The Oxford Half 2022 returned on Sunday 16th October with thousands of runners winding through Central Oxford.

Amongst the waves of runners were three amazing people and speedy runners who took to the streets of Oxfordshire to run their first ever half marathon. Hamzah, Bashar and Fthawi are three young refugees who arrived in this country because of unliveable situations in their home countries and are now part of The Refugee Run Club at Coopah. They were some of our first graduates from the programme, who finished their initial 8 week training in June 2022. Before joining The Refugee Run Club they had never run before, but after following the training plan with determination and consistency, they crossed the finish line in an incredible 1:18, 1:31 and 1:41

Coopah and LimeLight Sport Group worked together to provide these individuals with a personalised training plan and a place in the Oxford Half at the end of the training programme.

The Refugee Run Club

The Refugee Run Club was set up by Coopah in Spring 2022. Coopah works with a range of refugee charities with the aim to help refugees integrate into society.

The Refugee Run Club starts with a ParkRun on day one followed by 8 weeks of training using the Coopah App, running kit and a community to run with. After the 8 weeks of training, runners will do another ParkRun and see how over those 8 weeks of training and effort, they have become fitter and changed. Once they graduate they will be given a life-time subscription to the Coopah App so they keep training and look after their mental and physical health.

The Refugee Run Club gives them a purpose and a goal to aim for as well as the opportunity to meet new people which helps improves their communication skills and builds their physical strength.

Meet The Refugee Run Club Graduates

Hamzah (22) and his brother Bashar (19) were forced to leave Yemen and ended up in nearby Sudan where it became so unsafe they could not leave the house. Since arriving in the UK, 14 months ago, they have followed their passion for sport and are using running to overcome trauma and integrate into society.

As well as studying, Hamzah volunteers with a number of charities to help give back to the local community. Joining the Refugee Run Club has changed Hamzah’s life, he says that getting up each day became difficult with the trauma of his past and the uncertainty of his future, but training has given him a purpose and seeing his improvements each day has given him a real motivation to continue to improve. He has his eyes set on running a Marathon one day. He has already improved his ParkRun time from 24:14 to 17:51 in just 4 months!

Bashar has always had a passion for sport and in Yemen, growing up, he was a talented footballer. He wanted to become a professional and still sees sport as a huge part of his life. He joined the Refugee Run Club along with Hamzah to help himself integrate into society, improve his English and of course, try to beat his brother.

Fthawi is a devout Christian and has spent his time in the UK integrating himself into the church and many of their events. Fthawi is a naturally talented runner who had run occasionally in Eritrea but never raced or trained with any structure.

He was inspired by the great Zersenay Tadese to get into running and now wants to show that Eritrea can be known for its talented long distance runners like many other East African countries. Since coming to the UK he has been determined to run a Marathon so joining the Refugee Run Club has helped him train and meet others that will help him get there. In only his second ParkRun he ran 19:16!

The Impact of The Refugee Run Club on The Runners

The positive impact this programme has had on Hamzah, Basher and Fthawi is incredible to see and we hope to support many others who need this training and community in their lives.

Hamzah said ‘I used to spend every day on my phone until 3am, not waking until 12 and feeling lost and lonely.’ He probably never realised it but he, along with many other refugees, was depressed when they arrive here. By focusing on the race and the training plan we gave him, his life has turned around. He’s now at University, studying computer science, trains every single day and has met a whole new group of people through the club.

Dan, co-founder of Coopah, thanks LimeLight Sport for their support, “Thank you to LimeLight Sport Group for providing Hamzah, Basher and Fthawi with places at the Oxford Half! At Coopah, we want to inspire 10 million (and more!) people to start running as running can help change people’s lives for the better, both mentally and physically! It’s hard to really explain how much impact those places you gave them really had – but it has truly changed their lives. Refugees are given £8 a week to live on and are not allowed to work, so they never would be able to access anything like what they saw yesterday without your help.”

“The Oxford Half is my first half marathon – and the whole experience was amazing, especially the entertainment enroute! I beat my goal time by 6 minutes and want to thank the crowds of people cheering me on, they are the reason for my PB! I would love to do the Oxford Half Marathon every year!” - Hamzah

Want To Support The Refugee Run Club?

The easiest way for you to help the Refugee Run Club and the runners within the club is to become a member of Coopah!

Becoming a member of Coopah gives you access to your own personalised training plan to achieve your next running challenge. Whether it is training for your next 5k, chasing down your new 10k PB or completing your first Marathon, we are here to support you, as it tailor each plan to suit your distance, desired target time, event date and current running ability!

If you want to get involved with the Refugee Run Club, please us at run@coopah.com!

Download Coopah today!

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You can download the Coopah app for Android devices from the Google Play Store. Users of iOS devices can find it in the App Store.