If there’s one thing Mudder Nation loves nearly as much as a Tough Mudder event, it’s a patch. Whether that’s the official Europe’s Toughest Mudder distance patches, the limited edition 2019 5 Fear Challenge patch, or the community created charity ones. Each of them has a meaning behind it and often adorn the hats and Tough Mudder dry-robes of those who collect them.
It seems fitting then that Chris Hill, 2019 Fun award winner and UK Ambassador, has designed and produced a special patch thanking the brilliant effort that NHS workers are putting in to helping so many people during the Covid-19 outbreak, with the money being raised going back to the NHS Charities Together charity.
We’ve asked him to explain in his own words how he came up with the idea and how you can get hold of one.
How did you come up with the idea?
I have designed many patches to raise money for charities in the past few years including The Frozen Wave, organised by Simon Bridgewater, a Toy Story Wave for Young Minds organised by my wife Kate Hill (with my support as a rouse to get her to do another Tough Mudder) and of course the very well attended annual Granny Run for Alzheimer’s organised by Ant Wilson. Everyone loves a patch and it allows you to have a long lasting memento of your support or achievement, so it made sense to come up with a design that would show our support for the NHS frontline workers, many of which are also Tough Mudder Legionnaires.
How did you come up with the Design?
Everyone who knows me, knows I am a big fan of patches. When the lockdown came and events were starting to be postponed, I posted an idea for a patch to support the NHS in the Tough Mudder UK Legionnaire Facebook group. Taking on board the ideas from all the comments on the post, and through a process of refinement and redesign I finally settled on something I was happy with.
It comes from the idea that NHS workers, the ones on the front line, very much in the most dangerous position to be in during the pandemic are real life heroes. The blue heart represents the NHS, the Tough Mudder running man logo is included and the slogan ‘ REAL LIFE HEROES’ sits below the superhero style lettering of the NHS.
How much money did they raise for the NHS?
As I had to fund the initial purchase of the patches myself, it’s a guessing game as to how well they will sell and I wanted to make sure as much money could be raised for the NHS Charities Together as possible, so I decided to order 100 patches with the aim to #HelpAHundred but quickly had to place another order as demand was high. After the costs of the patches and postage are taken off sales, and all 200 patches have sold there will be over £500 being sent to NHS Charities Together charity. It just goes to show how a simple idea coupled with a strong community of legionnaires can make a big difference.
Can people still donate and get one?
Absolutely – I initially had ordered 100 to #HelpAHundred however due to demand I have ordered another 100. There are some left, but extremely limited – to avoid disappointment, buy now.… £5 and £1 p&p. Please remember to add your address to the notes section.
If, like Chris, you’ve had an idea to #HelpAHundred, we’d love to hear about it, let us know on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.
