Ex-York youngster on charity mission
THE longevity of a football season is a marathon in itself – but it’s nothing quite like former York City midfielder Archie Whitfield’s big April challenge.
Minstermen academy product Whitfield is currently in the middle of an epic 800-mile series of ultra marathons to all 20 Premier League stadiums.
Having started at Newcastle United’s St James’ Park on April 2, the gruelling feat ends at Arsenal’s Emirates home on April 26 – and the very next day he will take on the London Marathon!
Whitfield is raising memory for The Brain Charity, based in Liverpool, in memory of his Dad, Dave, who passed away in December 2023 due to Cushing’s disease, which was caused by a pituitary brain tumour.
Whitfield and his dad shared a mutual love of all things football – including Premier League big guns Arsenal, hence why the nationwide stadia tour is such an important part of his challenge.
“Dad was a big football fan,” Whitfield told The NLP. “He helped me massively in my footballing journey as a young lad and a young adult, and was always very supportive of all that.
“He started to grow a bit of a list of his favourite clubs, York ended up being on there as well. But Arsenal was always his number one.
“So it felt very fitting to have that link of football with the run. I think it’s a nice way to remember him and hope to carry his legacy a little bit.”
As part of his training, Whitfield ran from his hometown of Thirsk to York City’s home to reminisce on his playing days.
Between the ages of 1620, Whitfield captained the youth team before spending two years with the first-team squad.
“It was nice being back in the LNER Stadium,” he said. “It brought back some good memories.”
Awareness
Whitfield is more than halfway to his £20,000 target to support the charity that helped his family.
“A lot of people don’t have that support network – and that’s something that The Brain Charity helps massively with,” he said. “So it felt like a good charity to help support and spread awareness of.
“You’ve always got that reason to take one more step. And so, yeah, I think that’s going be the main aspect that will keep me going really.”
And he’s embracing support from others during the run.
“It’ great to have that sense of community and obviously going to all the different stadiums is pretty cool as well. I am definitely excited!”
You can support Archie at www.justgiving.com/page/archie-whitfield
