Jamie Peacock To Run A Unique Greenhouse Sports 45 Mile Ultramarathon

Jamie Peacock MBE, Rugby League legend, has announced he is running a unique ultra marathon around London in order to fundraise Greenhouse on March 5th. The decision to independently run the 45 miles comes after the announcement that Green Man Ultra Marathon, which Jamie was due to run, has been postponed as a result of Covid-19.

Despite the disruption, Jamie is dedicated to completing his own ultra marathon and raising a target of £30,000, which will provide a fulltime Greenhouse Sports Coach to a school for a whole year.

Jamie is set to run the course and fundraise with Simon Dent, keen endurance runner and founder of sports marketing agency Dark Horses in a socially distanced manner and in accordance with all Covid-19 government guidelines. Together, Jamie and Simon will make a 45 mile loop around London, which will begin and end at the Greenhouse Centre, the charity’s HQ, and check in at a number of the 40 schools in the capital that Greenhouse Coaches support.

With the Rugby League World Cup hosted in England this autumn, Jamie will also route by the two venues in the capital that will host matches – Arsenal FC’s Emirates Stadium, and the Copper Box in the Olympic Park in Stratford, that will host the Wheelchair Rugby matches.

Jamie, who made more than 500 club appearances and accumulated 47 international caps, has chosen to support Greenhouse Sports because of his passion for sport and the positive impact that sports has on children and their mental health and academic achievement. It has been proven that sport has a positive and powerful impact on people, particularly children, and Jamie wants to ensure that more children are given that opportunity.

This unique formula mirrors Jamie Peacock’s love of coaching and mentoring, something which he has turned into a professional enterprise with his motivational and team building courses, and recent launch of his self-development book ‘Be A Champion’.

If Jamie reaches his fundraising goal, his efforts will provide a fulltime Greenhouse Sports Coach to a school for a year. In the provision of the coach, these young people will have a consistent and positive role model who can help develop their sporting ability, life skills and academic performance. School children supported by a Greenhouse Sports Coach are on average likely to attend more than 5 days of school a year than those not on Greenhouse programmes.

As the run is due to take place on the usual date of the annual Greenhouse’s City Dodgeball tournament fundraiser, plans are also underway to invite the Dodgeball teams and firms in a Covid-safe running challenge at the same time to support Jamie’s Challenge and raise funds.

Greenhouse Sports, supported by the players of the People’s Postcode Lottery, partners with schools to embed full-time coaches who become trusted mentors and inspire the children to aim higher.