It’s once again time for The Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness, one of the most inspiring and impactful charitable events of the year and one that you can be a part of.
For anyone unfamiliar with the initiative, the charity run is a mass participation group relay that is held over a full 24 hours right here in Manchester city centre, with Mancs and people all across the country tuning into a live stream to donate.
Runners and walkers alike set off together in recurring waves to complete 5km laps around the city streets, all in an effort to raise money for the Greater Manchester Mayor’s Charity‘s ‘A Bed Every Night’ (ABEN) scheme, which aims to help provide shelter and support for those sleeping rough.
Providing crucial aid not only to Manchester’s existing homeless community but those at risk of ending up on the street, the charity works tirelessly year-round to reduce the number of rough sleepers as much as possible and now the MCR 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness is back for 2023 to do their bit.
Now into its fifth year, the relay has raised an incredible total of £26,372.50, including £3,372.50 in Gift Aid since it first began, with over £12k of that being raised during the 2022 run alone and nearly 900 beds funded.
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Set up by University of Manchester students and now alumni, Tom Lewis and James Bannister (who served as Chairman and VC for the uni’s free running society, Run Wild MCR), the idea of the event was to run around the city and observe the conditions people living on the streets experience every night, all whilst raising vital funds to stop that happening.
All the money raised goes directly to the GMMC, which provides a comfy bed, a warm welcome and personal support for anyone sleeping rough on the streets in the region — a cause we can all get behind.
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Their mission is to end the need for rough sleeping and hidden homelessness throughout Greater Manchester and since the event’s inception in 2019, rough sleeping numbers across the region have reduced by 52%. Incredible stuff.
For those that stick through it all day and night, those last few laps are absolutely knackering — but they keep going anyway.
Last year’s event alone reached around 65,000 people across various social media channels and saw an almost even gender split both in those who engaged with the Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness online and who took part for themselves.
2022 saw over 1,000 laps completed by hundreds of people, as well as over 30 running clubs and local organisations, sports-based or otherwise, taking part and putting the miles in for the event.
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The Mayor of Greater Manchester himself, Andy Burnham, also paid an important visit to cheer everyone on and spread the word about the annual charity run. Rumour has it that Burno might even be taking part alongside the hordes of runners this year…
They also recently held their new ‘Shake-Out’ event from their new base of operations at 53two bar, theatre and arts charity venue on Watson Street, tucked just behind the main Deansgate strip, to raise awareness, get the fundraising ball rolling and show off the route for this year’s run.
While the people behind this truly remarkable event are still looking for local organisations to help promote the event and hopefully match their fundraising total for 2023, the Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness’s reputation is growing more each year — as is their tally.
Taking place on 15 November from the HQ at 53two, where looped laps of the route will start and end every few minutes, we sincerely hope you come along and get involved with this extremely worthy cause.
Not only will a few members of The Manc team be taking part yet again this year but we’ll also be sharing the live stream on our Facebook page. You can get donating NOW or on the night and we hope to see a few of you there and even more tuning in!
Featured Image — Manchester 24 Hour Run Against Homelessness/Run Wild MCR
Sport
Bolton fans split opinion with pitch invasion but they were the difference in the play-off semi-final
Danny Jones
The Toughsheet was hit with a huge pitch invasion by Bolton fans after the Wanderers narrowly secured their place in the League One play-off final this week, but the behaviour from those in the stadium has split opinion, to say the least.
Last Friday’s 3-1 win in the away leg gave the Trotters just enough cushion to survive the 3-2 defeat to Barnsley on Tuesday night, scraping through 5-4 on aggregate.
A tense affair was putting it mildly, especially after the home side began to let their two-nil lead from the first half slip and seeing the Tykes get just a goal away from tying things up with over a quarter of an hour still to go.
Bolton boss Ian Evatt put it best by simply saying, “We got the job done”, but as he’s stressed all season long as automatic promotion began to look less and less likely, he didn’t want his players to be premature or complacent come these final weeks. Safe to say the fans didn’t get that memo.
Yeah probably a bit embarrassing but anyone who says they wouldn’t get caught up in the emotion and do the same is lying
The scenes after Bolton secured their place in the final of the playoffs.
Although many have been defending the supporters for celebrating a massive victory which could see them back in the Championship after five years, not to mention it being the last home game of the season, plenty of others have been labelling the pitch invasion “nothing short of embarrassing”.
There have been countless comments to that effect, with people writing, “Bolton fans are weird. Pitch invasion and they aren’t even promoted yet” and “Pitch invasions for anything nowadays”. One user went so far as to argue, “Even the players must feel embarrassed”.
On the other hand, the defence that many of those are giving is that the Wanderers were close to liquidation just a few short years ago and unable to even pay their players, resorting to roping in academy players and dropping all the way to League Two in the 2020/21 season.
Nevertheless, there can be no doubt that it was a big night for Boltonians and it’s hard to pretend that being part of it would be anything other than up there with your most memorable sporting moments.
Some people say it’s tinpot for a former European side to to do a pitch invasion to celebrate setting to the league one play off final and to those people I say you’re 100% correct but you’re failing to consider the fact that pitch invasions are absolutely class 👏 pic.twitter.com/XUaxPHWZwl
As for Evatt, he told BBC Radio Manchester that the crowd was “the best it’s been since I’ve been here”, insisting that “the atmosphere was absolutely incredible” from start to finish.
When you talk of the ‘twelfth man’ in football, it’s these games that come to mind and it’s no exaggeration to say that it was the fans in the stands that helped their team ride out the storm for what must have felt like an eternity.
What do you think, is a pitch invasion before you’ve actually won anything a bit premature or do these lot deserve to soak it all in after how far they’ve come over the past year or so?
Pubs can extend their opening hours if England make it to the Euro 2024 semi-finals
Emily Sergeant
Pubs are to be permitted to extend their opening hours if England make it through to the semi-finals of EURO 2024 this summer.
With the Premier League, and the English and Scottish football leagues, all drawing to a close over the next couple of weeks, our nations are already looking ahead to what is gearing up to be a massive summer of sport – with both the UEFA EURO 2024, and the 2024 Olympics coming up before August is out.
And now, it’s been revealed by Home Secretary James Cleverly that if either England or Scotland’s mens national football teams make it to the semi-final of European football’s flagship tournament, then pubs will be allowed to stay open for longer.
But, there’s a bit of a catch… because isn’t there always?
The Government has said that venues will be allowed to stay open for an extra two hours on match days if either or both teams reach the last four or the final of the competition, but this only applies to pubs that already have a license to open until 11pm anyway.
Pubs can extend their opening hours if England make it to the Euro 2024 semi-finals / Credit: Piqsels | Wikimedia Commons
The move to extend opening hours comes after a consultation at the end of last year, and is hoped to provide a boost to the hospitality industry – which has notably been hit hard during the ongoing cost of living crisis.
The Home Secretaries in England and Wales, under Section 172 of the Licensing Act 2003, can make an order relaxing licensing hours to mark occasions of “exceptional national significance”, but the Scottish and Northern Irish Governments have to set their own rules.
“We have listened to the public through our consultation,” explained Home Secretary James Cleverley, “and we will be extending pub licensing hours should England or Scotland reach the semi-finals or final of Euro 2024.”
The EURO 2024 semi-finals are to be held on Tuesday 9 and Wednesday 10 July / Credit: UEFA
Mr Cleverley said the move will “allow friends, families and communities to come together for longer to watch their nation hopefully bring it home”.
This legislation is set to be laid in Parliament today (Wednesday 8 May) to ensure there is enough time for it to be debated and passed before the tournament begins on Friday 14 June, the Government has confirmed.