Ealing Half Marathon weekend raises over £4,000 for the Foundation

Ealing Trailfinders were out in force at the Ealing Half Marathon weekend of 26th and 27th September. The event has become one of the biggest weekends in the borough’s calendar, bringing thousands of runners and spectators onto the streets of Ealing, and the Club had a presence across both days. Thanks to our runners and the activities we put on, the weekend raised £4,229.83 for the Ealing Trailfinders Foundation.

Things got going on Saturday with the Trailfinders Ealing Mini Mile, which the Club was pleased to support through our Community team. The Mini Mile gives younger runners the chance to experience race day for themselves, with their own start line, course and finish. Bruno, the Club mascot, lined up with the children and ran the course alongside them, which went down well with the young runners and their parents.

On Sunday, back rower Conor Oliver set the Half Marathon field off as official starter, giving the runners a send-off from one of the Club’s first team squad. Staff and trustees of the Foundation then ran the 13.1 miles to raise money for the charity, among them Ian Isham, Head of Community and Foundation. Training for a half marathon means months of early mornings and long weekend runs, and the support from colleagues, friends and family along the route made a real difference on the day.

Away from the course, the Club’s inflatable rugby posts and the Foundation’s BlazePod reaction challenge were running throughout the weekend. The posts gave children and adults the chance to practise their passing and kicking skills, while the BlazePod challenge tested how quickly people could react to a set of light-up pods. Plenty of runners and spectators stopped to have a go, and donations from those taking part added to the weekend’s total.

Every penny raised goes back into the Foundation’s projects (https://ealingtrailfinders.org.uk/the-ealing-trailfinders-foundation/foundation-projects/), which use rugby and sport to support health, wellbeing and inclusion for people of all ages across Ealing and further afield. Money raised at events like this helps us keep those programmes running and develop new ones where we see a need.

All of this came ahead of a 36-19 home win over Richmond at Trailfinders Sports Ground, which rounded off a good weekend for the Club. If you missed it, the next home match is against Hartpury on Sunday 11 October, and tickets are available here. Before that, Trailfinders Women take on Harlequins in a West London derby in the JAECOO PWR Cup tomorrow – Saturday, 3 October. Tickets for that one are here.

Thank you to everyone who sponsored our runners or came along to support. You helped make it a brilliant weekend.