PHYSIOS in Solihull are urging people to walk or run 50k this month to raise money for patients, families and staff at four local NHS hospitals.
The Urban Body team are all taking part in the challenge using with the £5 entry fee going to the University Hospitals Birmingham Charity. They are hoping to raise at least £1,000 and participants are asked to encourage donations via the 50k challenge’s JustGiving page and post their progress on Facebook.
University Hospitals Birmingham Charity supports patients, families and NHS staff at the Queen Elizabeth, Heartlands, Good Hope and Solihull hospitals.
In the current Covid-19 crisis, donations are helping to deliver care packs to nurses, provide staff with psychological and emotional support, helping patients to stay in contact with their families by providing tablets with video conferencing apps, and much more.
“Obviously these are challenging times for the NHS and we want the community to show their support for staff at our local hospitals by joining our fundraiser,” said Urban Body’s lead physiotherapist, Phil Evans.
“50k seems like a long way but it’s only an average of two kilometres a day for 25 days, which is achievable for most.
January’s the perfect month to give yourself a boost so we’re encouraging people to become more active and do their bit for the NHS at the same time.”
The Urban Body clinic, at the West Warwickshire Sports Club in Olton, offers free assessments to new patients.
Staff have worked with Team GB athletes, Leicestershire Country Cricket Club and Loughborough University Physiotherapy.
Performance Physique Running Coach Arj Thiruchelvam, from Solihull, has this advice for people taking the challenge: “Incorporate rest days, mobility and strength training to support your mileage.
“Don’t try to split 50k evenly over the month, instead you want to start off small and increase the distance each week.
“You should also have one day off per week and if you’re running, consider increasing that to two.”
