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Hundreds of Manchester runners are coming together for a 24-hour marathon to fight homelessness
Danny Jones
Homelessness remains one of the biggest issues facing the UK and hundreds of Manchester runners are once again turning out to do their part to tackle the problem.
Manchester 24 hour race against homelessness is an annual initiative which aims to raise money for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s charity scheme ‘A Bed Every Night’.
Created by Run Wild MCR in 2019 – a running club and social community founded by students from University of Manchester – The 24-hour marathon sees hordes of elite runners, casual joggers and beginners run around the city center to raise money.
Now in its fourth year, Run wild‘s 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness is set to be bigger than ever, with a target of raising more than £5,000 by 2022. That said, we expect these amazing lots to raise a lot more than that , having received a total of £12,000 in donations since the campaign was created.
How does it work?
The event is essentially a 24-hour group relay where participants can join a lap of 5,000 simply by turning up at the venue and joining the giant group of joggers.
The relay itself is led by one of several race directors who flag for charity and help identify the group which may vary in size throughout the day.
Big or small and come rain or shine, people continue to do their part to raise money and awareness for this vital cause.
For anyone worried about keeping up with pace and/or distance, the relay is run at an accessible pace that still allows everyone to stay together for a social run and you participate for as long or as little as you like.
Relay groups tend to set off about every half hour; this of course varies depending on the general pace of the runners, but again, it’s not about the running itself: it’s about raising money and awareness of an often overlooked issue in this city.
Who is participating and how you can join
Given the charity run’s uni roots, there will of course be many students joining the relay, too UoM Sport promises dozens of runners and athletes to join the cause.
Several local running clubs including the likes of Ancoats Run Club, Belle Vue Racersit Manchester Road Runners (MRR) and many, many more – over 30 different organizations in fact.
But you don’t even have to be a regular runner to join in, and there will be race leaders, pacers and general ambassadors available throughout for anyone who wants to get involved.
For those who can’t make it to the event, organizers have even set up a virtual participation option, where people can sync their Strava app or enter distances manually into a virtual tracker available via the website.
An epidemic that cannot continue to be ignored
There are still alarming numbers of homeless people living in Manchester in 2022: approximately 6,780 adults and children are said to be homeless in the region, according to statistics from SocialHousing.co.uk.
Due to the current cost of living and energy crisis, there is also an increased need to offer support this winter. Homeless charity Crisis Britain estimates that one in four privately rented households were living in fuel poverty in 2020, and that figure is set to jump by a staggering 42% by the end of the year.
In other words, the equivalent of more than 2.3 million households could struggle to pay their gas and electricity bills this winter, putting even more individuals at risk of homelessness.
This is where charitable actions like this come in. Over £2,000 has been raised through donations already and more than £300 raised in shirt sales alone.
Like Lucy from Ancoats The Run Club said: “We spend a lot of time running through the town centre, especially on winter evenings. We can see the homelessness affecting Manchester. Being able to participate in this race is a great chance for us as a club to contribute to raising”
A bed every night makes a mess of the problem
Although this is obviously a national problem, A bed every night (ABEN) already supports over 600 people who currently need somewhere to live in Manchester.
Over 4,000 people have been supported by ABEN since 2019; at the time of writing, there are 619 people in associated accommodation in Greater Manchesterwith 21 different organizations helping to provide a safe place to sleep across the region.
Even better, A Bed Every Night also includes specialist accommodation for women, LGBTQ+, pet friendly and ‘No Recourse to Public Funds’. The Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity really is a lifeline for this city’s homeless population and already has been helped reduce numbers by more than 50%.
Also, as MRR chairman and founder Chris Rider said of his club, one of their main ambitions is to make an impact in the community through actions such as fundraising and “The 24 Hour Run is a fantastic event that raises much needed funds for an important charity. »
Where and when is it?
The 24-hour marathon will run at 12.00 on Wednesday 16 November until 12pm the following day, with the rounds starting from the charity’s 53two theater and arts centre, located at Arch 19 on Watson Street.
Sign up is completely free but not absolutely essential, you can also just rock up if you feel like doing your bit for charity on the day. You can also take as many or as few laps as you like – no matter how many you manage, it all goes towards an important cause.
You can donate to the 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness 2022 HERE and be sure to follow them on their various social for all updates on the day.
We hope to see you get some rounds in.
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Featured Image — 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness/Run Wild Manchester
