Olympic silver medalist Colin Jackson is bringing his Go Dad Run to Sunderland in April as he aims to encourage men to open up about their health issues.
The run was launched by Jackson in 2013 and has since grown into a national event with the overall aim of encouraging men to open up about health issues.
Sunderland will play host to the first Go Dad Run of the year on April 2 this year, with men encouraged to sign up for either the 5k or 10k runs at Silksworth Sports Centre.
Local charity St. Benedict’s Hospice will be benefiting from any funds raised along with four national charities.
Jackson will be attending the event in Sunderland alongside ex-Sunderland footballer Kevin Ball and world champion athlete Jamie Baulch.
Speaking about his motivations behind setting up the event, Jackson said: “I created Go Dad Run five years ago after two of my uncles developed prostate cancer and, tragically, only one of them survived.
“Uncle Tony lived because he talked about his symptoms and sought help so I wanted something that would encourage men to think and talk about their health issues instead of just bottling them up.”
Jackson recently visited the area ahead of the run, and said he was impressed with the work of charity partner St Benedict’s Hospice: “I recently had the privilege of meeting some of their staff and seeing the incredible work they do in the community and I hope that lots of our runners will be getting sponsored to raise funds for them and our other four partners.”
The hospice were delighted to work with alongside the Go Dad Run with Fundraising Manager, Catrina Flynn, saying: “I am delighted that St Benedict’s Hospice has been chosen as the local charity partner for the event. It is an honour for us to be working with Colin Jackson and the team behind this series of runs.
“As a local Sunderland charity we don’t often get the opportunity to be part of something like this that will raise our profile and raise funds to help us support our patients and their families.”
There will be seven runs held across the UK throughout 2017, with men encouraged to put on the signature Go Dad Run blue y-fronts and sign up.
More information and sign-up details can be found at www.godadrun.co.uk.