The Big Step Out

Behind the visual cues of sporting stardom we find sweat, medals, wreaths, grins and trophies, but beyond victory lies another truth – pain. Much pain, illness and injury.

It’s the lot of sportsmen and women and maybe why they have rallied behind the Sport England-funded campaign this year – The Big Step Out.

The campaign, which will take place from 12 to 25 June, highlights the role in all our lives of unpaid carers and the people they care for.

It has been organised by Stepping Out with Carers, one of the grassroots charities that Sport England have funded since its inception in 2016.

Mick Fitzgerald, one of our greatest-ever jump jockeys and winner of the Grand National and Cheltenham Gold Cup, is taking part because he knows all about needing care.

In 2008 he suffered a horrendous fall at Aintree racecourse that resulted in a broken neck.

The injury was followed by an infection, which ended his phenomenal career with awful abruptness.

In Mick’s case, as in the case of the many others affected by terrible life-changing injuries, his wife had to look after him and give him constant care.
 

But this is not a one-off story, as unpaid carers, just regular people like you and me, step up every day to look after someone close who needs them.

They are amazing, courageous people who save the NHS a fortune, yet often they’re feeling invisible, ignored and sadly isolated.

Fitzgerald is among the sporting superstars who are contributing to The Big Step Out this June and everyone, anywhere can join them.

Celebrating offline and online too

The best thing? It doesn’t cost time, money or any effort to take part.

So just walk, wheel, dance, run, jog, trot, play… wherever you are and with whoever you like (or by yourself!) and just send us the steps or wheel rotations of everyone involved so they can all contribute to our Grand Total. Dogs’ steps count too!

And if you go online, add your photos and tell us your story, especially if your steps are dedicated to a particular carer and person they support.

You can send them with #STEPOUT24 to our Instagram, X (formerly Twitter) or Facebook profiles.

Almost everyone knows or is a carer to someone in the UK.

Leading charity Carers UK estimate there are 10.58m carers in the UK, supporting people with disabilities, illnesses, frailties or mental health issues – children, parents, spouses, friends – sometimes remotely and many times 24/7.

That’s a lot of people who look after others and it can be a challenge, often leading to loneliness, exhaustion, self-neglect, and physical and/or mental breakdown themselves.

So huge thanks to Sport England for backing the campaign and taking part themselves.

They will be joining the stars of sport and entertainment like Sir Steve Redgrave, Clare Balding, the Leeds Rhinos, Dame Mary Peters and Strictly’s Anton du Beke (with some amazing dance steps, of course).

Alongside them will be much-appreciated contributions from hair salons, gyms, stables, stately homes, offices, councils, wheelchair clubs, dementia support groups, dogs (through their owners), carers themselves and just about anyone that moves.

Sir Steve, British sporting hero with five gold medals from successive Olympics between 1984 and 2000, was hardly without illness or injury during his formidable career, like type 1 diabetes, colitis, appendicitis or a smashed face from a bicycle race across America, to name a few.

We said he could row, if he liked, and we’d count his strokes instead of steps.

It seems like since becoming a grandfather his sport of choice is now golf and if that’s your thing too, why not send us your number of swings too?

It all counts to show our appreciation to those looking after the most vulnerable in our society.