Special day for Smithy

MAIDENHEAD: A rugby club is set to take on a 13hour challenge to support a former player who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease (MND) in April last year.

Maidenhead Rugby Club is supporting Roger ‘Smithy’ Smith who was a first-team player for 15 years from the early

1990s and always played at number 13.

To aid in his fight against MND, club members including current and ex-players, youth team players, parents and friends will be carrying out a challenge in celebration of his number 13.

The challenge, on Saturday, will see each person walk or run 13 laps of Maidenhead Athletic Track, located next to the club in Braywick Park, with the goal of having at least one participant on the track continuously for 13 hours.

Starting at 6am, the event will conclude with Roger and his family carrying out the final laps at the end of the 13-hour period.

The event has been organised by Allan Greene, who used to play alongside Roger in the early 1990s, and money raised will go towards the MND Association.

Allan said: “Roger was an integral part of a successful team, a strong and uncompromising player on the pitch who gave no less than 100 per cent each game.

“Seeing how Roger has been fighting MND in the exact same way and with resilience and good humour has inspired us all to do something to honour him – so that’s why we’ve called the day ‘Smithy’s Day’.

“This challenge is nothing to what Roger and his family are going through at the moment. We know that every penny raised for the MND Association will make a big difference in supporting lots of families facing the same diagnosis and hopefully one day there might be a cure for this dreadful disease.”

The JustGiving fundraiser can be found at: justgiving.com/team/ smithy13