I haven’t done a half marathon since 2015. It was hard. This will be harder because I’m older, I’m heavier and it’s hillier! But I have a fantastic supportive running group who have my back - Town Runners. Coordinated by Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation, this group helps people with so much more than just running. Yes they encourage you to push yourself; yes they share their knowledge and experience of running; yes they keep everyone running safely. But they also get people talking. I have seen people with mental health issues open up on our 5k runs. I’ve seen people with autism become more confident with people and in their own ability. I have seen someone with a cancer diagnosis, and his wife, being carried through treatment by this group’s support and energy. Every week I see people of all ages, backgrounds and genders smiling as they run. I’m a lazy runner and this group makes me work hard! It also helps keep my mental health in check.

I’m grateful for the friends I’ve made and for the work this foundation does to support people in the community who feel lonely, unfit, down, who maybe suffer with dementia, or who just want to do something different. Being affiliated to a football team can mean people think we don’t need to fundraise but we do. Everything has a cost and this charity has to raise funds for it all to be able to keep helping local people to be active, keep talking and make friends.

Harrogate Town AFC Community Foundation is the official charity linked with Harrogate Town AFC and we offer a number of programmes to promote better health and wellbeing within the Harrogate District. Some of the programmes we currently offer are: 

Sporting Memories; Man V Fat; Town to 5K / Town Runners; Walking Football; Premier League Primary Stars

A full description of each of these programmes is given on our website http://www.htafccommunity.co.uk