Olfactory Neuroblastoma... A pair of words most people have never even heard of before yet can have such a massive affect on your life. Olfactory Neuroblastoma is a rare (1 in 2.5 million) form of cancer which starts growing as a tumour in the nasal cavity and the surrounding nerves that affect your sense of smell and can grow into the nearby eyes, brain and bone! This form of cancer is 'normally' found in the older generation so at just 39 years of age it's even more rare.

This horrendous disease is what Martin is fighting and has recently underwent a 13 hour long, highly intrusive procedure to remove the tumour. This removal operation included the subsequent rebuilding process and as such has seen Martin completely loose his sense of smell, the loss of feeling in his right hand digits and the removal of his tear sacks and ducts in one eye. Skin, bone and vein grafts were also required along with two plates inserted in his head!! The recovery process will be long and painful which sees him having to surrender his driving license for a minimum of 6 months in fear the operation may cause seizures or blackouts. Loosing your license would be bad enough for anyone but being a self employed lorry driver means he can no longer work nor generate an income for himself. We are still unsure if Martin will ever be able to get back to driving again, or what the true long term outcome from this battle will be as he will most likely be facing long bouts of radium therapy and the possibility of some chemotherapy as well. And with being a single dad to two gorgeous children who live with him, a mortgage and household bills to cover for all three of them I know this is an extremely worrying time for him and the family.

So this leads us on to this crazy idea of doing something extreme to help raise some funds which will be paid directly to Martin to help him and the kids get through whatever is to come and just take a bit of the financial pressure off, thus Team TaP was born.

Team TaP (Towner and Pez) was the original brain child of Craig Townsend who wanted to try and help Martin out by doing something which would really push himself to the limit of what he could physically be capable of and hopefully raise a couple of quid along the way... After hearing his proposition, Ian Perry, brother of Martin, thought it would be a mighty fine (but highly stupid) idea to join Craig in this ultra challenge... Two 40 something year olds tackling a 58km walk along the Jurassic Coast in 1 day with virtually zero experience of distance walking, or in Ian's case zero experience of any form of exercise for many years.... What could possibly go wrong!

The challenge will take in spectacular World Heritage coastline, with a start in Corfe Castle, the route heads down to Swanage, and along through Lulworth Cove, past Durdle Door, with ups & downs to Weymouth which includes an 1670m climb! It really is the definition of an Ultra Challenge.

More info can be found here: https://www.ultrachallenge.com/jurassic-coast-challenge/

With a mere 6 weeks to prepare for such an event it's going to be even more of a challenge but one we will face head on and failure is not an option!

So if you're in a position to help and would like to contribute to Team TaP, any contribution no matter how small will be greatly received. Every penny (minus any Just Giving fees) will go directly to Martin and the kids.

Thank You All

Team TaP x