Every year, large numbers of people run, walk, abseil, skydive or take part in countless other activities to raise money for AICR. This is where you can find out about them AND get involved yourself.
London Marathon 2008
Once more this year, AICR is delighted to have had a dedicated group of runners taking part in the Flora London Marathon. This year's event took place on 13th April 2008.
Not only did we have a team of supporters running to raise as much money for our vital research as possible, but AICR's Accountant Douglas Gunstone, also took part. Douglas has been a runner for many years and is no stranger to marathons. He kept a training blog so that we could all keep up-to-date with his progress.
Lets meet a few of our team of 33 runners:
- Stef Ashton from Weddington, Nuneaton was in training for nine months in preparation for the London Marathon. The West Midlands Police Force officer took on the gruelling challenge of 26 miles around the capital along with his friend Jonathan Carter. Stef and Jonathan took part in the world-famous marathon to raise funds for AICR in memory of Mr Jonathan's father who sadly died of cancer.
- Sally Kavanagh sent us this note prior to the race, "I have always wanted to run the marathon ever since watching my Dad complete it 25 years ago in 1983, I was only a young girl but watching his sheer determination to finish in 3 hours 50 minutes is something I will never forget. Unfortunately 4 years later he lost his battle with cancer but to have watched him achieve such a huge goal was very special. It is for this reason that I have chosen to run for AICR, a charity very close to my heart, I have never really been a 'runner' so the training is hard but I am determined to do this! My husband is running too, also for AICR, it is for both of us our first marathon, so there is a healthy competetive spirit developing between us!! Good luck to all the other runners, look forward to meeting you."
- Laura Barnhouse also had a personal reason for running, "I was mostly inspired to run for AICR because I lost my beloved pooch to cancer last year. My training is going well thanks, did 14.5 miles in my long run a couple of weeks ago and I've been doing lots of speed training and shorter runs as well."
- Les Buckett and Jit Patel put together a newletter to keep their supports up-to-date with their preparations. Their training went well with lots of time spent pounding the roads including the Brentford half marathon.
You can find a list of the runners times here.
Our thanks and best wishes go out to everyone who took part on behalf of AICR - it was an amazing effort all round. To date our runners have raised more than £30,000 but the donations are still coming in!
Marathon des Sables 2008
Jordi Pitarch-Marquino has just had the adventure of a lifetime. From 27th of March 2008 he took part in the 23rd Marathon des Sables, a race covering 151 miles over 6 days in the Sahara desert.
Jordi has first-hand experience of what it means to have a close relative living with and fighting cancer until reaching the point at which science and hope are completely exhausted. By racing this marathon Jordi wants to keep alive the memory of his sister Patricia who died of lung cancer, and also help to raise important funds for AICR with which to finance new cancer treatments and hopefully save many lives around the world.
To date Jordi has raised £2,032 for AICR and is planning on doing more fundraising challenges on behalf of the charity.
One Ball Rally
Being treated for testicular cancer might seem like enough to cope with for most men. Not Dave Cook though. Just after undergoing treatment he has embarked on an amazing journey to raise money for AICR. Dave put together an amazing plan to drive from Ormskirk in Lancashire to Istabul in Turkey, in an adventure he called the "One Ball Rally".
The One Ball Rally started on March 21st 2008, and the end of the road was reached on April 1st. 24 year old Dave and his 3 friends were raising money for research into testicular cancer. Not only was the plan adventurous, but Dave's mode of transport provided a talking point - he made the 2,350 mile journey in a London taxi.
To date they have raised £7,720 and they hope to raise £10,000 by September.
Lands End to John O'Groats 2008
25 year old Chris Stenlake, from Epsom, lost his grandfather, Alan Clarke, to prostate cancer and was determined to do something special to celebrate his life. He decided to get on his bike and raise money for AICR's research into prostate cancer. Along with his friend, Rob Cooper, Chris cycled nearly 900 miles from Lands End to John O'Groats in just 11 days. To date Chris has secured around £4,500 in sponsorship with more to come!
Walking the States
Stuart Hamilton and Dave Toolan crossed the USA on foot. They walked the American Discovery Trail from Cape Henloppen in Delaware on the East Coast of the US to Point Reyes in California on the West - a distance of over 5000 miles. We were first made aware of Stu and Dave's adventure when they crossed the path of Phil Goddard in 2006. They had a lot in common (naturally enough) and struck up a friendship. Later in their walk, Stu was diagnosed with testicular cancer and had to have an operation. They had always intended to do the walk in 2 stages - the first half in 2006 and the second in 2007 after a break back home. They were reaching the end of the first phase when Stu received his diagnosis.
After a well earned break, Stu and Dave embarked on phase two of their marathon trek in May 2007 and completed it in November. As Stu told AICR, "we wanted to raise money for something relevant to our walk. Following discussions with Phil we decided to raise some money for AICR during the second stage of our journey - it felt right and proper."
We were delighted that Stu and Dave choose to support AICR!
London Marathon 2007
Last year AICR had 27 runners taking part, and raised in excess of £50,000 from the event. Let's meet a couple of our runners:
- Jasper Reid ran the marathon in memory of his Uncle, Niall, who had a very tough battle with cancer and he raised £5,246 for AICR.
- Rory Wemyss ran the marathon in memory of all the close friends and relatives that he lost due to cancer. He values the work AICR is doing and wanted to raise as much money as possible. His total came in at £4,512.
AICR was fortunate to have many very committed supporters running in the London Marathon in 2007. Click here to see a full list of our runners. We thank them and all of our other runners and wish them luck for the future.
Lands End to John O'Groats 2007
AICR supporter Graham Scott cycled from Land's End to John O'Groats in June 2007 to raise money for vital cancer research projects. Graham and 4 friends set off from Land's End on 5th June 2007 heading for the north of Scotland. Each of them was raising money for a cause dear to their heart.
Graham decided to support AICR's Spotlight Appeal which funds research into prostate cancer. He wanted to support the Spotlight Appeal as he has 3 friends who are currently fighting the disease. Although the British summer failed to materialise, the team managed to complete the trip in 22 days.
Graham raised more than £3,000 and we are most grateful to him for this fantastic effort.
Coast to Coast
London-based translator Phil Goddard, 48, walked over 3,000 miles across America to raise money for AICR. Phil set off from New York on 25th June 2006 heading for California on a ten month odyssey dubbed Journey for Jayne. The walk was in memory of his wife, who died of colon cancer in January 2006 at the age of 49.
You can read Phil's personal account of his adventure at www.NYtoLA.org
We would like to thank Phil for raising a massive £42,919!
Mount Everest Marathon
Not content with the Sahara and London Marathons, Ben Edwards also took part in the highest marathon in the world - from basecamp on Mount Everest! Ben is a stalwart of extreme events and has raised well over £100,000 for AICR in the past few years. Having survived cancer not once but twice, Ben knows the value of the research we fund. Thanks as ever go to Ben, who is taking some time off from fundraising to spend time with his wife Emma and new son Thomas.
Great Scottish Run
If you feel inspired by what people are doing to raise much needed funds for AICR and the vital research we support, why not get involved yourself? The Great Scottish Run took place on the 1st and 2nd of September 2007. There was a 3k race for juniors on the Saturday and a 10k and half marathon on the Sunday. If you would like to take part in the 2008 event and raise money for AICR please email Geraldine Long or Helen Ironside at our office in St Andrews.
The Great British Duck Race
If all of these ideas look a little daunting, why not get involved with AICR in a more relaxing way? The Great British Duck Race takes place on 31st August 2008 and you can read all about it here.
