A GRUELLING challenge awaits a friend and supporter of a Rugby youth club who will run a kilometre for each of the 100 years it has existed.
Lee Stephens will take on the Race to the Stones to raise funds for the Bradby Club’s Centenary Countdown Appeal.
The race, a 100km (62 mile) ‘ultra-marathon’, takes place over two days and will see Lee run up and along the high ground south west from Lewknor in Oxfordshire to the Thames crossing at Goring.
From this point the route rises up onto the North Wessex Downs before the iconic finish where he will walk between the towering stones of Avebury.
Lee said: “Setting off on day one I’ll cover 31 miles along the hilly off-road route before stopping at the base camp for some much needed food and a few hours sleep.
“Day two will be an early start covering the same distance all the way to the finish.”
Lee hopes to raise £500 for the Bradby Club, which offers services and activities for young people including youth club sessions, a substance misuse service, a safer relationships and sexual health service, support for young carers and young parents, a boxing academy and gym facilities.
He said: “As part of their upcoming 100 year anniversary, I have chosen the Bradby Club to fund raise for after witnessing first hand the hard work and effort the staff put in to help young people from the area.
“When I was a teenager, having somewhere like this place to visit would have been amazing. As well as offering youth club facilities, centre manager John Robertson and his team deliver a host of other services and activities.
“I imagine it’s not always easy, but these guys are made of tough stuff and I hope any funds I can raise go some way to helping.”
Lee (second left) is being cheered on by (left to right) Bradby club centre manager John Robertson, youth worker Alex Baalham-Donaldson and volunteer youth worker Darron Forrest.
John said: “We will hopefully meet an exhausted Lee at the finish line to congratulate him – and, more than likely, carry him home.
“We wish Lee the best of luck with his preparations for the event.”
The Bradby Club, which claims to be one of the oldest of its kind in the country, is counting down to its 2019 centenary milestone with a two-year celebration, and a vision of what the next few years can bring.
A programme of events throughout 2018 and 2019 aims to build a fund to sustain crucial youth-worker posts, improve the clubhouse kitchen, and improve the ball-court to open up new opportunities for sport.
The club has set a fundraising target of £200,000 – £1,000 for each year of its history, and £1,000 for each year of the next 100.
Former members are invited to join the celebration by sharing their memories and photos of the club. Email [email protected] to get involved.
Visit www.givey.com/leestephensrunningloser to sponsor Lee.
