I entered Manchester a while back, intending to have a swing at my PB and see if I could finally run a time starting with a 3. Then in October last year, my amazing Dad passed away after living with prostate cancer for many years.

So now, my run is also to support the work of Professor Ros Eeles at the Royal Marsden, who was treating Dad. Thanks to her, we had 22 years with Dad after diagnosis, when life expectancy at the time was around 10 years. Her care and her research benefited us hugely and I hope will help many more people in the future. I hope you'll support this potentially life-saving work.

The science bit...

Professor Eeles is searching for genetic variants that increase a person’s risk of prostate cancer and is currently leading clinical trials looking into whether regular screening of men with certain genetic mutations/genetic risk profiles leads to earlier diagnosis. Professor Eeles has been instrumental in ensuring new discoveries in cancer genetics, which immediately benefit patients, particularly in her speciality areas of BRCA-mutation, other gene-mutation carriers and prostate cancer.

Professor Eeles is responsible for finding over three quarters of the currently known, numerous genetic variants that increase men's risk of prostate cancer and has set up an international consortium – known as PRACTICAL – that gives researchers access to genetic samples from large numbers of prostate cancer patients. This collaboration is helping scientists find and evaluate potential prostate cancer risk genes more quickly, bringing the prospect of a comprehensive screening test and new treatments closer to reality.