The London Marathon is always a standout moment in the UK sporting calendar – but this weekend’s event was a special one for our Sharks Family, with a former player, a current coach and even one of our owners lacing up their running shoes to tackle the 26.2 miles.
But that’s not all we’ve been up to. We’ve been skydiving and marathon running around Manchester too…..
Co-owner Ged Mason was part of history on Sunday as he accompanied St Helens veteran Andy Reid in his bid to complete the famous course to become the first triple amputee to finish the event.
Afghanistan veteran Andy, co‑founder of the Standing Tall Foundation, showed remarkable determination as he completed the 26.2‑mile course, never stopping and never giving up as he pushed on.
The 49-year-old completed the race in 12 and a half hours, quicker than his expected time of 13 hours, and with the help of Ged, who walked the full distance.
Andy was raising money for the Standing Tall Foundation and the Army Benevolent Fund, while Ged was supporting the Amputation Foundation and Maggies.
Sharks Women coach Charlie Beckett tackled the event with his partner Beanie, for the charity Women in Sport.
Writing on his fundraising page, Charlie said: “Women’s sport, in particular rugby, is a massive part of our life. It is how we met, it is how we both make our living, and without it, we don’t really know what we’d do!
“It saddens us to think that other people wouldn’t have the same opportunities to access and take the joy from women’s sport the way we have been lucky enough to and we want to support Women In Sport in their mission to make sure no women or girls are missing out on the incredible experiences sport brings.”
Our final London Marathon runner was former Sharks scrum-half Will Cliff who, after playing more than 200 games for the club, probably thought his days of pushing his body to the limit were over.
But after a little gentle persuasion on stage in the Clubhouse hospitality suite ahead of a match earlier in the season, ‘Cliffy’ agreed to run London for Restart, the official charity of the RPA which is dedicated to supporting elite men’s and women’s rugby players suffering from serious injury, illness or hardship.
Will got round in a very respectable 4.35.19 and you can still donate to his fundraising efforts here.
But our fundraising activities weren’t limited to London. The week before, two Sharks coaches completed the Manchester Marathon ahead of our home game against Saracens.
Senior Strength and Conditioning Coach Adam Simpson and Women’s Sports Scientist Charlotte Drainer were raising money for The Christie Charity, helping to raise funds for a brand-new, state-of-the-art cancer scanning centre.
The fundraising mirrors the collections which happened at the 1936 Middlesex Sevens at Twickenham, which was won by a Sale team dubbed ‘The Northern Force.’
And last, but not least, Lynsey Robinson and Sam Jee from our commercial team took to the skies last week to fly their club colours from 10,000ft in the name of charity. Lynsey and Sam took part in a skydive in support of Mental Health UK as part of PREM Rugby’s Brave Leap initiative, which forms part of PREM Rugby and MHUK’s Bravery Starts Here campaign.
The campaign aims to give people the support, connections, and tools they need to be brave, bold, and determined. Funds raised through this partnership will support the Your Resilience programme, which works to strengthen resilience in young people aged 14–18 and prevent the escalation of mental health challenges.
Everyone at Sale Sharks is extremely proud of Ged, Charlie, Will, Adam, Charlotte, Lynsey and Sam!
