“Running really does make me happy”
Anthony Groves – great great grandson of the joint founder of Salford Lads Club.
When it comes to supporting Salford Lads and Girls Club, its President is prepared to go the extra mile – or even 108 miles. Last December, Anthony Groves, great great grandson of one of the founders of the iconic institution, literally went into the eye of a storm to help.
He completed a 55-mile ultra marathon in the face of 60mph gusts whipped up by Storm Darragh. His effort raised £9,934 for the Ordsall club.
But on January 10, he will up the ante by attempting a non-stop 108 mile race along the Pennine Way. The Montane Winter Spine Challenger South begins in Edale in Derbyshire, and runners have a time limit of 60 hours to get to the finish at Hawes.
The race covers the iconic moorland of the Kinder Plateau, National Parks, Malham Cove and Pen-y-Ghent, and again Anthony is aiming to raise funds for the club in Ordsall.
Organisers of the challenge say it is a “physically and psychologically demanding route that requires concentration, good physical fitness, resolve and respect”. But Anthony said: “Running really does make me happy”.
Malham Cove in Yorkshire which is on the route of a 108-mile race which the President of Salford Lads Club is competing in. (Image: Manchester Evening News)
A campaign to save the club by raising £250,000 in six weeks was achieved in November 2024 after the M.E.N. sponsored a GoFundMe page. The total raised was £275,467.
But Anthony went ahead with his gruelling trek in December 2024 on the Winter Downs run across the South Downs, starting and finishing at Eastbourne. Despite being battered by the weather and taking a wrong turn, he finished in 11 hours 45 minutes.
Now he is in training for his greatest challenge. “I mainly enjoy the training, I enjoy some bits of the organised races and – and some bits less – but that’s all part of the ‘fun’. It begins in Derbyshire and heads north up the Pennine Way which is apparently England’s first and toughest National Trail – also known as the ‘backbone of England’.
Anthony Groves – great great grandson of the joint founder of Salford Lads Club.
“I hope it will be the run of my life – not the fastest, but certainly the longest. I now need to know that I am now strong enough in body and in mind and in spirit to complete this – but I’ll know a lot more on January 10 – and increasingly more over the 178km and hours that follow the 8am start.
“Either way, there’s a 60 hour cut-off at 8pm on Monday January 13. At this time of year it is always very, very, wet – and because this is Yorkshire that ‘wet’ in January can be ice, or snow, or rain – or most likely all three. And while ‘wet’ may be a variable, darkness will be a certainty – at least for 16 hours of each day.”
Asked why he is putting his body through such a brutal test, he said: “There’s two reasons – a personal one and a philanthropic one. I am running to support Manchester’s finest and longest standing youth provision organisation, The Salford Lads and Girls Club, set up in 1903 by my great great grandfather and his brother – James and William Grimble Groves, titans of the Manchester brewing scene, latter day politicians, business leaders and world class philanthropists.
Anthony Groves braving Storm Darragh last year to complete a 55 mile ultra marathon to raise £9,900 for Salford Lads and Girls Club
“The personal reason is even more simple – long distance endurance running makes me happy. Exercise, we know, is clinically proven to trigger a powerful mix of brain chemicals that help us feel better and think more clearly, and all these are linked with improved clarity of focus, motivation, and ultimately mood.
“Endurance sports also alters your perception of the possible. That stretches your horizons in ways that you just don’t experience in normal life – and I have come to see that this is also very good for you – because this world is full of challenges that arise in day to day life.
The iconic Salford Lads Club, Salford.(Image: Kenny Brown | Manchester Evening News)
“And somehow, they appear more surmountable when you have the trials and tribulations of the physical and mental challenges that an ultra-marathon presents in your life experience. It reaffirms the power of your mind in this world – and this has to be a good thing
“Really, any form of physical exercise – and most notably one that involves time and movement in the natural world, has long been held in high esteem for what it affords human beings. In fact, this was one of the founding principles of the Salford Lads & Girls Club in 1903 – our annual camp in Wales has taken place every year since 1903 except for the two Covid Years and the two World Wars.
James Grimble Groves, joint founder of Salford Lads Club and great great grandfather of Anthony Groves
“Lord Baden Powell (who officially opened the Lads Club) went on to set up the Scouts in 1907 – I like to think of our club, at the very least as an important chapter of his journey of inspiration that led to his creation of this incredible organisation.
Anthony hopes to raise £10,000 for the club and so far has reached £5,663. You can donate here.