King’s College rowers are exercising one million metres to support Cambridge homelessness charities

From the 14th January to the 14th February, King’s College Boat Club Women’s Team are collectively running, cycling and erging one million metres to raise money for three Cambridge-based homelessness charities: Wintercomfort, Cambridge Cyrenians and Jimmy’s Homeless Shelter.  

With over a week to go, the team has already hit over 975,000 metres and raised £850. 

The seven participants have been accumulating their distances from wherever they are staying in lockdown with whatever equipment they have to hand. For some, this means taking long walks with friends around Cambridge whilst others are pushing themselves to new levels on ergometers at home. 

The rowers are encouraged to contribute whatever they feel able, and the event will finish when the collective target of one million metres is hit.  

King’s Boat Club women’s team will be running the event until Valentine’s Day. (Image Credits: KCBC Facebook)

Amanda McHugh, the captain of the woman’s first team, decided to run the event to encourage the continuation of training during lockdown whilst helping with the rowers’ mental health by providing them with a tangible way to make a difference to the Cambridge community. 

Amanda told the Tab Cambridge: “In the first lockdown there were more opportunities to positively contribute through Clap for Carers or the 5/5/5 challenge, but it feels much harder to make a concrete difference this time.  

“We decided as a group to do the challenge in aid of homeless charities because as much as it’s easy to romanticise living in Cambridge, it is the most unequal city in the country. We feel that ignoring the most vulnerable as winter gets cold during another lockdown does a disservice to the position we hold as students here.”

She added that “rowing is seen traditionally as an exclusive sport, and we’d love to help change that image by giving something back to the community.” 

They are now planning to attempt to exceed their original target (Photo credits: @kingscollegeboatclub via Instagram)

In the first week alone, the team collectively covered 300,000 metres (over quarter of the full target), d espite missing two members in the due to one positive COVID-19 test and one quarantining rower.

 By the 28th January over 600,000 metres had been covered, and over £750 raised for homeless charities in Cambridge.

On the 4th of February the team hit over 975,000 metres with £850 raised, meaning the team are currently on track to meet their target of one million metres before the end date. But the rowers have decided not to stop once that goal is achieved, and to instead see how many metres they can reach before Valentine’s Day.

In completing an active challenge like this during lockdown, restrictions have meant some rowers have had to be quite inventive. One rower, Catalina, spoke to the Tab Cambridge about her experience taking part in the event: 

“So far, our fundraiser has made me push myself beyond my limits! I ended up going on long walks and exploring parts of Cambridge that I’d never seen before, as well as going on lunchtime walks with friends more often and reminding myself of the beauty of this town.

“I’m really glad to be part of such a proactive and supportive W1″(Photo credits: @kingscollegeboatclub via Instagram)

“I’m lucky to have an erg in my room, so have also been doing quite long workouts, the biggest one being a half marathon which really tested my mental strength and ended up being a mindfulness exercise as I counted my strokes on each second 500m of the last 10k. 

“I’m really glad to be part of such a proactive and supportive W1 in King’s this year and hope that our effort helps raise awareness and reach our funding goal!”  

Wintercomfort, one of the charities that the KCBC’s event is supporting spoke to the Tab Cambridge about the importance of their work, saying “Homelessness is a year round problem in Cambridge but of course, during these winter months, life on the streets is significantly more challenging. 

“The effects of the pandemic on livelihoods mean that an increasing number of people now face homelessness and the continuing lockdown makes life yet more difficult for those already sleeping rough.   

As the winter weather kicks in, we’re working with @camcitco and the Street Outreach team to ensure that all rough sleepers have access to emergency severe weather accommodation. If you’re worried about a homeless person, let the team know via the @Tell_StreetLink app. pic.twitter.com/Mb50Q0NmvT

— Wintercomfort (@wintercomfort20) November 16, 2020

“Many of our street-homeless service users live with health conditions that make them extremely vulnerable to the effects of the virus and many community spaces would normally offer some respite from the cold are temporarily closed.  Thankfully, Wintercomfort remains open daily to provide hot meals, advice and life-changing services for those at greatest risk.   

“We are so grateful for the amazing efforts of King’s College Boat Club which will provide vital funds to support our work in helping to transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people within the community.” 

The KCBC’s W1 will be working to meet and exceed their target until the 14th of February. Click here to donate.  

Feature Image Credit: Andrew Dunn via Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons License) and Louis Brettkelly

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