Former York City Knights forward Ross Divorty runs 100km in 10 days in support of NHS

Divorty - who featured for the Knights during their League 1 campaign in the 2016 season - has been running 10km every day for 10 consecutive days, in order to abide by the government’s guidelines which advocate one hour of exercise per day.

The former Wales international’s challenge began on Sunday morning and concludes tomorrow.

So far, Divorty, who now works as a teacher at the Robert Wilkinson Primary Academy, has raised almost £800, more than doubling his originally-set target of £300.

Writing on his JustGiving page, Divorty wrote: “The NHS workers are the superheroes of our time and it saddens me to think I have done nothing but sit at home.. (so) "I have come up with a challenge that will support the NHS."

Speaking to The Press, Divorty explained his motivation for the challenge.

“I set the challenge as 100km to run in 10 days, so it works out as 10km every day for 10 consecutive days," he explained.

“I’ve been aiming to do each other in just under an hour, obviously within the government guidelines.

“Previously, I have done a few 10km runs in my time, but not consecutively!

“I thought that it would be a good challenge to myself. There’s two reasons really why I set up the challenge.

“First of all, like I said earlier, I’d lost a little bit of focus and drive and I felt like I was sat on the couch for too long at home, so I wanted to do something that would get me up and get my day going.

“At 9am every morning, I’m doing this run.

“The second reason of course is to try and raise some money for a really good cause, to raise money for the NHS who are the frontline staff during this crisis and they’re the ones who are putting their lives at risk.

“It’s ok for myself to be running for an hour and then being in a bit of pain.

“But then NHS staff are practically doing that for 12 hours in front of life-threatening situations, I’m sure that a little bit of pain for myself for an hour is easy to get over."

It's now been a whole month since schools across England shut, leaving teacher Divorty at a loose end, prior to his fundraising mission.

“It’s a very strange and very surreal time," added Divorty, who also represented Doncaster, Featherstone Rovers and Halifax during his professional career.

“I’m struggling a little bit at the moment. I’m in a studio apartment with no garden, which doesn’t help.

“Having that hour of outdoor activity that the government have allowed and have recommended is so important.

“I’ve tried to make sure that I’ve used it.

“I think everybody is in a similar boat at the moment and it’s a very tricky time.

"I felt like I was going down a slippery slope, just being on the couch, eating chocolate and watching TV in the middle of Easter.

“I’ve been speaking to friends and family and they’ve been doing the same sort of thing too.

“I thought that I would try and change that by setting myself a focus and giving me that purpose.

“Watching the news as well and seeing Captain Tom and seeing that he’s raised over £17 million, which is unbelievable.

“I only started this project about a week ago and my project has been about trying to inspire other people to get out there and do some exercise.

“You feel a lot better for doing it.

“I’ve very big on promoting physical and mental health.

“That’s something that I’m keen to push forward with in the future, whether that be through coaching, teaching children or speaking to adults, because it’s so important in everyone’s lives."

Divorty retired from rugby league back in 2016 and though he's ensured that he's kept up his fitness in the meantime, the runs have certainly taken their toll on him.

It's a small sacrifice though, he says, for the cause in hand.

“I think that I’ve left my knees in the River Ouse!" he laughed.

“My knees and ankles are suffering a little bit but I’ve still been managing to keep a reasonably good pace.

“I’m doing it between 50 to 52 minutes is my usual time.

“But I’ve got that motivation to get through it with the people that I’ve got sponsoring me and being able to raise money for the NHS staff on the frontline, that’s my motivation.

“Pain is temporary and I can get over that."

As aforementioned, so far almost £800 has been raised by Divorty, going beyond the original two goals that he set, having only began his running just over a week ago.

“I’m really pleased with the money that we've raised so far," added the former second-row and loose forward.

“I initially set the target at £300 and then I got to that really quick so I raised it to £500.

“Slowly but surely they money raised seems to be going up every day.

"I’m posting videos of my after-running thoughts, again just to try and get people out themselves, whether that’s running, jogging or walking.

“With the run, I’m obviously singling out the NHS, but there’s so many other people that are still working through this period, knowing the risks that they’re taking.

“It’s nice that they’re being recognised in such a positive light recently.

“That togetherness that everyone is showing – there’s a real sense of community spirit.

“Everyone appreciates the work being done by the NHS, who are putting their lives on the line for all of us.

While disappointment around the suspension of the rugby league calendar may pale into insignificance amid the nation's crisis, it remains an important part of many people's lives.

“I have been speaking to players that I used to play with in my career and I just think that everyone is in the boat.

“I can only imagine what they’re going through from when I was playing – you’d be itching to go out and play and get ripped in because of that frustration that you build up throughout the week.

“If you look at pre-seasons now, they’re so tough.

“For the lads to have put all that effort in getting ready for the season to begin and then it stops when the season has only just started, that must be tough.

“But, I’m sure that the season will be back soon enough.

To support Ross Divorty's cause, visit his JustGiving page at: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ross-divorty