NewsBeat
Fulford United FC players 115-mile run in memory of friend
Alistair Harvey met Jenson in 2019 at York St John University where they played for the men’s football team and lived in the same house.
He is a member of the Jog Fathers, a group of seven running from Aston Villa’s ground in Birmingham to Valley Parade, the home of Bradford City FC, between April 7 and April 11, to raise funds for The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
Some of the members of the Jog Fathers, who are preparing to run 115 miles over five consecutive days in memory of their friend Jenson (Image: Supplied)
The Bantams were Jenson’s hometown team and he “fell in love” with the Villa through one of the team’s strikers, John Carew, said Alistair.
He spoke to The Press and paid tribute to his friend and teammate.
Alistair said: “When we first me he came across as a quiet lad and the more you got to know him, the more you realised how funny he was.
“He was really good at getting people together, he was the life and soul of any party, cracking jokes left and right.”
Jenson (top left) with teammates from York St John University (Image: Supplied)
He said signing up for Fulford United FC was “down to Jenson really” – York St John played in the city’s Saturday league and the teams were opponents.
“Jenson was funny, but he was also vociferous on the side of a football pitch, and we had had a funny relationship with the Fulford team, it was a bit of a rivalry.
“We bumped into a couple of the players on a night out and said we were looking for a team.
“Jen got chatting to them and ended up dragging some of us down.”
Last year, Fulford United FC raised funds in Jenson’s memory by hosting a charity football match which raised over £10,000, and the idea for the 115-mile run was borne out of the wishes of another team made up of friends.
Alistair said: “Joe Finnegan, who played with Jenson, wanted to bring some light out of the situation of him dying and he started a football team called Anaphylaxis FC in his honour, with a mix of people who knew Jen and we’ve played a couple of matches.”
The Anaphylaxis FC team lining up for their first fixture in Coventry (Image: Supplied)
As well as raising funds through matches, a few of the squad who run wanted to do more, which led to the foundation of the Jog Fathers, five from Jenson’s hometown of Bradford, plus Alistair and Jack Drummond.
They are hopeful that their 115-mile running effort over consecutive days will be marked by appearances on the pitch at both Villa Park and matchday on April 11 at Valley Parade, where Bradford will host Stevenage FC.
Alistair said: “Jenson hated running himself, so some of us will be running while imagining how much he would be laughing at us.
“However, he always made special trips to places like Manchester to watch and support his friends who were running marathons, and then to Bristol when a mate took part in a charity boxing match.
“He was always up for supporting his mates, and all in all the things we’ve tried to organise have been carried out in the memory of how he would support other people.”
The Jog Fathers are running 115 miles between the grounds of Aston Villa FC and Bradford City FC over consecutive days from April 7 to April 11 to raise money for The Natasha Allergy Research Foundation.
More information can be found via https://www.justgiving.com/campaign/fundraiserforjenson
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