A group of friends are running 100km to remember former Forest Green Rovers, Barnsley and Port Vale defender Lee Collins, who passed away in April 2021.
It’s been organised by Josh Feehan, who was Collins’ best friend, in order to raise money for men’s mental health and suicide prevention charity Movember, and Collins’ three daughters.
Feehan, his guide dog Ringo, and his friends have ran 10km at the stadium of every club Collins played for – with The New Lawn being their penultimate run.
“Sadly we lost our friend Lee Collins last year, who was a player at Forest Green,” said Feehan. “We thought we’d do something to keep his memory going – for his mum, his children and the rest of his family.
“We’re raising money. We’re doing 10km runs at every club he played for, around the perimeter of the pitch. This is our ninth run of the season, and we have one more left, which is in a few weeks’ time at Yeovil.
“We’re not the fittest either – so it’s been a tough challenge for all of us.”
Collins played 64 times for Forest Green between 2017 and 2019 – and he captained the club for much of that period. He scored three goals during that time, and his best moment came when he scored the winner in a 2-1 win over Coventry City in February 2018 – which saw Rovers complete the double over the Sky Blues.
“It was pretty tough today, because there was a brick wall I ran into every time I ran around!” said Feehan. “My friend has been helping me get round. It’s a lovely ground and everybody here has been very welcoming and hospitable, so we really appreciate that.
“It was really sad losing him last year, but we’re doing something now for his family and kids. He meant a lot to all of us.
“We’re going to be raffling off a Forest Green shirt in the next few weeks, so we can raise money that way as well.”
