SportsAid athletes need boxing’s help with #MyMiles Challenge

SportsAid Week 2020 is going ahead for a fifth consecutive year from today (21st September) to 27th September…and it needs amateur boxing’s support.

The UK charity that helps the next generation of British sport stars at the start of their careers will once again be running the #MyMiles Challenge.

The aim is to shine a spotlight on the country’s most talented young athletes by undertaking physical activity of our own and posting the miles we cover through social media.

With Tokyo 2021 on the horizon, SportsAid wants boxers to show young stars of the future that we are right behind them, ‘keeping them company’ in our own way, as they return to training despite the continued uncertainty surrounding their competition calendar.

Boxers who are being supported by SportsAid include Adam Azim, Denaeo George (pictured), Charlie Hickford, William Howe, Vinny Huczmann, Enriko Itauma, Ellis Panter, Emily Asquith, Abby Briggs, Courtney Cox, Sophie Harker, Sameenah Toussaint, Sacha Hickey, Danielle Marshall, Shelby-Marie Lee, Jessica Keeton, Paris Smith and Amber Moss-Birch.

The #MyMiles Challenge is inspired by SportsAid athletes, typically aged between 12 and 18, who cover around 40 miles in their training every week alongside their school or university schedule, homework assignments, time with family and social lives.

The Challenge is accessible to everyone and it’s down to you as to how many miles you wish to commit to, how you do them and who you do them with.

SportsAid has listed a few ideas below as the target is to beat last year’s total of 51,001 miles.

Each year, SportsAid Week has been a wonderful week of fun and fundraising for the charity and over £175,000 has been donated to support our work since the initiative was launched in 2016.

The #MyMiles Challenge has always had two key elements: the first is to help tell the stories of talented young athletes from communities up and down the country while generating awareness about the charity in the process; the second is to invite people to fundraise for SportsAid.

The COVID-19 pandemic has had a profound effect on the charity sector, SportsAid included, so they would be grateful for any fundraising people may choose to do this year, without any specific expectation.

A step-by-step guide to the #MyMiles Challenge

1) Go solo or build up your own team

First of all, you have a decision to make….are you undertaking the #MyMiles Challenge individually or building a team of formidable friends, family and colleagues? This may dictate the amount of miles you wish to cover.

You can feel what it’s like to be a talented young athlete by setting yourself a personal goal and fitting this around your busy schedule….or you may decide this is the perfect opportunity to connect with a wider group and set an ambitious target for you to reach collectively.

2) Choose your target distance

The beauty of the #MyMiles Challenge is that it’s completely accessible. Whether you’re committing to a single mile, or several hundred, your contribution will make a difference. We have seen so many creative ideas over the years from individuals and teams…and they’ve all been inspired by the talented young athletes we support.

We’ve put together a few suggestions, below, which may work for you….but it really is a blank canvas so we’d love you to come up with your own versions.

#MyMiles target

What would you like to achieve? Set yourself a target of as many miles as you wish and complete them over the duration of SportsAid Week.

This may be better suited to sports which are less easy to record the distance you’ve covered…we suggest treating 20 minutes of exercise as equal to one mile.

#MyMiles marathon

Create your own marathon! Complete 26.2 miles your way: plan your route and run/cycle/walk it all in one go, or gradually progress towards your target through a diverse range of activities during the week. This is easy to map out locally via AA Route Planner….or you could do it on the ergometer.

#MyMiles x40

This is the distance a SportsAid athlete, on average, will get through in training, under their own steam, every single week! Put yourself in their shoes and see how challenging it is to complete 40 miles across seven days with all your other commitments….you may be grateful for bed time.

#MyMiles tour

Take us on a tour of your choosing…this could be in the flesh or virtually. You may want to tick off a number of stadiums on your route and take selfies at each stop…or you could jump on Zwift and find yourself riding through the different stages of the Tour de France, Giro d’Italia or Vuelta a España.

Tokyo to Paris

6,028 miles! That’s the distance from the Tokyo Olympic Stadium to the Stade de France – where the Opening Ceremonies will take place for the respective Games in 2021 and 2024. It’s an ambitious total but you can do it with a big enough team! Why not extend to a whole month to complete it?

From our office to…

You may be working from home right now, but this is a popular choice. Stick in the postcode for your office into Google Maps, choose an end destination and find out the distance between the two. You may choose a venue of sporting significance, or have an international office you want to reach.

3) Decide how you’re going to complete the distance

How you choose to support the #MyMiles Challenge is entirely up to you. We are looking for you to take the lead and decide how you would most like to join in. Perhaps you could opt for an Olympic or Paralympic discipline?

Running, cycling, swimming and rowing are always popular. How about archery, canoeing, fencing, sailing, skiing, table tennis, taekwondo or weightlifting? Team sports such as netball, hockey, rugby, football and basketball are excellent for getting more people involved.

Crossfit, boxercise, yoga and spin are classes you may like. This could be trickier with the current restrictions placed across gyms but why not find a class online?

Walking your dog, going for a stroll and actively commuting to work all fit the bill and can fit into your daily routine quite easily. The distance you cover doesn’t have to come via strenuous activity. The Challenge is designed to work for you. An important point mentioned above…20 minutes = 1 mile if it’s not easy to record the distance.

4) Set up a fundraising page

You can also set up a fundraising page in advance and encourage donations be made to SportsAid. This really is entirely up to you as to whether you wish to do so. Any money raised through the #MyMiles Challenge will support talented young athletes in many different ways – no matter how big or small the amount.

5) It’s SportsAid Week….do your miles and keep us updated

It’s Monday 21st September….time to start completing your miles! You have a whole week to cover your chosen distance but do feel free to do this over a longer period of time if you have set a more ambitious total.

We would love you to keep us updated on your progress through social media by posting a video or image using #MyMiles.…particularly as we can share this with the talented young athletes we support to show them you’re right there with them.

Please remember to consult the latest government guidance to ensure your planned activity adheres to the current restrictions in place regarding COVID-19 and please follow relevant health, social distancing and hygiene protocols.