It all started with a Facebook post…

It’s February 2025, the post Christmas blues have been replaced with excitement as the Rugby League season is about to kick off. All our pre-season hopes are focused on another visit to Wembley or maybe the distant dream of a Grand Final appearance at Old Trafford!

I was doom scrolling on Facebook (as we all do!) and I came across a post on the Leigh Leopards Banter Page, (a place where Leopards fans join forces to discuss all things about the team and rugby league in general). I noticed a post from a podcast called Super League Raw and they were asking for photos of fans in their new shirts to include in their opening credits for their weekly shows.

Never one to miss an awareness opportunity, I asked Alfie if he’d like to create a short video of him pulling on his new Leopards shirts and then posing to the camera like the pro’s do for the TV! He didn’t let me down, one take and he’d nailed it!

For those who don’t know them, Super League Raw is much more than just another rugby league podcast. Founded by David Cain, it’s a fan-led, family-friendly rugby league community built around a shared love of the game.

Dave and the team — including Greg Nixon, Stef Sale and Joel Scholes — bring supporters together through their weekly shows, interviews and honest, passionate debate about everything happening in rugby league. What really stands out, though, is the sense of community they’ve created. They genuinely care about the people behind the game and not just what happens on the pitch.

I went about sending the video to Super League Raw, explained a little bit about Alfie, the condition that he lived with and how it was my goal to raise awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. The reply was almost an instant… ‘consider it done, we’re going to make a fuss of Alfie and be sure to watch the live podcast on YouTube on Tuesday at 8pm’.

As we were about to discover, the SLR community was going to become a pretty important part of Alfie’s Wishlist…

…the following Tuesday arrived and we all sat down to watch the podcast and boy did they make fuss of Alfie, so much so, that not only did they include him in the opening credits but they were inviting myself and Alfie to Club Wembley for the 2025 Challenge Cup Final AND they were also going to support Action4Alfie to raise awareness for the 2025 season!

Awareness mission accomplished!

A Message from a complete stranger

A week later, I received a message request on Facebook Messenger from a guy called Matt Timms.

Now, I didn’t know Matt from Adam, but he explained that he was part of the Super League Raw community and had been touched by Alfie’s story. He wanted to know if there was anything he could do to help and mentioned that he’d signed up for the Great Manchester 10K in May.

His idea was simple. He wanted to run it to raise money for Action4Alfie.

Now, before I go any further, I should probably clear something up. Action4Alfie isn’t actually a registered charity, although it’s often mistaken for one. When I originally set it up, the idea was to raise awareness of Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy and, through crowdfunding, help towards anything Alfie might need in the future.

There was never any grand organisation behind it. Just a dad trying to do what he could for his son.

So, to have someone I’d never met offering to put himself through 10 kilometres of running to help Alfie was both unexpected and incredibly touching.

As it turned out, Matt’s message was about to set something rather special in motion.

From a 10K to a Wishlist

The last fundraiser I’d done prior to that was the Wigan Half Marathon in which I raised £3,000 for Muscular Dystrophy UK. A discussion then came about between myself, Matt and Dave Cain that the SLR Community wanted to do something personally for Alfie and our family. They asked if there was anything in particular that Alfie would like to do so I said I’d ask him.

Knowing Alfie as well as I do, I had an instinct that he would go slightly above his station with the things that he’d suggest, so I had to gently remind him that Matt was doing a 10K and not seven ultra marathons in seven days like Sir Kevin Sinfield!

We asked him what he’d love to do, started throwing a few ideas around and somewhere amongst those conversations, something clicked.

Rather than raising money for one particular thing, why not give Alfie the chance to make some memories? To experience some of the things he’d always wanted to do while he was still able to enjoy them as independently as possible.

That’s how Alfie’s Wishlist began!

At the time, none of us knew what it would become. There wasn’t a grand plan, a list of trips mapped out or some huge fundraising target in mind. It was simply a group of people from the rugby league community wanting to do something nice for a young lad they’d only just been introduced to.

