Former Owls player Ritchie Humphreys is running in the London Marathon this weekend in aid of Mind Charity.
The ex-Wednesday man, who now works for the Professional Footballers’ Association, will take on the 26-mile challenge on Sunday 28 April, aiming to raise vital funds and awareness for the national charity.
Mind is the official charity partner of the Football League for the 2018/19 and 2019/20 campaigns.
Ritchie, who played over 700 professional games during a 20-year career, is passionate about campaigning around mental health in football and, with his experience with the PFA, is well-placed to do so.
The former Owl said: “I wanted to take on this challenge to raise the awareness of mental health and mental health within football, the industry I have worked in since I was 16-years-old.
“The preparation definitely hasn’t been easy – especially after an initial setback with a calf injury! But I know I’m doing this for a really good cause.”
Research from the PFA shows that 438 current and former professionals accessed therapy in 2018, which is 278 more than two years ago.
Hayley Jarvis, head of physical activity at Mind, said: “We’d like to say a huge thank you to Ritchie for choosing to fundraise for Mind.
“We hope lots of people get behind his fundraising efforts in the lead-up to the London Marathon.
“Every year, one in four of us will experience a mental health problem. That could be one person in every family, hundreds of football players and many thousands of football fans.”
You can support Ritchie’s challenge by CLICKING HERE.
Good luck, Ritchie!