When Alex Eagle and James Gilley launched The Running Charity following the London 2012 Olympic Games, they hoped to bring stability and community to young people in London. At the time, the buzz of sporting achievement was in the air, so the pair began by football coaching a small group from a day center for homeless people in King’s Cross. Very quickly, The Running Charity gained momentum, with young people coming forward to engage in sports, and in particular, running. With the help of donations, partnerships and the goodwill of others, their work has impacted hundreds of young lives. Alex tells their story.

I was a football coach, working with young people at a day center for homeless people. I had a chance encounter with James, who had lost a friend to an overdose. He wanted to honor his friend’s memory. We put our heads together and launched the program in September 2012. 

We began by offering support to the 12 young people at the day center. Most were sleeping on the streets or living in emergency accommodation. They all loved sport [such as football and running] but didn’t have the opportunity to join recreational clubs. We worked with them three times a week for six months, organizing running training and personal development sessions. We saw all 12 people’s mental and physical health improve dramatically during this time.

Running helps to connect you. If you run 5K on five occasions, you’ll find you run quicker, or you find it easier. There’s a tangible reward with running. We start with a run, which helps to address an area of their life where they have power – their health. We ask them to identify a running distance they don’t think they can manage. For some it’s a marathon, for others it’s a kilometer. Our job is to get them there. Once they see they can do it, their goals expand to cover other things – like giving up smoking, applying for college or getting a job.

On average, our young people join us with six complex needs. These range from fleeing domestic violence and escaping gang culture, to experiencing human trafficking and coping with severe mental health issues. Our coaching begins on a one-to-one basis because 70 percent of our young people have experienced trauma. Those initial stages are about building trust. Sadly, 20% of people we work with have suicidal ideation – for which they have tried, and failed, to get professional help as waiting lists are too long. What is absent, is stability – and that’s where we come in.

The positive change is physically evident in a matter of months. They stand up straighter, look people in the eye as they speak and are no longer afraid to state their needs. A major cue is when they talk about what they might be doing in three months, six months, or a year. Sometimes keeping them stable is a win in itself. 

One of our young people, Claude Umuhire, ran the London Marathon in 2015. As a result, the London Marathon Charitable Trust supported the charity’s programmes in London for two years. Claude now works as our senior programs coach. Another one of our young people weighed 51 kilograms and was a drug user when he joined us. He left as an 82-kilogram personal trainer. This shows us that young people can turn the script on what being vulnerable is, despite the challenges they face.

There are 10 full-time staff members now – and we have branches in London, Manchester, Leeds and Brighton. We work closely with our frontline partners at the day centers, emergency accommodation, and hostels – as well as domestic violence refuges, human trafficking organizations and refugee charities. Our program has developed to offer kit, equipment and counseling services, alongside continuing to advocate fitness goals.

At the heart of our work is a desire for young people to look back at this time of their lives and remember it as positive and special, despite what they have experienced. That should be something every young person is enabled to do. We see the difference that positivity can make through our work. The transformations in our young people can be quite amazing – we see seismic changes.  

Find out more about The Running Charity.