Matthew Smith's 800-mile stadium run challenge: week one update

Shields Gazette

If U Care Share co-founder Matthew Smith speaks to Mark Carruthers following the first week of his bid to run to every Premier League Stadium. If U Care Share is a suicide prevention charity that supports families affected by such tragedies.

Transcript

00:00Hi, I'm Mark Ruthers and I'm here for the Shields Gazette giving the latest update with Matthew

00:04Smith who is currently embarking, or in the middle of we should say, an 800 mile plus run to raise

00:10money for Ify Kershaw Foundation. Matthew last Monday started off at Bournemouth Vitality

00:15Stadium, he's making his way to Newcastle United St James' Park via every Premier League stadium.

00:22He is just about to arrive at stadium number eight, nine Matthew? Eleven. Eleven, well there

00:30you go. Eleven, yeah. Which is the one that was the sticking point when planning came in, did

00:36London at the weekend, all the London clubs and then of course had to venture over west to Suffolk

00:42to Ipswich Town's Portman Road. Matthew, up here in the northeast at the minute we're recording

00:48this on Tuesday tea time, it is pouring down with rain, however quite different down there in Suffolk.

00:55Yeah, warm, very warm. It's been 27 most of today, yesterday it was 32,

01:0633 and yeah it's just not ideal weather to be running in. I don't deal well with the heat at

01:14the best of times and quite busy roads I've been running on, not many paths, tucking in trying to

01:23avoid lorries and stuff so it's been an interesting couple of days. But yeah,

01:30plodding on, plodding on. London at the weekend was good, enjoyable and we're in Ipswich.

01:39Some big clubs in London as well, how was the welcome?

01:41Yeah, it's been great. The clubs have been superb. Managed to get on to Sky Sports News at the

01:48weekend as well, completely by fluke really. So the kind of welcome from the clubs has been great.

01:59I think one of the things I'm kind of trying to talk about a little bit more is that next step

02:07of them not becoming fundraising, sponsorship, all them sort of things because I'm still a hell

02:15of a way away from where I want to get to. Yeah, I mean you posted a video yesterday just

02:22showing how tough things are at the moment, how tough you're finding things. You mentioned that

02:28target, it is an ambitious target of 135,000 but I think it's important that you remind us just why

02:33that is such a target. Yeah, the reason specifically for 135 is it's estimated that

02:40135 people are affected by one loss to suicide and we wanted to do something for every single

02:50one of them. And currently as an organisation, If You Care Share is facing or has faced some

02:58significant funding issues and we want to use this money to go towards preventing more people

03:06from taking their own lives. So this money that I'm trying to raise in simple terms quite literally

03:14will be saving lives. So it's so important and I'm really, really hopeful that we can do it and that

03:24the pain that I'm kind of putting myself through currently is all worthwhile because, you know,

03:33I finished for the day, I've done just over 30 miles today in the heat and then straight away

03:39I'm thinking I need to ice my feet, I need to ice my knee because my knee is in quite a bit of pain

03:47at the moment, very swollen and I'm nettled to bits as well. So I just hope all the nettles and

03:57all the pain is worthwhile when I get to St James' Park. You've got a little reminder of home of

04:04course at Portman Road, just outside there, a lot of links between the club but one very special one.

04:10Yep, I finished off and went and got a picture with Sir Bobby, which obviously has to be done

04:18and said I'll see you on the other side up at St James' as well, which will be nice. So yeah,

04:27the connections are nice and it gives you that little bit of a lift when you need it,

04:32when things are tough. Just looking over the next few days, just take us through

04:40what you're looking at in terms of where you're running to. I think as well, coming up on my

04:46right and thinking early next week, maybe later this week, you've got some rehab coming up?

04:52Yeah, so next few days after I leave Portman Road in the morning is Miles getting away from Ipswich,

05:02a few days on the road, running, trying to just scratch off as much as I can,

05:08heading towards Leicester, which I'll be getting towards at the end of the week.

05:13Obviously coinciding with the season, Premier League season starting, but I've got a welcomed

05:20little treat in the next couple of days of a very kind individual offering to give us a massage from

05:28Cambridge United, which was sorted by yourself, which I'm very grateful for because up until now,

05:36I've basically been getting the lads who are helping us out to just

05:41roll us out with the rolling pin that I have, which while the pain and it feels helpful after,

05:48there isn't really any science behind it. It's just our point and say, if that hurts,

05:54please do something.

05:57I promise you I'm laughing with you there, by the way.

06:01And obviously when you get to the Midlands as well, I believe an outlet based in the North East

06:07have given you some support there as well? Yeah, so Nuffield Health Newcastle have

06:15kind of answered my call in terms of the recovery and going to be getting some more massages

06:21throughout the Midlands, which is, yeah, I think that them kind of are going to be the seriously

06:29tough miles. They're going to be where my body's going to be in a serious amount of strain,

06:35even more than it is right now. So yeah, I'm very grateful for that.

06:40In terms of mileage, just to finish off, we mentioned it's 800 miles in total, just over.

06:48Where are you at right now? Do you know what your mile count is?

06:51Yeah, I think I was trying to work this out. I think I've hit 250. I need to double check,

06:58but I'm sure I'm at 250 now, which in nine days I'm pretty happy with. You've got to be happy

07:08with that, you know. I think to see where I am in the country compared to where I was,

07:16what, you know, just over a week ago, which feels a lifetime ago, is bizarre. But yeah,

07:25I'm trying not to get too far ahead in terms of looking and just thinking, right, okay, tomorrow

07:30this is where I need to get to and I'll do that. Some effort, some effort, mate. To donate to

07:38Matthew's Team H135 given page, it is www.totalgiven.co.uk

07:45forward slash appeal forward slash Team H135. Yes, I absolutely read that. And the website is

07:50for If You Care Share is www.ifyoucareshare.co.uk and you can see all of Matthew's progress on

07:57Twitter or X or whatever we are calling it these days. It's at If You Care Share and that's with a

08:03not the word you. Also on Facebook, facebook.com forward slash If You Care Share. Matthew, we will

08:09speak again later in the week to see how things are going and good luck for tomorrow. Thanks,

08:16mate. Look forward to it.

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