Nathan Richardson honoured with British Citizen Award

Nathan Richardson

A former soldier from Rochdale who ran thousands of miles across England and Wales between 92 football clubs has been honoured with a British Citizen Award.

Dale fan Nathan Richardson, 31, ran to every football league ground in all four divisions to raise money for charity in 2020 and 2021.

He is one of only 25 people to be recognised at the Palace of Westminster for services to healthcare and has received the Medal of Honour.

Huge thanks to @CitizenAwards for inviting to the palace of Westminster yesterday and honouring me with a British citizen award for services to healthcare.

I feel hugely honoured to be 1 of only 25 recipients,We met some amazing people and had a top day I’ll never forget 👍 pic.twitter.com/lyv8CCFYVD

— Nathan Richardson BCAh (@nathrich92) July 8, 2022

Nathan, who currently lives in Sale, is thought to be the first person to run to all 92 league grounds in England and Wales, having started his challenge at Old Trafford in March 2020.

The father-of-one took up running in January 2019 when he was struggling with his mental health, going on to run two marathons just a week apart that April in Manchester, and then Paris.

Wanting more of a challenge, Nathan turned his attention to combining two things he loves, football and running, to form his epic ‘run around the grounds’ challenge. He was originally inspired by a Burnley fan who ran to every away game, and now plans to write a book about his experiences.

All money raised during Nathan’s ambitious challenge was donated to the mental health charity MIND, and The Joshua Wilson Brain Tumour Charity – also known as SuperJosh – which helps support children who have brain tumours or post-surgery disabilities and their families.
 

Read more: Nathan Richardson completes epic 'run around the grounds' charity challenge between all 92 EFL groundsPublished: 29 June 2021