More than £5000 has been raised for vital women's health research at the University of Aberdeen by runners who took part in Run Balmoral on Saturday (23 April).
A team of 31 runners took on the challenge of a 5k or 10k race joining around 5000 people for the return of the popular Deeside event, postponed in 2020 and 2021 because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Professor Maggie Cruickshank, Co-lead for the Aberdeen Centre for Women’s Health Research at the University of Aberdeen and Honorary Consultant Gynaecologist at Aberdeen Royal Infirmary, took part in the 10k along with her daughter Catriona Young.
She said: “It was a brilliant atmosphere on race day, and it was fantastic to see so many people running to raise funds for women’s health research. The crowds were incredible and I’m so grateful for the generosity shown and to everyone who came out to support us.
“Aberdeen has led on women’s health research for several years and made many improvements but there is still so much more that can be done. In Aberdeen, we take a holistic life-course approach to women’s health. We are researching a range of different conditions including endometriosis, menstrual disorders, difficulties with fertility, early pregnancy loss and shared decision making for maternity care.
“We aim to put the money raised towards a PhD studentship which will be fantastic for taking forward a new programme of research and make a huge difference to how we deliver care.”
Katrina Allan, Head of Alumni Relations and Regular Giving, added: “Run Balmoral is our biggest community fundraising event of the year, and we were thrilled to be back for 2022, such a special year with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee coming up in June.
“It was glorious to see so many supporters out cheering on our community fundraisers as they took on the challenging but beautiful routes.
“We have many years of happy memories taking part in Run Balmoral and at each event I am always amazed by our supporters and their generosity. The last three events alone have raised more than £34,000 for vital medical research at the University including in cancer and dementia. It was brilliant to see the return of our corporate team Anderson Anderson and Brown (AAB), who have been running with us for more than 7 years now raising thousands of pounds for important medical research at the University of Aberdeen.
“Thank you again to everyone who has taken part, we are immensely grateful, and we look forward to seeing you again soon.”
The money raised will go towards funding a year of PhD research in an important area such as:
- Understanding early loss in pregnancy
- Developing effective treatment of heavy periods and endometriosis
- Supporting shared decision making with women on maternity care choices
- Improving prevention and early detection of women’s cancers
- You can still donate in support of those who took part in Run Balmoral 2022 for Women’s Health Research here. Find out more about the work of the University of Aberdeen Development Trust here.