Hero Nicky all set to complete his gruelling NC500 run at Inverness
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A former professional footballer is tomorrow (Friday July 14) due to finish an astonishing ultra running challenge for Mental Health UK.
Heroic Nicky Forster who played for teams including Brighton, Charlton, Reading, Brentford, plus many more, took on the North Coast 500 (NC500) the 500-mile loop road that circles the Highland mainland and includes the notoriously steep Bealach na Ba (Pass of the Cattle) to Applecross and the Berriedale Braes on the A9.
If that wasn't challenging enought, Nicky has no support crew and is pulling his kit, food and camping gear for when he isn't in a B&B in a two-wheeled cart!
Earlier today (Thursday) as he passed the Morangie Distillery at Tain he was feeling good as he felt the worst was past and he was on the "home straight."
He said: "When I got past Berriedale it became a lot easier and I really began to feel I was going to do it.
"I am planning Alness tonight (Thur) then an 8.30 start on Friday and all being well I am hoping to reach Inverness Castle around 4.40pm."
He is not expecting a big reception, but if ever someone deserved a "Well done" welcome it is this guy.
Nicky added: "The interaction with the local people has really made it memorable for me, and their encouragement was tremendous."
He said it was really tough at times with blisters, bleeding feet plus sore knees and ankles.
Earlier he explained why he embarked on this feat of endurance.
"For 20 years I was a professional footballer, so pushing my body to its limit was a daily part of life. Now a recreational runner, I run marathons and ultra-marathons.
"When 14 years ago, I sat in a football club dressing room for the last time like every professional player leaving the bubble of professional sport it is tough.
"In the time since, I have been a football manager, leading a team out at Wembley in 2010, lost it all, including 21 properties, become a personal trainer and opened up my own Gym and Wellness centre, become a Goal Setting and Life coach and now run a coaching business.
"It’s taken me 14 years to find my purpose, to find my place, like every player, it is a tough transition when you come to the end of our playing career."
Nicky added: "I’m blessed to be able to still move, I can run, I can cycle, I can swim, I can lift weights in the gym, and as long as I can move, then I will move, every single day, every day I will go out and exercise, I count myself as being extremely lucky being able to still move at 50 years old.
"Exercise along with other coping mechanisms has enabled me to keep the wolves of mental health from my door. Others are not so lucky."
He said the statistics bear that out:
* 35% of people will experience mental health issues over their lifetime.
* Over the course of someone’s lifetime, 1 in 15 people attempt suicide.
(Statistics from the Mental Health Foundation.)
He added: "We are seeing a growing mental health problem in the world of professional sport, not just football, but across all sports the pressures, the strain, the voices, come at a cost to many.
"I reaching out today because rather than struggle in and struggle on, I run, and run, and run some more.
Raising money in the process seems a worthy cause."
The massive NC500 challenge he embarked does not appear to have been completed by many, and Nicky can only find two others having completed the full distance as a run.
It is 516 miles of coastal roads
15 ultra-marathons in 15 days
Averaging 35 miles a day
He started on Friday June 30 from Inverness Castle and aims to finish there on Friday July 14.
Nicky has what he calls his Big Ask.
"I'm calling on every professional football player to make a contribution, and each club to match the contribution from their players. If every player and club joined in, I would be nearly there.
"I will be looking to both the world of professional sport, and corporate sponsors to reach the audacious target."
The arithmetic is -
If every Premier League player put in £200 and their club matched that amount -£200 x 30 x 2 x 20 = £240,000
If every Championship player put in £100 and their club matched that amount - £100 x 25 x 2 x 24 = £120,000
If every League One player put in £50 and the club matched that amount - £50 x 20 x 2 x 24 = £48,000
If every League Two player put in £25 and the club matched that amount -£25 x 20 x 2 x 24 = £24,000
Total – £432,000
https://nickyforster.com/nc500-run-2023/
