Ex-footballer's massive charity goal - raising £500,000 by running the NC500!
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A former professional footballer is on an astonishing ultra running challenge that could raise £500,000 for Mental Health UK.
Nicky Forster who played for teams including Brighton, Charlton, Reading, Brentford, plus many more, is taking on the North Coast 500 (NC500) the 500-mile loop road that circles the Highland mainland and includes the notoriously steep Bealach na Baa, (Pass of the Cattle) to Applecross.
And he is doing it without a support crew, pulling his kit, food and camping gear for when he isn't in a B&B in a two-wheeled cart!
Nicky said during a break in Wester Ross today (Wed July5): "It has been really tough on occasions, and I have had blisters, sore knees and ankles, plus some bother getting the cart harness right.
"But I am in good spirits and I think the worst of the hills might be past."
He explained why he has embarked on this feat of endurance.
"For 20 years I was a professional footballer, so pushing my body to its limit was a daily part of life. Now a recreational runner, I run marathons and ultra-marathons. I love it, hate it, in equal measures, but I know I need it.
"Because 14 years ago, I sat in a dressing room of a football club for the last time, and like every professional player leaving the bubble of professional sport is tough.
"In the time since, I have been a football manager, leading a team out at Wembley in 2010, lost it all, including 21 properties, become a personal trainer and opened up my own Gym and Wellness centre, become a Goal Setting and Life coach and now run a coaching business.
"It’s taken me 14 years to find my purpose, to find my place, like every player, it is a tough transition when you come to the end of our playing career. Even with financial security, family, children, even if you walk into a job straight from the end of your career, it is still difficult."
Nicky added: "I’m blessed to be able to still move, I can run, I can cycle, I can swim, I can lift weights in the gym, and as long as I can move, then I will move, every single day, every day I will go out and exercise, I count myself as being extremely lucky being able to still move at 50 years old.
"Exercise along with other coping mechanisms has enabled me to keep the wolves of mental health from my door. Others are not so lucky."
He said the statistics bear that out:
* 35% of people will experience mental health issues over their lifetime.
* Over the course of someone’s lifetime, 1 in 15 people attempt suicide.
(Statistics from the Mental Health Foundation.)
He added: "We are seeing a growing mental health problem in the world of professional sport, not just football, but across all sports the pressures, the strain, the voices, come at a cost to many.
"I’m not seeking sympathy for ex-sportsmen and women, I’m highlighting that no one is exempt, we all have a mental health, just like we all have a physical health.
"I reaching out today because rather than struggle in and struggle on, I run, and run, and run some more.
Raising money in the process seems a worthy cause."
He outlined massive challenge he has embarked on that not many have completed. Nicky can only find two others having completed the full distance as a run.
It is 516 miles of coastal roads
15 ultra-marathons in 15 days
Averaging 35 miles a day
He started on Friday June 30 from Inverness Castle and aims to finish there on Friday July 14.
Nicky has what he calls his Big Ask.
"I'm calling on every professional football player to make a contribution, and each club to match the contribution from their players. If every player and club joined in, I would be nearly there.
"I will be looking to both the world of professional sport, and corporate sponsors to reach the audacious target.
The arithmetic is -
If every Premier League player put in £200 and their club matched that amount -£200 x 30 x 2 x 20 = £240,000
If every Championship player put in £100 and their club matched that amount - £100 x 25 x 2 x 24 = £120,000
If every League One player put in £50 and the club matched that amount - £50 x 20 x 2 x 24 = £48,000
If every League Two player put in £25 and the club matched that amount -£25 x 20 x 2 x 24 = £24,000
Total – £432,000
https://nickyforster.com/nc500-run-2023/
