From boots to running shoes: Shrewsbury Town’s Dave Edwards gears up for first marathon for charity

Excitement is building for Shrewsbury Town assistant Dave Edwards as the days tick down to his participation in the London Marathon.

Edwards, who has helped guide Town to safety in League Two in recent months, is taking on his first marathon in a bid to raise £10,000 for his charity, The Little Rascals Foundation.

The Shrewsbury-based charity supports children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) and their families across the region.

Edwards co-founded the charity with close friend Ben Wootton 10 years ago. The pair met at school in Pontesbury and are celebrating their 40th birthdays this year - making the marathon challenge together particularly fitting.

- You can support Dave Edwards’ fundraising efforts here

While he is used to putting in the miles on the football pitch, this presents a very different challenge for Edwards.

“There is a lot of excitement,” he said. “It's such a special event, which not everyone is lucky enough to be able to do.

“I feel fortunate to have a place to be able to do it. I'm going to make the most of it.

“I've always wanted to do a marathon, but once you're playing football, you can't really do it, because the sports don't really lend themselves to each other.

“As much as you need fitness in football, it's completely different. When I finished playing, I started to up my running a little bit.

“I wasn't sure I'd be able to do that with those old football injuries, especially my ankles, but it's been okay.

“I did a half marathon last September in Wolverhampton, which was good, but difficult.

“I remember crossing the finish line thinking ‘how on earth am I going to do another 13 miles in London?’ It seemed beyond me how that is possible.”

Edwards, who also played for Wolves, has competed in 10k races in Shrewsbury and Welshpool in recent years. However, the marathon presents an entirely new challenge.

Training has also begun to take its toll in recent weeks, as the former Salop favourite balances preparation with his role as assistant manager at the club, which he joined in late January under Gavin Cowan.

Edwards added: “Coming into this new role, it's meant I've not had anywhere near as much time as what I was planning on having for the training, so I've had to try and fit a lot of these runs in.

“It's been a 20-week plan into the marathon. It was all going well fitness-wise, but just as I've got to the last three or four weeks where the runs have really got a lot longer, I am just starting to get a few little niggles from my football career, and I suppose just old age a little bit as well.”

Edwards set an ambitious fundraising target, of which more than 60 per cent has already been raised - surpassing £6,000.

The 40-year-old has been blown away by the support.

“It's been amazing, and I'm really confident that we can keep pushing that as we lead into the week of the marathon as well and get a few more,” he said.

“Everyone who's donated, we're so grateful for.

“There's so many charities out there. There's so many people doing these wonderful things to try and raise money for these organisations. It amazes me every single time that people still dig into their pockets and help Little Rascals.

“It is very special in the local community having a small local charity, which makes a real difference. I'm just really grateful that people feel they can dig into their pockets to donate that £10, that £5, whatever it is.

“Every single penny goes directly to the Foundation. We're completely non-for-profit, and it all makes a difference. Hopefully, we can get to that target, maybe beyond even, and then say that that money will be well used.”

With the funds raised, Edwards hopes to create a new respite centre featuring soft play for children, as well as a space to help teenagers “transition into adulthood”.

The charity has also recently introduced a mobile sensory van, which can be hired by schools and organisations, while also making free visits to those who express an interest.

“We feel that's an area within society and locally that needs to be done more for children or teenagers with special educational needs and disabilities to get themselves ready for adulthood,” added Edwards.

“If we can provide a centre where they can come and spend time with children their age, develop their life skills - whether that's cooking exercises, learning to get the bus, all these little things which they're going to have to do.

”Work experience opportunities over the centre as well, we'd love to have our own site where we can really develop that and be a home for us moving forward and sort of build on the services that we already offer.”

You can donate via the link: https://www.justgiving.com/page/ben-dave-1?utm_medium=FR&utm_source=CL&utm_campaign=020