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Over 200 runners join 5k in memory of Henry Nowak

Shivani Chaudhari
News imageFamily Photo A young man smiling wearing a white shirt and a blue tie. He is sitting in front of a green bush. He has brown hair.Family Photo
Henry Nowak was 18 when he was stabbed to death in Southampton

About 200 people wore red while taking part in a 5,000m run held in remembrance of Arsenal football fan Henry Nowak, the event's organiser said.

The 18-year-old, from Chafford Hundred, Essex, was stabbed to death as he walked home after a night out in Southampton on 3 December.

His killer, Vickrum Digwa, was jailed for life with a minimum term of 21 years in June.

The run took place on Saturday in Chafford and was organised by Mary McLoughlin, 65, from Chafford Hundred Running Club, who added: "We were really impacted by what happened to Henry, he was a lovable boy."

News imageJen Craft Two women both wearing red; the woman on the left is wearing sunglasses and a sun hat. She has short brown hair and smiling at the camera. Another woman has blonde hair and is also wearing a red top and a small silver necklace. They are both smiling at the camera Jen Craft
Hundreds of people, including Jen Craft MP for Thurrock, attended the event

McLoughlin said Sylvia Merrigan helped her organise the event and it brought communities and people from different faiths and backgrounds together.

McLoughlin added: "I thought it would be a nice thing to support the family to show them that they are in our thoughts and prayers.

"We had a lot of help organising this."

She said the supermarket Morrisons, where Nowak used to work, had provided the event with water and snacks.

"The local Sikh community came out with water, naans and onion bhajis.

"The church opened their doors for us to use their toilets and provided toast, tea, coffee and hot chocolate."

She said the event was fantastic but also very emotional, adding: "People were pleased to be there to show their support to the family and I think the family were grateful that we were there to show support to them."

The event had raised over £600 for 2wish, a charity that supports families affected by sudden death in young people.

News imageJen Craft A woman wearing black sunglasses on the left of the photo while she takes a photo. Also in the frame is three woman and two men. One woman is wearing a red top and a red sunhat, while another woman behind her is smiling and wearing a red blouse. Next to her is an eldery man wearing a turban, a buttoned up shirt, long shorts and loafers. Next to him is another man wearing a red shirt and black shorts. There is a woman at the end of the photo on the right side and she is wearing floral trousers and a black top. They are standing outside on the grass and there are a lot of people outside behind them. Jen Craft
About 200 people attended the event, Mary McLoughlin said

Jen Craft, the MP for Thurrock, attended the run and said: "It was really lovely, it showed Thurrock at its best."

In a short speech at the start of the event, Lucy Ross, Nowak's mum, said: "It's days like this that help the family keep going."

Craft said: "It was a really warm event you saw the best of what our community looked like."

Craft said a lot of Nowak's school friends had also shared stories of the 18-year-old at the event.

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