Running to the boundary - Ro's Fundraising Page

Finally in 2024/5, two significant parts of my life finally meet ... they are a lifelong love of cricket and the joy of running.

On 1st June 2024, my fiftieth birthday, I ran my hundredth marathon, by far the best century I've scored. But why stop there?? Now I probably won't head down the Brian Lara route of 400 or (even) 501 marathons, but surely there's a double century to be reached.

And simply, I am so humbled to be able to start that journey by fundraising for the Lord's Taverners.

Fundraising has been at the core of my running journey and it's been a privilege, through the last decade, to raise money for mental health charities. My lived experience of mental ill health has made that a very natural cause for me.

But it feels like time to bat on a different wicket now and the opportunity to bring a cricketing link into my running journey feels perfect.

In my recovery from mental ill health and homelessness, I've always realised how privileged I am to have had access to the resources to facilitate rebuilding my life. I only have to step outside of my front door in Battersea, SW London, to see that many do not have that opportunity.

It's exacerbated further when we think about youth. It is heartbreaking to live in a world of such inequity and inequality where so many find themselves growing up facing such disadvantages and challenges in life. While we know the world is not "fair", none of us can truly take any comfort from knowing so many young people will never have the same opportunities as the rest of us.

Enter the Lord's Taverners...

At the Lord’s Taverners, cricket is used as a vehicle to positively impact the lives of young people facing the challenges of inequality. They focus on those living with a disability and those living in disadvantaged communities as they are disproportionately excluded from access to the many benefits of sport; with lower outcomes for physical and mental health, lower confidence and self-esteem, and lower connections to their community and peers.

So how do they do this?

Wicketz 
Wicketz is a community cricket programme, initially targeting young people aged 8-19, living in high areas of deprivation and hard to reach groups. The programme focuses on understanding and tackling local issues that negatively affect young people and their communities.

Super 1s 
Super 1s is a disability cricket programme which is delivered across the UK. It provides young people with disabilities aged 12-25 with the opportunity to regularly access cricket to help improve physical and mental wellbeing, while giving a sense of belonging and to gain skills for life such as confidence and independence.

Table Cricket 
Table Cricket is an adaptive form of inclusive cricket, played on a table tennis table, aimed at young people with a wide range of disabilities who are less able to play other forms of cricket. It can be played competitively or for fun, both in an educational or community setting.

Cricket Kit Recycling 
Our cricket kit recycling programme collects usable cricket kit and equipment from across the UK, which is then sorted and redistributed to partner organisations within the UK and around the world, allowing young people with a lack of equipment to access the sport.

This is a unique opportunity for me to give back to others using the sport that has been so big a part of my life. I was born into a cricketing family and one of my earliest memories is being at Lord's for the 1979 World Cup Final won by the West Indies with my dad picking up his second World Cup Winners' Medal.

And if Lord's is the iconic home of cricket, then the Lord's Taverners is an organisation inextricably linked to the sport and the history.

I am still working on the full programme of events for what will be a very special innings! However, it already includes:-

• Track Wars XXIV - my first 100 mile event (if you're running for a cricket charity, then start with a century!) - 6 September 2024
• Richmond RunFest Marathon - 15 September 2024
• Trail Escape Bristol to Bath Ultramarathon - 5 October 2024
• Battersea Park Marathon - 23 November 2024
• Phoenix Ten in Ten Series (Ten Marathons in Ten Days) - 12 to 21 April 2025
• TCS London Marathon - 27 April 2025
• Centaur 100 Mile Ultra - 21 June 2025 (let's end with a century too!)

I am so happy putting the hard yards in and my ask of you is to make it so much more meaningful by helping the Lord's Taverners to change so many young lives.

Thanks so much for your love and support!

Ro