A REDDITCH mum who puts her body on the line every day as part of her job is to tackle the London Marathon to help those seriously injured playing a sport she loves.
Cold case policewoman Sharon Avery is on a mission to raise as much money as possible for the Rugby Football Union’s Injured Players Foundation.
Last Saturday she was down at Twickenham at the England versus Wales international match shaking a bucket to raise both awareness and cash for the cause.
Then she spent 15 minutes chatting to Prince Harry, patron of the charity, to discuss the work the organisation does and her own fund-raising efforts.
“Rugby is a wonderful sport, my own son plays it and I love watching it and this charity supports players, from grassroots to the top level, who have gone through life-changing injuries,” she said.
“And with the RFU covering all the administration costs it means every single penny raised goes to the charity.”
Sharon is no stranger to injury herself; she needed several operations on her shoulder after injuring it while preventing a young man from jumping off a bridge, and currently she’s sporting a plaster on her knee, the result of tripping over while out training for the marathon.
“This is a small charity but it’s doing such a valuable job. It’s about giving something back to a sport I love,” said Sharon.
To get started, Sharon joined a Couch to 5k class and then joined STARS, a local running club. She’s now training six days a week, has hit the 18-mile mark with a 20-miler looming large before the Cardiff half marathon.
It means, barring injury, she should be right on track to tackle the London Marathon on April 24.
To help her cause, visit https://www.justgiving.com/Sharon-Avery-marathon
Sharon is also holding a Quiz Night and charity auction at Alcester Rugby Club on Friday, April 8. All welcome.
