Sussex University Men’s Rugby run Brighton Half Marathon
The University of Sussex Men’s Rugby to run The Brighton Half Marathon to support Mental Health Charity GrassRoots Suicide Prevention
The University of Sussex Men’s Rugby Club is made up of more than 100 boys studying at Sussex Uni aged 18-23 who actively play competitive rugby union against other universities. However, the club is more than just this – one of the fundamental beliefs of the group, is to give back to those less fortunate than themselves. Every year they commit to several charity efforts including Movember, and the Brighton Half Marathon, typically raising upwards of £15,000 for various charities.
In the past, the club ran the Brighton Half Marathon, which returns to Brighton seafront on Sunday, February 26, for the RFU IPF, a rugby charity helping rugby players with spinal and brain injuries, an outstanding charity the club holds truly dear to its heart, as it cared for one of the club’s alumni years ago. However, this year the club expressed an interest in fundraising for a new cause and decided on mental health.
Finn Urmston, Vice President, University of Sussex Men’s Rugby Club explains more:
“We debated whether to run for an environmental, physical health or mental health-based charity, and the overwhelming response was mental health. Being young men, we are aware of the hardships that struggling men are going through, particularly with our huge dedication to Movember (for which we raised >£4,300 this year), which is why I believe the uptake and interest for a mental health charity was so welcomed.“I searched for the best fitting charity related to combating mental health issues, and came across GrassRoots Suicide Prevention. They are local to Brighton and are tackling some of the most sensitive and important issues that are going on in not only our community, but the whole of the UK (and rest of the world). These things made GrassRoots such a great fit for us.”
“We all play a sport that we love, not only for the physical benefits but also for the mental benefits that come with socialising, exercise and being active. We are also aware of those who are not as fortunate as us and see no other way out, so we are just trying to do what we can to help change the landscape of suicide today – as a tightly-knit club, it is in our nature to believe that there is always a way through whatever you might be dealing with.”
“Around 60 of the boys will be running the Brighton Half Marathon on February 26, 2023, to support them visit https://www.justgiving.com/page/universty-of-sussex-mens-rugby-grassroots or come and cheer us on on the day!”
