Stanley Hanson

AN Islington Boxing Club coach is running a half marathon to raise money for the club in celebration of its 50th year.

Stanley Hanson, who has been associated with the club for 37 years and has already completed a series of training runs this year, will complete the endurance test on September 1 with his partner Alison Hanna.

It is hoped the funding boost will help with equipment for a planned renovation of the club that includes a new community building.

Mr Hanson said: “I used to box with Islington Boxing Club from the age of seven right up to 16. For the first couple of years I wasn’t old enough to box so I was the little mascot of the club doing all the cleaning, helping out, putting the gloves away and filling the bottles of water on the ringside.

“The club gave me a home, I was there all the time and pretty much lived there. They showed me how to be involved and be a part of something, part of a unit and family, teaching me how to box and be a young man not just inside the ring but outside it as well.

“I’m running to get more funding for the club, to get more equipment and to help the club run smoothly and keep the doors open. Wherever the money goes it will all be in regards of making the club a better place and a great environment for the kids, the boys and girls who use it.”

Of the half marathon itself, Mr Hanson said: “It starts at Tower Bridge and ends at the Cutty Sark in Greenwich. I’ve been doing a little bit of training and I shouldn’t have a problem on the day. I’m not looking to break any world records, I’m just looking to cross the finish line and enjoy the day out. It’ll be a great self-accomplishment.”

Reggie, Ron and Lenny Hagland

Islington Boxing Club, then known as King’s Cross Amateur Boxing Club, was founded in 1974. For three generations, the Hagland family have been involved in running the club. Ron Hagland, who died in 2018, was one of the founders of the club and his son Lenny was among the first boxers to join the club aged nine. Ron’s grandson Reggie now manages the club, having been associated with it since birth.

Reggie Hagland told the Tribune: “Fifty years feels like a lifetime. There’s been a lot of ups and downs but mainly ups and we’re very proud of the club itself.

“I don’t want to blow my own trumpet but the club is a wonderful institution. I know what a great club we are, what great people we have here and what good boxers we have coming through.”

Mr Hagland said as an amateur boxing club funding is vital to ensure it survives. He said: “Amateur boxing clubs have come and gone in north London and beyond throughout the years, and to keep the doors open you have to fundraise constantly. We’re lucky we’ve had a lot of consistent supporters and we’re always trying to seek sponsorship to keep the doors open, replace equipment or take people abroad if necessary for tournaments and also to keep the lights on in the gym, or put diesel in the van to get you there in the first place.

“I’d like to think one day we could turn around and say we’re one of the oldest amateur boxing clubs in London and it’s in its third generation at the moment with my grandad and my dad and myself and hopefully with others that follow through.

“It isn’t just a Hagland thing, it’s an everybody thing, we’ve got people who have worked with us for 30-plus years as volunteers of the club and then we have people who were here in the 80s and 90s and now they’re bringing their sons and grandsons and cousins. There could be a very bright future at this club in the long run.”

The fundraiser can be found by searching Islington Boxing Club on the JustGiving website.