A THREATENED Glasgow charity race will go ahead this year, despite funding being stopped.

The Men's Health Forum 10k, which has been held in the city's Bellahouston Park for the past six years, will take place on Sunday, June 16 – Father's Day.

Organisers said they were "delighted" the event could take place.

As reported in the Evening Times in September, it was thought the race may not be able to go ahead this year after the Scottish Government funding came to an end.

But, thanks to sponsorship deals and fundraising efforts, the race, which raised £450,000 for good causes last year, will take place in 2013 after all.

Anti-stigma charity 'see me' Scotland is sponsoring this year's event, and Yorkhill Children's Foundation has been confirmed as the official sponsor.

Sarah McMillan, event manager at Men's Health Forum Scotland, said: "I am delighted. We want to put on a really professional event and we are targeting guys who do not do physical activity or are coming back to it after a long time, as well as seasoned runners."

In September, the organisers sent out a desperate appeal to runners to help them fund the event.

The Men's Health Forum Scotland, which works to promote healthy lifestyles and also conduct research into men's health issues, asked runners who took part in the past to help support this year's event, by donating £1 and getting 19 of their friends to do the same.

They raised £2500 from donations from runners to put towards covering the cost of staging the event – which was estimated at around £66,000.

Sarah said: "It is an event that changes thousands of men's lives and it is so important for us to keep that going."

According to the forum's research, around half the men who take part in each 10k have never entered a running event before, and many go on to take up regular exercise afterwards.

A Scottish Government spokesman said in September that it had provided a time limited grant of £166,000 in 2010-11 and a transitional grant in 2011-12 of £60,000, to cover costs while alternative sources of funding were identified.

He said that much of the organisation's work was locally based and that it did not believe it was appropriate for the Scottish Government to continue to cover core costs.

Almost 4000 runners took part in last year's race, which took place on Father's Day.

matty.sutton@eveningtimes.co.uk