Steve Green, a lifelong rugby enthusiast and dedicated supporter Wooden Spoon, is set to take on the iconic London Marathon this year, his very first marathon, having only just turned 50.
A familiar face in the Billericay community, Steve has lived in the town since the age of four and has been playing rugby since he was eight. Despite his long-standing involvement in sport, marathon running is a completely new challenge. Prior to signing up, Steve had never run further than 10km, though he is a regular participant at Billericay Parkrun.
“Steve works in London for Tokio Marine HCC International (TMHCCI), who have pledged to match his fundraising efforts up to £3,500, significantly boosting his support for Wooden Spoon. TMHCCI has a strong connection to grassroots rugby, having sponsored the Essex team at Vets Fest ( Wooden Spoon’s annual veteran rugby festival) on multiple occasions.
“I’ve supported Wooden Spoon for years, starting with the Guinness World Record rugby match in 2019,” Steve explains. “Since then, I’ve taken part in every Vets Fest and a number of National Vets fixtures. It’s a fantastic charity doing incredible work for children and young people, so it felt like the obvious choice.”
Steve’s training journey has not been without its challenges. After making strong early progress, he suffered a setback when he broke his hand playing rugby at the end of November, requiring surgery. Despite this, he has shown determination to get back on track.
“Training was going really well until the injury,” Steve says. “It took me quite a while to get back up to the distances I needed in my training plan and my original target of 4 hours is going to be a real challenge—but I’m determined to give it everything.”
Alongside his training, Steve has been actively fundraising. A quiz night at Billericay Rugby Club raised over £1,200, demonstrating the strong support from his local community.
You can support Steve here : https://www.justgiving.com/page/stevenjohngreen
