John Dwyer
Run Home From Rome
Fundraising for Marie Curie
Story
In the summer of 2011 I aim to 'run home from Rome' to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care. I intend to complete 45 marathons in 50 days as I run from the Coliseum in Rome to Trafalgar Square in London. The total distance is over 1300 miles. At this stage I am not certain that the goal is achievable! I am committed, however, to giving it my best shot - preparations for support, training, fund-raising, diet, kit, route and so on are currently underway... Please follow the blog to see how the adventure unfolds - http://runhomefromrome.weebly.com/blog.html
Inspiration for the challenge
Sadly a few years ago we lost a close family friend to breast cancer. Jane left behind two wonderful teenage children and her husband, Glenn. Jane received amazing support during her fight with cancer and raising money through taking on this challenge, is my way of trying to give something back to Marie Curie Cancer Care.
Marie Curie Cancer Care
There are 16 Marie Curie nurses who work in Sussex and last year the nurses provided more than 11,000 nursing hours in the county. Each hour of nursing care costs £20 and a typical shift costs £160 so you can see just how valuable your support would be to enable Marie Curie to continue to help people with cancer and their families.
Rob Gauntlett
Another huge inspiration for the 'run home from Rome' challenge is Rob Gauntlett. He was a dear friend who achieved so much in his 21 years; his spirit will be with everyone who knew him forever. Rob lived life to the full and had the most amazing drive, passion and energy. Rob, with his expedition partner James Hooper, became the youngest Brit to summit Everest in 2006, aged just 19. I spent 6 months supporting Rob and James on part of their pole-to-pole man-powered journey in 2009. Their journey involved skiing from the Geomagnetic North Pole in Greenland, sailing to New York, cycling south through the Americas and sailing to the Magnetic South Pole, just off the coast of Antarctica - a 13,000-mile, 13 month expedition. I was privileged to support Rob and James for six-months as they cycled through South America and I joined them to help crew on the 9,500 nautical-mile Southern Ocean final sailing leg. It was a 72-day passage involving huge storms, monstrous waves and an unforgettable camaraderie. Not long after the expedition, on January 9th 2009, however, Rob tragically lost his life in a climbing accident in the French Alps. His good friend James Atkinson, also aged 21, sadly also died in the tragedy. Rob inspired so many people to achieve their goals and he will always be missed by family and friends.