Stoke Staffs coach’s marathon effort for mental health cause
October 8, 2020 | by Matt Halfpenny
Kind-hearted Stoke Staffs ABC coach Jimmy Colclough has completed a marathon to raise more than £2,000 for mental health charity The Samaritans.
The determined 54-year-old had originally entered the London Marathon, scheduled for April, to raise money for The Samaritans.
But after the event was cancelled to all but elite athletes due to the Coronavirus Pandemic, he ran it remotely last weekend using his own route.
Starting and finishing at Abbey Hulton FC, he was accompanied by eight Stoke Staffs members for the second half of his run, who used the preparation for that 13-mile distance as extra motivation for their training.
And because of a temporary fault with his tracking device, Colcough actually ended up running an extra three miles for good measure for a total of 29 miles in total!
“Jimmy wanted to do the run because he has had his own mental health problems in the past, so knows how tough it can be, and especially what some people will be going through at the moment,” said fellow Stoke Staffs coach Elizabeth Buxton.
“It’s an amazing achievement for him and brilliant that he has managed to raise so much money for such a worthy cause in the process.
“I know he’s done runs before, but not this far – particularly with the extra bit he ended up doing by accident! We’re very proud of him.
“He works away in London during the week but then comes straight back into the gym on Friday evening and also helps out on Sundays too.
“He’s lovely to have around, happy-go-lucky, and has a laugh and a joke, which the kids really respond too.
“It’s great that they’ve been able to get involved with this and run part of it themselves – at a time when they can’t do contact boxing, it’s given them another focus.”
To pledge a donation following Jimmy’s run, click here.
It’s World Mental Health Day 2020 this Saturday. Look out for coverage and our boxing-related video on www.englandboxing.org and across socials this weekend.
