Shields steps forward to help Red Cross
Brad Shields is making every step count this month as he takes on a Red Cross Journey challenge.
The Hurricanes loose forward is challenging himself to walk 240km in a month, to follow the journey of a volunteer responding to a disaster like the Edgecumbe floods or the Kaikoura quake.
Shields has been involved with the Red Cross since early this year. He didn’t initially know much about the organisation, but was impressed to learn how important its volunteers are and decided to get involved.
‘‘I was keen to create an awareness,’’ he says. ‘‘And if I could use who I was to help, then that would be awesome and that would be a win.’’
The rugby star has taken on the 240km challenge, which is based on the journey of Kath Cosgrove, a member of Red Cross Dunedin’s Disaster Welfare and Support Team.
He uses a pedometer to count his steps, and a GPS device during training, which will help keep track of his progress.
Shields says the challenge will fit easily around his Hurricanes training schedule. He usually covers six to seven kilometres during training, so is confident of reaching his goal.
‘‘Just to top it off I might do a little walk in evening ... I’ve got a little french bulldog and we tend to take him down to the beach or down to the park on my days off.’’
Later this month, the Hurricanes travel to South Africa to play the Bulls in Pretoria before facing the Force in Perth, but Shields is prepared to adapt to keep his pedometer ticking along.
‘‘When we travel, we tend to lighten our training load a little bit so it might be that I need to go for an extra walk,’’ he says.
The body often needs to recover after a long flight, so the challenge may be a bonus: ‘‘A walk might be just what I need.’’
The other Red Cross Journey challenge is based on the plight of a refugee family fleeing Syria, and covers 1000km in a month.
Participants set up online challenge pages to raise money, which goes directly to the Red Cross, as they get in their 10,000 steps a day.
The more ground they cover, the more they learn about the real journey of the person they’ve chosen to follow.
This year’s Red Cross Journey runs until June 8 but it’s not too late to lace up your sneakers.
‘‘It’s all for a great cause,’’ Shields says. ‘‘And the more money we can raise and the more awareness … there are families that are in some dire need of some help, so if we can raise a little awareness about what Red Cross do it’ll be awesome.’’