It’s back! RBC Race for the Kids to return to Hyde Park

For the first time in three years, RBC Race for the Kids will return to its home of Hyde Park in London on 8 October, 2022. Register your place at the starting line.

RBC Race for the Kids will bring together families, friends and individuals of all ages and abilities to race five kilometres to raise money for seriously ill children treated at Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) .

“We are delighted this year’s RBC Race for the Kids will return to its home of Hyde Park. This will be GOSH Charity’s first in-person mass participation event since the beginning of the Covid-19 pandemic, and what a joy it will be to raise money for seriously ill children at GOSH as part of a big group once again,” says Louise Parkes, chief executive of GOSH Charity.

GOSH is one of the few hospitals in the world with the infrastructure and expertise to carry out pioneering procedures and treat complex illnesses. With about 600 children and young people from across the UK arriving for life-changing treatments every day, GOSH depends on charitable support to change the lives of the children treated there. GOSH has been a charitable partner of RBC since 2010, with RBC staff, friends and family raising more than £4 million for the hospital, including funding for the RBC Neurosciences Unit and RBC House.

On your marks, get set, GOSH

This edition of RBC Race for the Kids marks the 13^th year running and forms part of the global RBC Race for the Kids series. The series includes 17 running events in support of 35 children and youth charities in 19 countries.

In 2019, the London race became the world’s largest of the series with over 10,000 participants and to date, RBC Race for the Kids has attracted over 325,000 participants worldwide who have collectively raised C$74 million.

This year’s Hyde Park route has been designed to be accessible to all, with dogs, pushchairs, wheelchairs and scooters all welcome. Entrants can race individually or as a team and will be treated to a festival village providing music, entertainment and refreshments throughout the day.

GOSH hopes to see fundraisers in the thousands at the iconic royal park, but for those living further afield or who are unable to travel on the day, the virtual element of the race introduced in 2020 and 2021 will remain.

Participants taking part from home can pick a distance of their choice to complete in their local neighbourhood between 1–9 October. Everyone, no matter how they sign up, will be making a huge difference in supporting the families at GOSH.

Images provided by GOSH

“The hybrid nature of this year’s event means that people can take part closer to their homes too, and after the success of our virtual race events in 2020 and 2021, I look forward to hearing about all the wonderful people across the UK raising vital funds for patients and their families,” says Parkes.

“RBC Race for the Kids is an annual highlight for us all at Royal Bank of Canada, but this year is particularly special as it will be in-person for the first time since 2019. We look forward to joining our clients, colleagues, and friends and family in Hyde Park to support the fantastic work of GOSH,” adds Desirée Clarke Noble, managing director and global head, Sustainability and Impact, RBC Capital Markets regional head, Citizenship, RBC Europe.

How to register

Adult registration for the in-person race is £21.50 and children under 16 can run for free. Access the registration page and more information here .

All money raised will go towards funding GOSH’s most urgent needs, including ground-breaking research, advanced medical equipment, support services for children and their families, and the rebuilding and refurbishment of wards and medical facilities. Find out more about the work GOSH do here.