Why I ran 10k for St Christopher's

Andy MacIntyre ran the British 10k team this year and raised more than £350 for the St Christopher’s Activities Programme, which will provide opportunities many young people have not had before, such as a trip to the beach, a museum or the theatre. In this blog post, Andy explains why he chose to run for St Christopher’s and his tips for taking on a 10k run.


For the past two years I have volunteered to run in the British 10k in support of St Christopher’s Fellowship. I heard about St Christopher’s through their partnership with the company I work for, Thomson Reuters. Before entering the 10k in 2013, I was running the regular distance of 5k about three times a week and was looking for an achievable challenge for a worthwhile cause. The weather was incredibly hot but I managed to make it round the course with a few stops along the way.


This year I was determined to keep running for the whole distance. To help me on my way I put together a Spotify playlist on the theme of running and London including hits such as Bryan Adams’s Run To You, Bruce Springsteen’s Born To Run, Lovin’ Spoonful’s Summer In The City and The Clash’s London Calling.


Unfortunately, about 500 metres before the end of the run, my music went quiet as I had reached the end of the playlist. On the upside, I spotted my family cheering me on as I turned into the home stretch along Whitehall. The playlist didn’t quite work out as I had planned, but I achieved my goal of running the full distance and reducing my finish time from 2013 by a couple of minutes.


If you've enjoyed this blog post you are welcome to donate to my JustGiving page for St Christopher's Fellowship. It's a great charity that works tirelessly to give young people who have had a difficult start in life a brighter future.