Mark Crowther has been cycling all over the UK, visiting 116 football grounds from the Premier League to the National League, to raise money for his three chosen charities.
Luton Town fan Mark Crowther embarked on his first charity cycle ride for the 2021/22 season, when he rode to every one of the Hatters away games and in the process raised over £16,000, and again he wanted to get on his bike to raise more money, with his three chosen charities being Mind, Prostate Cancer & Teenage Cancer Trust. Mark came up with the idea to cycle to every football ground in the UK that were in the Premier League, Championship, League One, League Two and National League, which totalled to 116 grounds, covering 2,500 miles in just 34 days.
The challenge began on Wednesday 5th April at Carlisle United’s Brunton Park ground, and has seen Mark zig zag down the country, with the finish line coming at his beloved Luton Town’s ground of Kenilworth Road this coming Monday (8th May). Mark paid a visit to here at Plainmoor on Sunday 30th April on his final leg of that day, and was greeted by some supporters upon his arrival.
Mark told us all about the challenge and how it came about, while also filling us in on how it has been going so far as he heads towards the end of his feat:
” So basically i’m supporting three charities, firstly Mind as i struggled with depression and i was lucky enough to get some help & support, and the message i wanted to share is that there is support and there is help for anybody suffering with mental health issues, in terms of Prostate Cancer, i’m over 50 so in that at risk category, and so with the research that goes into it, in that a man dies every 45 minutes from it, so it’s trying to raise money for research while also spreading the word that it’s quick and easy to get checked and it could save your life. With the Teenage Cancer Trust i had a friend who’s daughter was diagnosed with cancer at a very young age, and the Teenage Cancer Trust do a lot for the family, and with the support centres up & down the country they help the young people who are going through cancer, and it has also been mentioned to me that during my 34 day cycle 234 young people between the ages of 13 and 24 will be diagnosed with cancer, which is a startling statistic, so they are three great charities and i really wanted to support them”
” The difficult bit of the challenge so far has been the weather, as have had a couple of very wet days, with the implications of that being when my phone gets wet it doesn’t charge, and then i lose the navigation and i just generally end up getting lost, so the days have been very long, longer then i thought, navigating traffic in and out of cities, and then not getting my recovery in at the end of the day and having to do that day after day, and i have had one rest day in 29 days and have currently done 2,100 miles, so the legs are tired, but i’m inspired to support the charities, and the messages im getting of support from people is driving me on and really helping me. The football clubs have really got behind it and supported me, and it’s nice when you get to a ground and there are smiling faces and people just really want to support the challenge and try and share the awareness and try and raise as much money as possible.”
It’s not too late to get involved and make a donation to Mark’s challenge, as well as follow his journey as he nears the finish line by following the link below.
www.markfootballcyclechallenge.co.uk