My wife and myself are running 50 miles in February to transform the future of pancreatic cancer. 👟

One year ago, I lost my brother to this horrible disease and, as a family, we are still trying to find a way to come to terms with it.

Marco was the most laid-back, happy-go-lucky human being I had ever met. He was genuine, authentic and really cared about the people in his life. He was the kind of guy anyone could have a pint with and have a nice time. Although he lives his life on his own terms, Marco was always willing to listen to other people's opinions (not necessarily taking any on board though!).

He had 3 priorities in his life:

- first and foremost, his family's happiness. His whole life revolved around his wife Susan and his daughter Jennifer. Unfortunately, Marco passed away six months before Jennifer's graduation and we could not be prouder of her for obtaining this achievement, while grieving for her adored dad.

- "L'Atalanta", his favourite football team. Marco spent most of his youth at the stadium, in "curva Nord" (where the real supporters are). The day of his funeral, his friends gave him a proper "Atalantino send-ff", with football chants and smoke bombs included. We are 100% sure he approved the whole thing.

- His job. He could be described as a workaholic. Even when Bergamo was in the red zone and Covid turned the city into an apocalyptic zone, he kept complaining about the closure of shops and factories. He could not help himself... And this is why, 4 days before his death, he could hardly stand, but turned up for work. How he did it will always be a mystery to me.

Marco and his wife had made many plans for the future. Nothing extreme: going for walks while holding hands, travel more, visit Bolivia... And within 14 months, it was all gone.

We will be running every single step, thinking about my amazing brother and the lives we could save with your donations.

By donating to our challenge, you're making support available for people now and funding world-leading research to find that breakthrough in new treatments which is so desperately needed.

My family in Italy will do their bit too. Even my 80-year old mum will walk for Marco.

It will be a real challenge, but I want to think that my brother will be watching over us, with his usual Cheshire cat smile.

Ciao Marco, questa e' per te... Forza Atalanta, il sistema non sistema e Hasta la victoria siempre, mi hermano!

Thank you so much for your support! 🙏

Luigi & Rossella