Nantwich man Paul Dean is running non-stop for 24 hours for Cancer Research UK, because he says cancer needs to ‘jog on’!
The 41-year-old dad, who works as a teaching assistant, is aiming to raise £5,000 for the charity in memory of a friend who died of the disease last year.
Paul is starting at Holyhead, on Anglesey, this Friday (June 17) at 6pm and running for a whole day to see how far he can go.
His ambitious target is to finish at the Cancer Research shop on High Street in Nantwich town centre at 6pm on Saturday June 18.
This would be a run of around 108 miles, just over FOUR marathons.
In September last year, Paul lost his friend Sheetal to breast cancer.
This inspired him to set a date for the challenge and begin training, in part to raise money to improve treatments and find cures, but also as a tribute to Sheetal, her family, and others suffering similar heartache.
Cancer Research UK are the world’s largest charity dedicated to saving lives through research. Their vision is to bring forward the day when all cancers are cured.
Paul has previously raised several thousand pounds for blood cancer charity Bloodwise when he ran 10 marathons in 10 days.
He ran in memory of his father, David, and two friends Mark and Will, who all succumbed to the illness.
Paul said: “I’d been musing on my next challenge for a while.
“Seeing Sheetal’s journey with cancer and the strength of her family spurred me into focused training and to set a date.
“Whilst the aim of the challenge is simply to run as far as possible in 24 hours, I am determined to make it all the way back to Nantwich.
“I’m quite stubborn so I don’t give up easily. I’ve completed a few endurance challenges, but this is easily the toughest.
“I keep thinking it must be 10 times harder than 10 marathons in 10 days!
“The training has been quite unpleasant at times, I’ve had lots of early morning starts even during the winter months when temperatures were just above freezing.
“I don’t have a team physio, doctor, or nutritionist.
“My support crew will be my wife, my 10-year-old daughter, and a couple of friends who have agreed to run a few sections with me.
“It will be very difficult, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.
“I will be running with all those touched by cancer in my thoughts, hoping for better treatments, more cures and less heartache.”
To donate to Paul’s fundraising run, visit his JustGiving page: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/runningpeeps4
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