How are things going with the DGHUK Hope Run – a cross-Scotland fundraising relay you may remember hearing about last year? Judging by these new pictures and video, pretty well! The four-day epic – which is being organised to raise money for DGHUK, which sponsors children at Dr Graham’s Homes in India – now has its official dates: Friday 12 to Sunday 14 April 2024. It also has a firmed-up route, courtesy of race organiser and DGHUK supporter Michael Scott.
Most importantly, it has its full contingent of fundraising runners. Twenty-four youngsters from Beech Grove School in Kent have signed up for the challenge. You might even spot a few of them in the background of this video from a local parkrun, where the race organisers gave a welcome shout-out to Dr Graham’s Homes (UK) and the Hope Run relay…
Michael, meanwhile, just got back from a three-day trip to Scotland, where he drove some of the route that the runners will be taking and spoke to some of the people they’ll be meeting on the way. “I just spent a brilliant few days on the west coast, working on preparations for the run,” he tells us. “I did a little presentation to the good people of Cardross Parish Church, where we plan to start the run on 12 April. “The event is tracing some of the key places in Dr Graham’s life; Cardross was the community where he grew up, and the parish kirk there is where he was ordained as a minister in 1889. “I then drove along the early part of the course, from Cardross through to Greenock, and down to the ferry terminal where the runners will be crossing over from Dunoon."
The full course stretches for 220 miles, ultimately finishing at Stockbridge Parish Church in Edinburgh. If you’ll be in the Troon area on Saturday 13 April, you may like to drop by to support the team en route. They’ll be attending the Troon Parkrun, which starts at 9:30am on the South Beach Esplanade (KA10 6EJ). Michael and the runners would also be very grateful for donations to the cause. You can find our Donate page here. Or you can contact Michael directly at his email address for more details.
Please watch this space for more details on the Hope Run across Scotland!