Nottingham’s Run with Rich - A huge success

The Richard Whitehead Foundation organised the Run with Rich on Sunday 18th of June at Holme Pierrepont Country Park in Nottingham, it saw runners from all walks of life, participating in a 5km accessible run followed by a 1-mile sensory route run.

Around 450 people from across the country participated in the run which was open to everyone including walkers, joggers, people with pushchairs, runners or people on skateboards. The event was designed in a manner which allowed people with various disabilities to be part of an all inclusive event that was not about winning but to enjoy having fun in the run.

The day kicked off with an intense Drumba session. Drumba is a Nottingham-based organisation which promotes and operates an all-inclusive HIIT workout curriculum. Adam, from Drumba, says that the people’s representation and support in para events is an absolute must. He presses on the need of creating a wide range of sports events for people with disabilities and to promote and engage people by bringing awareness and representation of para-sports at the forefront in schools and communities.

The unique thing the event brought, was the engagement of people not only through participation in the run, but also created an atmosphere of encouraging people to get involved by; painting their faces, having a go at learning canoeing or leaving motivational messages on a car provided by one of the foundation’s partners Nissan.

The run started with a 5k run with Richard Whitehead, the founder of the foundation and two-time Paralympian, also participating in the event. James, a manufacturing manager from Nottingham, took part in the 5k. He has a physical disability but he proved how his disability never stopped him from achieving great things. He said, “Disability doesn't define people”. He says that raising awareness about para-sports is ‘massively’ important and 10-15 years ago, there were no events like the Run with Rich that promoted awareness and engagement.

The event also witnessed different acts from Dako Flying Angels and Chesterfield Boccia Club, who thoroughly engaged people and made the atmosphere at the run more lively.

The Richard Whitehead organisation not only holds runs and charity events to raise money for awareness but it also helps people with disabilities to realise their full potential. Tayla Page, one of the foundation’s beneficiaries has complex regional pain syndrome and decided to get her leg amputated after she was left in pain for almost six years. She expressed her gratitude towards the foundation, as it helped her regain her confidence and provided her with ample support. Tayla is also a football coach for Wolverhampton Wanderers disability team. She believes that para-sports generally needs more representation and people, whether disabled or not, should be provided with a chance to engage and participate in all sports.

One of the board of trustees, David Howell says that the representation of para-athletes needs to be massively improved. He says that certain sports get more representation but it's not the same with all sports. David who himself is visually impaired says that the para-athletes not only compete with other people but they have to do everything which other people do.

The event also involved a short 1-mile sensory course run, which encouraged participation from children with disabilities. Both events brought smiles to hundreds of faces including runners, their families and other people in general.

The event signifies two things, that people joined together for one action, which was inclusion, and everyone who attended the event left with a stronger sense of social duty to carry out that action in their life in future. The event also presses the need that para-sports are not limited to disabilities but it's about people from all walks of life and creating a sustainable environment to encourage and promote the athletes and sports.