Stanley's Story!

Stanley Roche from Mirfield is 8 years old and is fundraising for Headlines Craniofacial Support, a UK charity that has been a beacon of hope for families navigating the challenges of Craniosynostosis and related conditions.

Stanley's best friend, Teddy, was diagnosed with a rare Craniofacial condition. He has undergone many surgeries and has always shown great strength and resilience.

To help Headlines, Stanley decided that he would attempt to run a marathon in 14 days at the beginning of August. Stanley is a huge Giants fan and was thrilled to be able to complete some of his marathon at half time during the Giants game vs Catalans Dragons!

Stanley’s mum Katy was overwhelmed with the support of the Giants and the fans on Saturday and explains more about the fundraising efforts of her son Stanley.

“It’s really hard to put into words how proud we are of him, both Tim (Stanley’s Dad) and I are so proud. We’ve raised money before for Headlines, through Teddy’s Mum and Dad.”

“Stanley asked me how he could raise some money to support his best friend. We went through some options, and he came back to me and said, ‘Mum, I want to run a marathon!’ We asked how he saw him doing the marathon over a period of time and he said he wanted to do it over two weeks if I can do 3km a day. He’s got an instagram page to track his journey, and he’s been incredible! He’s got up every day and done the 3km.”

“His dedication has been brilliant, we went to see Gladiators live and didn’t get home until 9pm, and he still went out and did his run! He absolutely loves his best friend Teddy, they were born 4 days apart and have grown up together. I know they’re only 8 years old, but that bond they have is just unbreakable.”

Stanley went onto the field at the game and did 3 laps of the pitch, adding another 1km to his distance! A huge experience for him, and one that mum Katy really appreciated.

“The Rugby League support on Saturday was unbelievable, the amount of people cheering him on, giving him some money to support the charity was amazing. The Rugby League Community pulls together whenever it needs to. The best example being the fundraising for Rob Burrow from Kevin Sinfield.”

“Stanley only set out to raise £200, but over the weekend, he smashed £1500! The whole family were blown away with the level of support, thanks to the support of the Giants fans!”

People can click here to donate!

Keep up up with Stanley's progress on Instagram by clicking here 

Not content with just the 1km at the stadium, Stanley and his Dad Tim ran the other 2km after the game to ensure that the daily target was hit!

Everybody at the Giants wishes Stanley well on the rest of his marathon challenge and we urge, not only the Giants fans, but Rugby League fans to give as much or as little as they can to help a very worthy cause!