But that’s the thing about rugby league.

For all the rivalries, arguments, questionable refereeing decisions and ninety-minute debates over whether someone’s foot was actually in touch, when someone needs support the rivalries tend to disappear pretty quickly.

Matt had offered to run 10K for Alfie.

Dave and the Super League Raw community were behind him.

Suddenly this little video we’d sent in because I thought it might be another opportunity to raise awareness of Duchenne was turning into something completely unexpected.

Matt set about getting the crowdfunding page up and running, ready for the Great Manchester 10K in May.

Not Seasoned. Seasonal!

There was just one problem.

Being a seasonal runner myself — not seasoned, seasonal! — there was no way I was going to let Matt run the 10K on his own.

So, against the better judgement of my knees, calves and probably every other part of my body…

I signed up too!

Over the coming weeks and months, both myself and Matt individually trained whilst the SLR Community put their full support behind us by donating to the crowdfunding page.

The day of the 10K arrived on the last May Bank Holiday weekend. Now, any other time you’d expect the British weather to let you down and the whole thing to be a washout.

Not this year! Oh no!

It was touching 28 degrees and just to make things even more enjoyable, our start time was 11:50am!

We’d both made the decision before the run that this wasn’t about going for PBs. It was about enjoying the occasion, taking it all in and now more importantly, getting over that finish line without requiring intravenous fluids!

28 Degrees. 10 Kilometres. What Could Possibly Go Wrong?

Along the route, Dave from SLR was primed with his phone to do a live broadcast to the SLR community. I’m not sure he actually managed to get many words out of either of us — probably more gasps for air and the occasional grunt!

Thankfully, I’d come prepared.

A few Jelly Babies for the final stretch. (There’s a running tip for you, completely free of charge!)

Eventually, the finish line came into sight.

At that point, the aching legs and the heat didn’t really matter and there, waiting for us in the distance, was the reason we’d done it in the first place.

Alfie.

More than just a Medal

There was a huge sense of achievement, but I think there was something else too. Only a few months earlier, Matt didn’t know Alfie. Dave and the Super League Raw community didn’t know our family. I’d simply spotted a post on Facebook asking supporters to send in videos wearing their new rugby shirts.

Somewhere amongst all the training, fundraising, messages and conversations, something else had happened too.

The crowdfunding page continued to grow long after we’d crossed the finish line, with donations and support coming in from people who were beginning to follow Alfie’s story.

What had started as Matt offering to run 10K for a little lad he’d never met was slowly becoming something much bigger than any of us had anticipated.

The finish line was just the beginning

Somewhere along the way, we’d gained something else too.

Not just a mate, but a whole new group of friends.

I’d gone from not knowing Matt from Adam to now being able to call him a mate. But it wasn’t just Matt. The lads at Super League Raw and so many members of their community had welcomed us with open arms. What started with a random Facebook post had somehow made us feel part of a whole new family.

I don’t say that lightly because when you strip everything else away, that’s what this whole experience has been about. People coming into our lives who didn’t have to do anything, but chose to anyway.

Matt didn’t know us. The Super League Raw lads didn’t know us. Neither did the many people in their community who have since shown Alfie and our family so much kindness.

They didn’t owe us anything. They simply heard Alfie’s story and wanted to help.

What began as a kind gesture from a complete stranger had grown into friendships, a sense of belonging and a community of people we’re genuinely grateful to have in our lives.

Not a bad result from a 10K run, really. Even if my knees might disagree!

To think, all I’d done was send in a video of Alfie, hoping it might help raise a little awareness of Duchenne.

What we got in return was so much more than we could ever have imagined.

The best bit? We had absolutely no idea where it was going to take us next!

As it turned out, crossing that finish line was about to open the door to something even bigger but that’s a story for Part Two…”

Not a bad start though eh from a bit of Facebook doomscrolling? 😂