Walking Football team completes mammoth trek across Great Britain

Our Walking Football group has completed a virtual tour from one end of Great Britain to the other to raise awareness of the importance of physical exercise for older people. 

Seven residents from our retirement communities across the country joined together to complete our Walking Football Programme. The programme lasted 10 weeks and consisted of virtual walking and football training challenges covering 874 miles which is the distance from Land’s End to John O’Groats.

The seven inspiring athletes were: Terry Keen from Willow Glade in Reigate, Dorothy Ireland from Birch Court in Leicester, Heather Rowell from Hanover Court in Burleigh Mews, Sheila Kidd from Luke Lade Court in Hailsham, Kyrie Ganter from Millfield Court in Peterborough, Ann Stephens from Stevenson Court in Bolton and Barbara Spray from St Catherine’s Court in Littlehampton.  

Coached by Stuart Langworthy who is the England Team Manager for Over 60s Walking Football, the seven players took part in training challenges like keepie uppies, passing and penalties. They met up weekly on Zoom to discuss their progress and also have fun with a weekly quiz!  

The magnificent seven completed their virtual journey on Tuesday 3 May. They celebrated with a virtual award ceremony for completing the programme, as well as several individual awards for members of the team. These included the most distance covered, won by Terry Keen, and the brain box award for most correct quiz answers, won by Ann Stephens. 

The team were all delighted to complete the distance and amazed how much taking part in active exercises had helped them, not just in terms of exercise but also improve their happiness and wellbeing too. 

One of the participants, Heather Rowell, said the programme had been a wonderful experience. She said:

The Walking Football programme transformed me – inside and out! I’ve no idea how we managed to complete such a large distance in just 10 weeks, and it really helped my physical fitness and my confidence.  

It seems like such a small thing; a group of strangers coming together to complete challenges and talk about what they’ve achieved but it really has helped me in so many ways! I’ve met some wonderful people, we encouraged each other, laughed together and became a real team. Our football skills improved a lot too!

Stuart Langworthy, England Team Manager for Over 60s Walking Football, was delighted with the group’s achievement, saying:

I’m extremely proud of the team, they’ve done something truly special. We’ve come a long way, not just in distance travelled but also in how much their football skills have increased! 

People think that once you get older you can’t be as active as you used to, but there’s nothing stopping older people from being fit, active and healthy. Walking Football is a really good example of this, and it also provides a good chance to socialise and meet new people. Building a team is key to activities like this. They are all there to help each other in a fun and competitive but supportive group. Members do not compete against anyone other than themselves, just trying to challenge their own achievements that contribute towards the team goal.  

It has been a real privilege and a great legacy for me that some of the group are now trying to organise something similar where they live. They are all stars and great ambassadors. I’d like to say a huge thank you to Anchor for organising this programme!

The Walking Football programme is part of  Be Well, our range of resident wellbeing services to ensure our residents are supported to stay active, healthy and feel part of their retirement communities.