Southend fans take on 33- mile walk for Gills clash

A group of Southend fans will be battling tiredness, brutal weather and the Dartford Crossing on Friday evening when they walk from Southend’s Roots Hall to Gillingham ahead of their SkyBet League One match in Kent on Saturday.

The ten Shrimpers, including club Commercial Manager Rhys Ellingham, will be setting off from Essex at 11pm on Friday evening and trekking overnight to ensure they arrive in time for Saturday’s 3pm kick-off at Priestfield.

The 33-mile walk will be raising money for The Shrimpers Trust and the Little Havens Hospice. The charity provides care to local children and young people who have life-limiting or life-threatening conditions. Those making the trip visited the charity to see the work they do and Ellingham admitted the visit only fuelled their desire to succeed: “We had a recent visit to Little Havens and the work they do there is tremendous and if we can help in anyway with the awareness and fundraising then that’s excellent.”

Walking to an away game is nothing new for The Shrimpers Trust, who have raised funds for Little Havens in the past by walking from Roots Hall to other stadiums on the eve of a fixture, including Colchester United, Dagenham & Redbridge, Leyton Orient and Charlton.

Southend fan Thomas Flynn, is another of the 10 taking part in the walk, and he admitted the charity is something that is close to his heart:  “I am doing this with my grandson because the trust, the club and the players supported us as a family and comforted us while my son-in-law went through an illness last year. After we visited the hospice the inspiration to do this grew even more.”

Flynn has been getting the practice in for the challenge, which will see him complete his longest walk to date: “Me and my grandson walk 13 miles to home games and last weekend we did the London Bridge Challenge for Diabetes UK.” 

Ellingham though, isn’t feeling quite as confident: “I’ll be honest, finding the time to train has been difficult and it’s come around very quick! The challenge will be that it’s through the night and the weather isn’t looking favourable to us either but we will all group together to make sure we complete the task ahead.”

Saturday mornings over the crossing can be busy, so who knows – maybe they’ll save time. They have currently raised over £2300 but are still looking for more – to donate go to:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/journeytothegills

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