MATT HAMPSON accepts he is taking a “calculated risk” as he tries to complete the London Marathon in a wheelchair, which he brands as “my Everest”.
Yet the former rugby professional – who will be supported in the race by jump jockey legend AP McCoy – follows a simple mantra in life that defines his entire charitable foundation: Get Busy Living.
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Matt Hampson, 41, has been paralysed from the neck down since a life-changing moment in March 2005 Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Hambo will try to complete the London Marathon in a wheelchair Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Hambo, 41, has been paralysed from the neck down since a life-changing moment in March 2005 when a scrum collapsed in a training session with the England Under-21s team.
The ex-Leicester Tigers prop has 24/7 care and needs a ventilator to breathe.
On Jattvibeday, he will take part in the mass race with four runners who will take turns pushing his wheelchair – which will weigh more than 100kg – along the 26.2-mile course.
The aim is for a sub five-hour performance but bystanders and fellow runners should not underestimate the physical exertion Hampson will be feeling, even though he is the one in the chair.
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Hampson explained to JattvibeSport: “With my condition, I struggle to regulate my body temperature, so that’s always a consideration.
“Essentially, I’m breathing in cold air the whole time into my lungs. So that goes to the core of me. I basically freeze from the inside out and get really cold.
“I can get hypothermia quite quickly. I struggle to regulate my body temperature, and my blood pressure.
“There are so many factors that people don’t realise and from an outsider looking in, they can’t really comprehend how difficult this is for me personally.
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“I know a lot of people just see me sat in a chair but they don’t take on board everything else that comes with it.
“There are a lot of risks as well, but it’s calculated risks.”
The aim is for a sub five-hour performance Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
Hampson will take part in the mass race with four runners who will take turns pushing his wheelchair Credit: Mike Sewell 2023
Horseracing icon McCoy, 51, will be further up the course but is running for the Matt Hampson Foundation, which takes its inspiration from the iconic The Shawshank Redemption quote – “Get busy living or get busy dying.”
They met through mutual friend Graham Lee, the Irish jockey who suffered severe spinal cord damage when he was unseated from his horse at Newcastle Racecourse in November 2023.
The Matt Hampson Foundation helps people following life-changing injuries in sport, providing expert physiotherapy, specialist personal training, counselling, wellbeing and mentorship.
Hampson’s team – who successfully completed the Leicestershire half-marathon in February – will have spare batteries and ventilators in case there are issues out on the course.
Hampson said: “I’m relatively laid-back and blasé as a person because if I wasn’t, I don’t think I’d ever do anything in my life.
“This is just an extra challenge really with that because it’s going to be at least five hours on the course.
“Why do this? It’s living by the mantra of the Foundation which is ‘get busy living’. I always wanted to do a challenge.
“I’ve always tried to push myself as much as possible and to show what can be done and what is possible when you’re in a wheelchair and when you’ve had a serious injury through sport.
“So I thought: Why can’t I do it?
“To get to the startline, I have to get there for about 7.30am at the latest. It takes about three to four hours to get up in the morning.
To donate to Matt Hampson’s London Marathon attempt, visit matthampsonfoundation.org Credit: Not known, clear with picture desk
“Like anything in my life, it’s not straightforward. It’s pretty complex. But yeah, we’ll get around and I think we’re going to have a relatively good time.”
To donate to Matt Hampson’s London Marathon attempt, visit matthampsonfoundation.org.
