Walk4Matt starts at the birthplace of the game at Rugby School on Saturday, May 19. It follows the 110-mile route along the towpaths of the Grand Union Canal to Twickenham in time for the Aviva Premiership Final on Saturday, May 26.
The annual event raises money for the Matt Hampson Foundation, SpecialEffect and the charity of choice from each participating Premiership Rugby club.
World Cup winners, former British Lions and ex England internationals are among those who are due to take part including ex-Tigers Lewis Moody, Harry Ellis, Freddie Tuilagi and Graham Rowntree as well as the likes of Andy Gomersall, Shaun Edwards, Jason Leonard and Bob Casey. Members of the Tigers family will be joining in too.
Roy Jackson, chairman of the Matt Hampson Foundation and Leicester Tigers director, said: “We have some walkers who will be there for the full distance and live on our narrowboats for the week, then there are others who come down, drop in for a day or two.
“Some people join us for part of a day, or join in one of the events we organise for the evenings along the way.
“Everybody who joins in has a great time. Once people come down and see what it is all about, they see the camaraderie of the walkers and they want to come back and do the whole distance with us the next time.
“We’d encourage anyone to come and join us for however long they want.
“We obviously want to raise money to help such a great cause but, equally, Walk4Matt is about having a good time in some good company, and that is what being involved in rugby is all about.”
Among the special events along the route of this year’s walk is a cricket match at Tring Cricket Club in Oxfordshire on the Tuesday afternoon, starting at 5.30pm.
For route information and details of how you can get involved in Walk4Matt, email [email protected] or see the website www.matthampsonfoundation.org
Tigers fan Tim Westwood is taking on the first Cycle4Matt, a marathon charity cycling challenge.
Westwood, former captain at Ashby and now coach of their under 13s, is cycling to the 12 Aviva Premiership clubs and Twickenham. He will be joined by Zach Villers, a friend and colleague at West Midlands Fire Service.
They set off from Newcastle’s Kingston Park today (May 17) and aim to arrive at HQ for the Aviva Premiership Final and raise money for the Matt Hampson Foundation and Ashby under 15s 2014 tour on the way.
There will be a Cycle4Matt Open Day on Sunday (May 20), when anyone aged 16 or over is invited to join them for all or part of that day’s leg over 67-miles.
Meanwhile, Warrant Officer (Class Two) Cliff Johnston, Captain Neil Allcock MBE and Major Paul Binnie are also cycling to the 12 Aviva Premiership clubs and Twickenham during Final week for their Premiership Stadia Challenge 2012.
The soldiers from the Royal Electrical and Mechanical Engineers (REME) are raising money for the Royal British Legion, The Not Forgotten Association and the REME Benevolant Fund.
It begins at Kingston Park on Saturday and finishes at HQ on Final day. They aim to reach Welford Road on Monday, May 21.
More information is available at www.studsandspokes.com
