Mark Crowther: The humble hero

In the Cambridge dictionary, a ‘hero’ is defined as a person who is admired for having done something very brave or having achieved something great. Of course, Mark Crowther is far too humble and modest to ever label himself a hero.

“Naturally I’ve got low self-esteem, low self-confidence, so I find it very difficult to embrace all the publicity and compliments,” he explains.

Despite his own reticence, the admiration Mark receives is wholly merited. Since 2021, he has completed three superhuman challenges, raising over £38,000 for charity in the process.

It all started during lockdown, with an unexpected knock on the door from Harry Cornick, who was playing for Mark’s beloved Luton Town at the time. The forward presented Mark with a shirt, signed by the whole squad, to thank him for starting a fundraising effort, which had raised over £1000.

While speaking to Cornick on his doorstep, Mark revealed he was considering cycling to every single Luton away game during the following season. By the time he stepped back into the house, the wheels of his plan were in motion.

“At that point I said, ‘Right, I’m going to cycle next season’. Once I told Harry (Cornick) I was doing it, I couldn’t go back from there, it was like the point of no return.”

So, it began. A gruelling mission spanning over 3,000 miles, fuelled solely by his own physical endurance. Demonstrating levels of determination and perseverance us mere mortals could only dream of, Mark braved the elements and the fatigue, as he followed his club up and down the country. Yet, this wasn’t the first battle Mark faced in his life – far from it.

“Mental health is a big passion of mine. I’ve suffered with mental health problems for almost 20 years, so I accept that I’ll always have struggles with it. I have things that help me cope, and the challenges and fundraising give me a drive and a focus.”

Despite his own demons, Mark remained resolute in his desire to help others. He funded his cycles entirely out of his own pocket, ensuring that every penny of the donations he received went to directly to charity. His commitment to aid those less fortunate gave him the psychological edge that he needed throughout the challenge, to ensure failure never prevailed.

“Sometimes I wanted to get off the bike and chuck it in a hedge, but my overriding thing was that I would never give up. Quitting wasn’t an option. I always said I’ll get wet, cold, lost, tired, all of the above, but at the end of the day I’ll recover, whereas unfortunately some people don’t.”

Mark completed his challenge at the John Smith’s Stadium, home of Huddersfield Town, and watched on as a valiant Luton side were defeated in the play-off semi-finals. However, much like the Hatters’ pursuit of the Premier League, Mark’s personal journey was far from its conclusion.

Just under a year later, Mark embarked on his second herculean fundraising effort, pledging to cycle to every single ground in the top five English leagues.

“I took a massive step. I wasn’t enjoying my job at the time, so I packed it in, took a career break and just planned this. I did 116 grounds, 2,500 miles, and I literally had one day off in five weeks. Even now I still don’t know how I managed it.”

By Mark’s own admission, that was meant to be the end of the challenges. However, after Luton were promoted to the Premier League in May 2023, he was persuaded to repeat his first mission, and cycle to every away game once again.

“I had a conversation with Jordan Clark, he said, ‘It’s the Premier League, you’ve got to do it, you’ve got to do it,’ and I couldn’t say no to Clicker!”

Mark cycled to iconic stadiums like Anfield, Old Trafford, and St James’ Park as he followed the Hatters on their rollercoaster Premier League journey, and the donations continued to flow in as he chalked the miles off.

“I had to cycle all through Christmas Day to Sheffield. Nearly £1,000 was donated on that one day, and yes, I missed out on Christmas, but just knowing that the money was helping, knowing I was making a small difference, that basically got me through.

“Although I was cycling on my own, I never felt alone because so many people were supporting me.”

To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Mark was not satisfied with completing three mammoth cycles. This year he has switched the bike for his own two legs, as he attempts to walk one million steps in just three months.

As he embarks on yet another challenge, he remains as humble as ever, but to everyone else, Mark Crowther is undoubtedly a hero.