A CHARITY race staged to raise the profile of men's health issues that has been enjoyed by thousands each year has been cancelled after running out of funding.
Organisers of the Men's 10K Festival in Glasgow say they are "saddened" but have been left with no choice but to scrap the event after failing to attract a sponsor for next year's race.
The men's 10K has taken place annually in Bellahouston Park for the last nine years during the Father's Day weekend, and coincides with a number of events which make up the Festival.
However Sarah McMillan, event manager for the run, said that they face a shortfall in the region of £50,000 and that it could not go ahead without some form of backing. Parent organisation the Men's 10K Project will also close its doors, with the loss of three jobs.
Ms McMillan said: "We really regret that the project is shutting down, not just because of the positive difference it makes to so many lives, but for the charities whose fundraisers raise hundreds of thousands of pounds each year, as well as all the wonderful local businesses who supply the event weekend."
In previous years funding for the run has come from a variety of sources, including charity sponsors and businesses such as Gatorade and Brooks Running.
However, approaches to almost 200 organisations were made ahead of next year's race without success.
Ms McMillan paid tribute to all those who had taken part in the events surrounding the Festival, adding: "I feel so grateful to all the men, event partners and volunteers who have been a part of our journey over the last 10 years.
"From an initial idea to 'get a couple of hundred men running round a park' to celebrate Men's Health Week, to an event which has had coverage all over and attracts men from all back-grounds, of all abilities and of all ages. From our youngest toddlers in the Rascal Run to the fabulous Hugh Turner, an 85-year-old man who travels up from Nottingham every year to run the route he often trained on when in the Royal Scots Fusiliers."
The first 10K was staged in 2006 to raise the profile of men's health, with more than 1,400 men taking part. It has grown in popularity and attracts more than 1,000 runners each year. Celebrity supporters include footballer Christian Dailly, actor Martin Compston and rugby inter-national Scott Hastings.
One runner who took part in the 10k last year said that it was "perverse" the race was being shut down after the success of the 2014 Commonwealth Games.
Father-of-two Martin Kay, of Motherwell, said: "Like many I was immensely proud of how Glasgow and the country as a whole got behind the 2014 Commonwealth Games, so it seems perverse that in the same year an event that has done much to improve the fitness of males in the city has been cancelled.
"If 2014 was to be the last men's 10K, it would be a blow to the much- talked about 2014 legacy."
Tim Street, chairman of Men's Health Forum Scotland, said: "This is a sad situation to find ourselves in for many reasons.
"It's sad that when we know that prevention of ill-health is much more effective than treatment of it, that this event will no longer inspire thousands of men to take action to improve their lifestyle.
"And it's a sad reflection that in a society that can generate millions to pay individual sports stars, a fraction of that can't be invested in giving thousands of ordinary guys an opportunity to improve their fitness and wellbeing."
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