On Sunday 11th June, Matt Gaut completed the epic challenge of running all 250 miles from Greenwich Park, London, to Paris, France, in a bid to raise £100,000 for Cure Leukaemia in memory of his son, Harry.
Across the week, Matt has clocked up a gruelling:
- 250+ miles across four days
- The equivalent of over NINE AND A HALF marathons across those five days
As well as a dedicated support crew to help Matt along the way, he was also joined by brother, Simon, who flew across the world from Sydney Australia to support Matt in his challenge.
Following three years of treatment, his son Harry tragically lost his battle with leukaemia at the age of six. First diagnosed with ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukaemia) in 2012, this had morphed into a more aggressive form of cancer known as AML (acute myeloid leukaemia) by 2016. Initially diagnosed at Croydon University Hospital in May 2013, Harry was later transferred to Royal Marsden Hospital (Sutton) where he underwent treatment for three years. Unfortunately he then relapsed and underwent a stem cell transplant as his health worsened.
Although a match was found for Harry, he sadly developed severe symptoms of graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). This typically occurs when white blood cells received from the donor attack ones own body cells.
On the fifth anniversary of Harrys passing, huge Liverpool fan Matt cycled from London to Paris in a show of support for the work being done by Cure Leukaemia and is planning to go one step further.
Teaming up with eight other individuals, the 47-year-old pharmacist again travelled to the French capital from England though this time by foot and set himself a fundraising target of £100,000 for his mammoth run.
A gruelling 250 miles across five days awaited Matt, but he will be running, safe in the knowledge that every pound that is donated to his challenge, will be directly helping Cure Leukaemia launch a paediatric trials network that will help save the lives of kids living with blood cancer throughout the UK - and ensuring that other parents do know have to go through what his wife Debbie, and Matt had to go through.
Football is a great unifier. You don't know the dad by the hospital bed opposite you with a little kid in the same position as my Harry, but if he is wearing a Liverpool shirt, you know you have something in common. Football gets you out of your current reality for 90 minutes. Instead of "You'll Never Walk Alone", for me that becomes "You Will Never Run Alone" as that is what I am singing along when I go running in the darkness. We will have that sung a lot on our way to Paris.
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