Happy New Fundraising Year! With this years (as far as I am aware) Ride London not happening, I’ve decided to join Blood Cancer UK on their 50 in February event to open my 2021 fundraising account! The 50 in February event is to run 50 KM or Miles in February, raising funds for the charity, publishing progress on social media channels, etc to get the funds in!

According to the Facebook group, there are over 1400 runners from all parts of the UK taking part in this challenge. Needless to say, on day 1 my phone was pinging all day with comments from the Strava Group.

The weather certainly hasn’t deterred many from getting stuck in, with many fundraisers posting pictures of their snowy, frosty and flooded routes. Fair play to them, I tweaked my timetable to avoid the snowy conditions here.

With my run today, I reached the half way mark. 25 miles covered, with a total of £106 raised to date. Thank you to those that have donated so far! You are marvelous!

Run 50 – Half Way

My plan is to run a number of 5 mile runs, then increase to 6,7,8 for the last 3 runs! For the first run, I took a bit of a random route which was slower as I had to cross too many roads, then, couldn’t finish outside house, so had to walk home in cold, so for the next few, I’ve run away for 2.5 miles, U-turned, and finished outside the house! bosh!

It’s my first time doing a running event for Blood Cancer UK, my previous fundraisers have been on the bike (Ride London, and last years, virtual LEJOG). I have previously run half-marathons where I was on the Men United Prostate Cancer fundraising team.

It was during training for some 10k events that I first started to notice that there was something not quite right with my own health. Eventually, getting GP appointment, getting diagnosed and treated.

I did actually (well, I wasn’t advised against it!) run a 10k between seeing consultant and getting actual diagnosis. My wife ran it with me and I did struggle, but the finish together in the Olympic Stadium was worth it.

It is clear to see in the picture bottom left, taken just after we crossed the line, I’m rather pale! This was my last run for a few months!

Where does the money go?

I knew you were going to ask that, thankfully, the events team at Blood Cancer UK shared the following with us this week. This particular event has raised in excess of £137,000 so far!

  • £10 allows researchers to analyse the genetic make up of a blood cancer cell. This helps develop new treatments, allows doctors to diagnose sooner, and even stop blood cancer from developing in the first place. 
  • £50 allows researchers to look at genetic patterns in samples. This is particularly important at understanding the role genes play in blood cancer and enabling us to find a cure. 
  • £100 can pay for a PhD student for an entire day, meaning we can sustain the UK’s world leading blood cancer research. 

Here is to the next 25 miles…

If you want to sponsor me, check out the fundraising campaign page on Facebook.