Mark's 200 Runs for pancreatic cancer research
Running 200 times between the Kia Oval and Lord's for Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund because my Dad passed away from Pancreatic Cancer in 2017
Event: 200 Runs for Pancreatic Cancer
In memory of: Tony Church
Mark Church
£39,235.16 raised of £30,000.00 target
800 donations
My Target:
£30,000.00
£39,235.16 raised so far
How to make a donation
Donate online at - www.justgiving.com/200Runs
By mobile internet Scan this code on your smartphone to go straight to Mark Church's page.
By text message to donate £10 Text £10
to 70070
Story
Hello and thanks for visiting my JustGiving Page.
My Dad was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer in late October 2016. He died six months later on 21st May 2017. It had come out of the blue.My best mate had been playing golf five days a week, having holidays with Mum and enjoying his retirement. Then this horrible disease came into our lives and it was pretty tough watching the old man fight it as hard as he could. But this was a fight he was never going to win.
When he died my immediate reaction was...Why? It had all been too quick and I didn't understand why there hadn't really been any hope and why Dad never got a fighting chance.
Pancreatic Cancer is horrible. Catch it early and you have got that fighting chance. But it is bloody hard to detect and normally when it is diagnosed its dirty work has already started.
I wanted to do something to help research into the disease and also help my understanding of what actually happened to Dad. Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund (PCRF) is already doing many wonderful things in this regard, funding pioneering research to uncover chinks in this cancer's armour to develop new treatments, finding ways to existing treatments more effective and developing a test to diagnose the disease in its early stages. After meeting their CEO Maggie Blanks, I decided I wanted to do something for PCRF to raise awareness of the disease and hopefully raise some money for the research.
But what should I do? As a man who only has one natural talent and that is sunbathing, my first thought of a sponsored "lying on a sun lounger" in Barbados appealed to me but I was not sure how much impact it would have. Dad loved his cricket and I love my running. Dad's two favourite grounds were the Kia Oval and Lord's but running once between them over a distance of five miles didn't seem much of a challenge.
And then I hit upon the bright idea of running between the two grounds four times a day over 50 days. That seemed more of a challenge. 200 runs over 50 days, running 20 miles a day and covering 1000 miles in total. As they would say in cricketing circles, "those are good numbers".
So on Monday 8th October I will set off from the Kia Oval for the first of my 50 days on the road. My last day will be Tuesday 4th December and hopefully I will have completed 200 runs for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund. One thing is certain, that I will know the route between the Kia Oval and Lord's very well.
I would be extremely grateful if you could donate to my cause - we can save lives through more research. And if you see me trudging along the road, please also give me a wave - that would be much appreciated to!
It will be hard work but great fun and I know the old man would have sat in a pub on the route to cheer me along. I am doing this for him and in some small way I hope I can help the brilliant work of the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund and their incredible work into battling this brutal disease.
I miss you Dad. I hope that by the evening of December 4th you'll think, "Well Batted Son".
Thank you.
Mark Church.
Gallery 85
Updates 84
Well we made it...thank you for all your support...would never have got there without you all...
The perfect way to spend the final night before the end of the challenge..Granpa Tony would have been so proud of you Issy and would have loved the beard..right then..20 miles to go..
Celebrating getting to 980 miles with Sir Vivian..so Tuesday is the final day...your support has been overwhelming and we are almost there..20 miles to go...
Cracking 20 miles done today and lovely to be joined my my old mate Stuart Barnes...40 miles to go...
Will never forget Run 187..saw Gazza..the old man would have been please..he loved watching Gazza play football...
Raising money for
Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund
Charity Registration No. 1155322
Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund is the only national charity dedicated solely to beating pancreatic cancer through research. Survival rates are low, so new research is vital. In the past, this cancer received little attention. With your help, we can change this so more people beat pancreatic cancer.
Raising money for
Donations 800
Been meaning to do this for an absolute age. It was a truly inspiring effort!
Donation by Ian Robbins on 13/04/19
£10.00
Well done Churchy on the fund raising last year. The commentary prompted me to login and make the donation at long last !
Donation by Andrew Woods on 12/04/19
£30.00
Donation by Anonymous on 11/04/19
Well done Mark! You are an inspiration.
Donation by Lesley Noel on 02/04/19
£30.00
Well done Mark Church - inspiring and completely potty with a large dollop of great good humour
Donation by Anonymous on 26/03/19
Congratulations on your achievement for such a wonderful cause. Also, thank you for visiting our St Mark's to speak to our pupils about your amazing challenge!
Donation by St Marks CE Primary School on 20/03/19
£100.00
An inspirational evening - well done Mark.
Donation by Nicholas Elvidge on 22/02/19
£30.00
All the best from table 11
Donation by Gregory Mumford on 21/02/19
£30.00
Congrats again on the 1000 miles. Wish the Capt and I could be at the event tonight but alas work beckons.
Donation by Liz and Mike Yates on 21/02/19
£27.00
Mark well done for achieving a great personal challenge for a great charity. Apologies for not hearing about your cause earlier and for not being able to attend your function on 21st Feb.
Donation by Anonymous on 07/02/19
£50.00
Heard about your running and wanted to donate. Fond memories of your Dad from our time at Durham. All the best X
Donation by Kathryn on 25/01/19
£20.00
Great achievement Mark - well done! Dad would be so chuffed. Hope to join you on 21st
Donation by ISM on 17/01/19
£100.00
Well done, Mark! Hugs to you and your mum.
Donation by Pamela Henderson on 14/01/19
$100.00
Donation by Ed Davis on 10/01/19
Wishing you the very best of luck and success, Phil Day, Day & Johnson Ltd
Donation by Phil Day on 09/01/19
£500.00
Fabulous achievement - both for the running and amount raised to date
Donation by Clare Innes on 07/01/19
£50.00
Donation by Anonymous on 02/01/19
£20.00
Donation by Anonymous on 31/12/18
Just realised I hadn’t donated yet, while watching a Pujara block it at the MCG at 1am! Congrats again mate - superhuman effort...! I’ll be forever grateful for our chats too...
Donation by TOm Benge on 27/12/18
£50.00
Only people who've done a bit of running know how awesome your achievement really is - this is from me and the other members of Aldeburgh Running Club.
Donation by Mark Fairweather on 26/12/18
£100.00
Congrats on finishing your run! Hope you had a great Christmas- I was given your book for Christmas, a great read!
Donation by Ian and Jacob (from Suffolk) on 26/12/18
£10.00
Donation by Anonymous on 21/12/18
£25.00
Donation by Anonymous on 20/12/18
£10.00
Well done Mark, a worthy cause
Donation by Tony Rawlinson on 20/12/18
£30.00
Well done Mark, what a great achievement! Your father would be proud.
Donation by Jane on 17/12/18
£28.00
Donation summary
- * Online donations£34,485.16
- Offline donations£4,750.00
- Text donations£0.00
- Total raised£39,235.16
- Gift Aid£0.00
* Charities pay a small fee for our service. Find out how much it is and what we do for it.
