Row-athon powers fundraising drive for Matt Hampson Foundation
Beneficiaries and staff at the Get Busy Living Centre at Burrough-on-the-hill got involved in a fundraising 24-hour rowing marathon.
It was organised by father-and-son Greg and Elliot Collins, and their team-mate Will Towning, who are preparing to row 3,000 miles across the Atlantic in aid of the Matt Hampson Foundation.
The row-athon, which helped the trio prepare for The Toughest Row later this year, started at noon on Friday and continued on their indoor machines through the night and on to noon the following day.
Greg, who is a long-term Foundation supporter despite being based in the United States for the last 25 years, said: “It seems extreme to do a 24-hour rowing marathon, but we are going to have to do this every day for six weeks for real in December.
“None of us has rowed an ocean before and this was a bit of a sanity call for us with our training as well as helping towards our fundraising.”
The Toughest Row starts at La Gomera in the Canary Islands on December 12 and finishes in Antigua in the Caribbean, with teams challenged by ocean and weather conditions, fatigue and sleep deprivation over more than a month at sea.
Click HERE to support the Atlantic row by pledging cash to the fundraiser.
The Matt Hampson Foundation provides physical and emotional support for young people following life-changing injury in sport, based at its unique Get Busy Living Centre.As we approach 20 years since Matt’s injury while training with the England Under-21 rugby squad, he has big plans to extend the centre to support more beneficiaries and their families.