With lockdown putting the last season and a half to rest, as well as the usual social calendar that the club’s players and members look forward to, Kempston Rugby Club have come up with a novel way to bring everyone together virtually. And as avid supporters of Magpas Air Ambulance over the last few seasons, they’ve managed to turn it into a fundraiser, too.
The players, members, partners and miniatures of Kempston Rugby Club are self-propelling themselves almost 10,000 miles from Kempston Hammers Club all the way to Johannesburg, South Africa. (A virtual journey all in line with COVID Government Guidance of course!)
And all in time for the start of the Lions Tour!
“Everyone is encouraged to run, walk, swim, cycle (and scoot and toddle for the minis!) the distance from our team home at Cuttler Hammer in Kempston to the FNB Stadium in Johannesburg,” says Rachel Cameron, the club physio and one of the organisers of the Beds to Berg Pentathlon.
“We considered several routes but decided to make it a real challenge and take in some big European destinations. In a straight line it’s about 5,600 miles, but the way we’ve chosen to go it is going to be 9,700-ish miles,” added Mike Ward, who’s keeping track of the mileage.
“The extra distance means we can include some mini challenges along the way,” says Zak Miller, one of the club players who helped come up with the idea. “When we ‘arrived’ in Monaco everyone had to clock their fastest lap of the Grand Prix circuit (2.07 miles) by bike, run or walk and donate a pound to take part.”
The rugby club have set up a Strava account to log everyone’s distances and activities and they are making great headway, having recently crossed the ocean with a pirate themed-challenge as they now take on travelling the whole length of Africa, adding to the more than 3,500 miles they’ve already covered.
Rachel continues, “The response has been outstanding from both participants and supporters. People within the club and the community have said this has given them something positive to focus on and the motivation to start getting out again. It’s genuinely heart-warming to see the Club, its families and supporters come together in this way; with offers of support and walking dates being arranged for a chat and fresh air, and seeing pictures of everyone out and about.
“As ever, it’s also so rewarding to see everyone so willing to get behind the event for two great charities, Magpas Air Ambulance and Looseheadz, a rugby based mental health charity.”
Club stalwart Tom Trinder added, ‘We wanted to do something to support the players with their physical and emotional health, which without regular rugby or the club being open was starting to drop in lockdown. With the Lions tour in the summer, this seemed like a suitable way to do both.”
As well as chipping away at the mileage themselves, Kempston have plans to make this a whole community event. They’re in contact with other clubs in town to get them involved in some interclub challenges and competitions, with ideas such as an obstacle race and scavenger hunt in the pipeline. Tom continues, “We’ve all got contacts at other clubs and our next step is to get them involved. Bedford Swifts have already shown their support by helping spread the word on Facebook. Bedford is a huge rugby town so the more players and rugby families we can reach the better.”
If you want to show your support, you can donate to their Just Giving page:
https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/bedstoburg
and keep track of how Kempston Rugby Club are doing on their mammoth journey on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KempstonRfc/ .