
Beatson Cancer Charity houses truly passionate people, committed to doing their part to eradicate cancer once and for all. They work day after day, raising money for cancer treatment, care and research.
All in all, Beatson Cancer Charity does an incredible job of supporting and enhancing the experience, treatment, outcomes and wellbeing of all current and former Beatson patients and their families.
Off the Beatson Track Charity Walk in Glasgow
The Off The Beatson Track charity walks have been great fun, whatever the weather. Bright and sunny or pouring down rain, everyone comes out and has a blast supporting this amazing cause. It’s actually been a bit of a challenge keeping my cameras dry on the rainier years, as I follow the route of the walk on my bike so I can capture every stage of the event.
People of all ages from across Glasgow come to take part. Over my years of covering the event, I’ve heard many wonderful stories of people whose lives have been transformed by the amazing work of the staff at the Beatson. But sadly, I’ve also heard many incredibly moving stories about the people we’ve lost. This is a charity event that I hold very near and dear to my heart. I love seeing all of the great people of Glasgow come out in solidarity to support such a great cause.
Yellow is always the colour of the day. Everyone puts on their signature Beatson Cancer Charity t-shirt and then the rest is up to them. People are encouraged to dress with extravagance! I would almost describe it as a carnival-like atmosphere, complete with face painting, dancing and all around general excitement. There’s a lively warmup session before the walk officially begins!
At the launch of this year’s event last month, I had a little help from some wonderful pupils from Our Lady and St Joseph’s primary school in Glenboig. They all came down to Kelvingrove Park to wave the flag for the Beatson. Also on hand was Cyrus, the charity’s ambassadog, and of course Bella, the mascot. We even had Clangus, the mascot of the Glasgow Clan!
During the past five years, over 9,000 people have joined forces and walked over 58,000 miles for Beatson Cancer Charity. That’s over 120 million steps towards making a real difference for patients and families!
You can sign up HERE or simply call the team on 0141 212 0505.
The Beatson Cancer Charity is dedicated to easing the lives of those affected by cancer. They aim to ensure the very best care for the over 8,000 patients seen every year by the Beatson. My greatest hope is for the pioneering research the charity funds to lead to new breakthroughs that help everyone in the UK, and the world, living with cancer.
I will be returning this year for the 6th annual Off The Beatson Track charity walk on Sunday, August 25th, and I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for a sunny day – although if it’s pouring with rain we will still all have an amazing day!!
And if you want to see some more of my events photography work… Events
