48 Hours Carrying Their Names

Cancer is a wrecking ball.

It doesn’t arrive quietly. It tears through families, friendships and futures, changing the lives of those left behind forever.

Within our own group of friends, cancer has changed everything. In recent years, seven of us have lost parents - mothers and fathers who shaped our lives, who should still be here, giving advice, sharing milestones and playing with their grandchildren. Their absence is felt daily and it is something we now carry together.

This challenge is our way of turning that weight into action.

On 1st April at 10am, for 48 hours, we will take on the 4x4x48 challenge made famous by ultra-runner and fitness lunatic David Goggins - four miles every four hours, day and night, for 48 hours straight. To mark the challenge in full, we will run an extra lap to make it exactly two marathons in two days (52.44 miles). This isn’t a relay, each of us will complete all thirteen runs with little sleep and very little rest. It’s not about speed. It’s about endurance, resilience and the discipline to keep moving forward when your body and mind are telling you to stop.

Each run across the 48 hours will be dedicated to a loved one who has lost their life to cancer. Every run carries a name, a story, a life that mattered. We will be joined for many runs by those who knew and loved the person being remembered, running beside us to honour them. Other names are carried on behalf of friends and supporters who wish to remember someone special.

These miles are for EVERY life lost to cancer.

These miles are for:

Chris Kemp

Ellis Waring

Keith Dalton

Steve Nolan

Irene Mills

Stephen Holland

Robbie Cooke

- loved, missed and never forgotten.

In case it wasn’t obvious, we are far from elite athletes. We’re casual runners who love kebabs, an ice-cold beer, and staying in bed - a bunch of lazy slugs. We are The Running Slugs, and through sweat and slime we’ll slither our way to the finish line. Follow us as we document the challenge and the stories behind each run on Instagram at @TheRunningSlugs.

We are doing this to raise money for Sue Ryder and Cancer Research UK - for the fight to prevent cancer and for the care that surrounds people when that fight is lost. One gives hope for the future, the other provides dignity, compassion and kindness at the very end.

As the hours stretch on and exhaustion sets in, these names will stay with us - through early mornings, long nights and the hardest miles.

For 48 hours, we carry their names.

Simon - Kyle - Chris - Stephen - Gavin

First Run Start: 10am, 1st April 2026

Last Run Start: 10am, 3rd April 2026