Seaford resident to complete marathon rowing challenge for refugee charity

A resident from Seaford will be attempting a marathon row for a refugees charity on Saturday (March 5).

Ringmer child selling art to raise money for people of Ukraine

Tom Gallagher will be rowing 26.2 miles on an indoor rowing machine at his Whittfit Training gym to raise money for the Joint Council for the Welfare of Immigrants (JCWI).

Tom said: "It’s something I've been meaning to do for a long time. I first heard about this charity via a podcast I like to listen to and it’s something I feel quite strongly about.

“The thing that really motivated me was the deaths in the Channel last year. I was just horrified and shocked people in the most vulnerable circumstances were having to risk their lives to try and find refuge in this country.

"I’ve always shouted a lot on social media, but I wanted to do something a bit more practical. So, when those deaths in the Channel happened last year, I felt like doing a challenge that has a distance element to it."

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A marathon row is just over 42,000m and Tom hopes to complete it in around four hours.

Tom said: “I felt that rowing would be something that is hard enough because I had never done it before and also something that would be quite painful for me. It would be a proper challenge and I could really invest a lot of time and passion in getting people to sponsor me.

“The training has been really tough, much harder than I thought it would be. I started just after Christmas and I was pretty out of shape. My first row was terrible, but I've got stronger and recently managed to row for about two and half hours.

"One of the biggest challenges has been that mental blockage, sitting on a rowing machine in one place and keeping that motivating going has been really hard. But overall its been good, it’s a new sport for me."

Tom will be rowing a similar distance to that of the Channel crossing between Dover and Calas, which more than 28,000 people attempted to cross in 2021 to seek refuge in the UK.

So far he has raised around £1000 and is asking for as much support as he can get before he sets of on March 5.

Tom said: "I think Saturday is going to be really hard but really rewarding as well so I'm looking forward to it.

"With everything that is going on in the Ukraine at the moment, rightly its bringing to people’s attention the plight of refugees and I think there is still so much we need to do to help. Whether you're Ukrainian or from Afghanistan or Yemen.

"People flee countries because they are in the same position as Ukrainians are in now. I just hope the money I raise is help change the narrative that it is so easy to blame immigrants for all our woes. We need compassion and we need to show solidarity with anyone that is fleeing persecution, war and all of those terrible things."

To donate to Tom's cause click here

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