Louth Old Boys youngsters run 500km for Dom’s Place

The Louth Old Boys Reds Under-9s football team, which has been unable to train together since last autumn due to the pandemic, decided to take on the challenge over the last five weeks, and are expecting to finish this week.

So far, more than 450 of the 500 kilometres have already been ticked off - and almost £800 of the £1,000 target has been raised thanks to generous sponsors.

The team is run by James Timson and Simon Wren, and the youngsters involved in the challenge are Arthur Timson, George Wren, Ted Ranshaw, Ashton Lovesey, Louis Beaumont, Isaac Vines, Dylan Shoubridge, Zack Brooks, Harry Maddison, Jack Spindley, James Fenwick, Harvey Covill, Molly Bacon, Freddie Price and Sami Smith.

James told the Leader: “Some of the players have never done road running before, but some of them have got the bug now.

“One even ran 11km in one go, and a few of them have run over 50km each in total.

“We have now done two group running sessions on Zoom, which have involved players doing hundreds of shuttle runs, moving us closer to our target!

“Simon and I are incredibly proud of all of the players for their efforts. They have all shown great commitment.

“We are pleased with how well parents have helped and run with their children, and we are very grateful for the donations received so far and we know the money will really help to support young people.”

James added: “Dom’s Place will be able to buy resources to support and engage with the young people with whom they work.

“This pandemic has caused an increase in mental health issues and we wanted to make a positive difference to the young people affected.”

Dom’s Place is based at the Park Avenue Youth & Community Centre, but has continued to stay in touch with local young people remotely throughout the pandemic.

Visit www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lob-u9-reds for more details, updates, and to make a donation.