16 Mar 2026 Community

Dewsbury Road Runners Race Continues to Raise Vital Funds for The Kirkwood

A long running community race organised by Dewsbury Road Runners is continuing to make a meaningful difference for people across Kirklees, with the group once again pledging its support to The Kirkwood.

The club’s annual 10km race has been a staple of the local running calendar for many years. What began as a popular community event gained unexpected attention in 2018 when a souvenir t-shirt design accidentally caused a stir online. Since then, the race has grown significantly in popularity, helping the organisers generate valuable funds for charity.

Since 2021, Dewsbury Road Runners have chosen to support The Kirkwood as one of the main beneficiaries of the race, helping the charity continue its work supporting people living with life limiting illnesses and their families across Kirklees.

Mike Shackleton from Dewsbury Road Runners explained why the group felt it was important to support the charity. Mike said: “Dewsbury Road Runners have organised a 10km race for many years. We accidentally gained notoriety for our possibly rude souvenir t-shirt back in 2018 and since then our race has become really popular. We've been able to generate surplus money from the event and back in 2021 we chose to support The Kirkwood as one of our charities. We wanted to support a charity which makes a difference in our community and which we trust will value our donation and spend it with care. Since then we've continued to choose The Kirkwood as one of our main charities.

“Many of us live and work in Kirklees and know people who have felt the difference that The Kirkwood has made to families trying to cope in the final stages of a relative's life. We believe it's important to support The Kirkwood so that many more families can have their support in future.

“Our donation from the proceeds of the Feb 2025 race was £6,537, and we're hopeful that once we finalise the figures for this year's race we'll be giving a similar amount again.”

The generous donation from the 2025 race has helped The Kirkwood continue providing specialist care and support to local patients and their loved ones. With another successful race recently completed, organisers are hopeful that this year’s event will once again raise a significant amount to help support families across Kirklees when they need it most.