Decathlon UK team up with RED January to make sport accessible to all

We’re big fans of RED January, the free nationwide initiative encouraging people of all abilities and backgrounds to get active every day in January – and beyond. Last year, more than 50% of all RED January participants experienced reduced levels of stress and symptoms of sadness as a result of their increased physical activity – that’s a boost we could all do with this year.

“I was originally inspired to start RED January after witnessing the transformative effect that regular exercise had on my mum’s mental health,” says founder Hannah Beecham. “Since then, almost 200,000 people have kick-started their year in a positive way! We know that the nation needs a positive goal this year more than ever to get them through this challenging period, and we want to help.”

To help them reach and empower more people to move for their mental health, they’ve teamed up with sports brand Decathlon. Decathlon’s PLAY platform offers free expert sports advice and tips, from articles on home gym kit essentials to top tips on setting your 5k running pace, and they’ll be donating sports equipment to local communities to help them stay active.

“At Decathlon, we are all convinced of the positive impact a physically active lifestyle can have on mental health,” says Eric Mazillier, CEO of Decathlon UK. “As one of the UK’s largest sports retailers, we strongly believe in our responsibility to help the British population get physically active and healthy through sport. By working together with RED January, we hope to continue to find new opportunities to connect with our local communities and help everyone to look after their mental health this January, and through the rest of the year.”

There’s still plenty of time to get involved in RED January – find out more on their website, and you can access Decathlon’s PLAY platform all year round here.