On June 1st the Bray Hockey Club Ladies 1sts and 2nds, along with some of the Men and other squad members took on the "100 kilometers in the 30-day challenge". The challenge is for each member to travel a minimum of 100km by walking, running, or cycling, with a minimum of 50km running.  Initiated by the Ladies 1sts Coach, Sara Quill, as an idea to help get the squads reconnected and prepared for the upcoming preseason in July, whilst also giving back to a great charity in the local community, Purple House Cancer Support. 

Purple House has been in existence for over 30 years and is based in Bray providing Cancer support nationwide through practical and emotional support, counselling, psychotherapy bereavement counselling, support groups, classes, workshops for children and complementary therapies. They rely on fundraising & donations to fund their services on a daily basis and Bray Hockey Club wanted to give back to our community and to help in any way for such a great cause that provides support for a disease that nearly all of us have been affected by in some way.

Following the cutting short of the hockey season in March due to COVID-19 and the unknown actual return timelines to hockey bringing the players back together to give a sense of normality and unity is really important. Already in the 1st week of the challenge we have seen the players reconnect and engage again with each other, just like being out on the pitch together. They have been out in the sun, wind, and rain and joined by family and friends to complete the challenge, it is very much a community effort within the Club.

In the first week, we have had 38 members participating, have travelled over 1600km, and raised over e1000 of our e2500 target. Ladies 1sts player Caoimhe Hardiman is leading the way with over 140km travelled exceeding the 100km target albeit predominantly with cycling so she still has a bit to go with running. John Lush is in a similar situation with nearly 90km travelled again mostly by bike. On the running front, Serena Rush, also a 1sts squad member has completed her 50km requirement with over 65km ran already. Men's player Jack Lacey Curtis has already run over 46km and walked another 10km and has set a target to travel 300km over the month. Whilst a number of other participants have hit the halfway mark on the overall distance target.

To support this challenge, please donate through our GoFundMe Page: https://www.gofundme.com/f/Bray-HC-100km-for-Purple-House

To find our more about Purple Cancer go to: www.purplehouse.ie