Matthew Rees
Arch to Arc 2013
Fundraising for Cancer Research UK
Story
Thank you for visiting my page. On 4-6th July I, and around 30 other 'athletes', will be cycling/running the 300 miles or so from London to Paris to raise money for Cancer Research UK, and specifically for research into CUP (Cancer of Unknown Primary). The main driver for this is the tragic story of a dear friend and a desire to help prevent others suffering the same fate.
Fi's Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.
On March 5th 2013 our dear friend (and Darcey's Godmother) Fi lost her short battle with Cancer having only been diagnosed 6 months earlier. She leaves behind a loving husband Jon, having been married for less than 2 years and a huge amount of friends and family who miss her wit, charm, beauty and friendship.
Fi was diagnosed with secondary cancer of the lungs in the Autumn of 2012 having initially developed a troublesome cough. Unfortunately the lung cancer was a symptom of another cancer somewhere else in her body that had spread to the lungs. This is known as CUP, or Cancer of Unknown Primary. Fi bravely undertook chemotherapy to battle the cancer and remained positive despite the gloomy prognosis. Sadly, she lost her battle and was taken suddenly and tragically early. We all miss her terribly.
What's CUP
CUP has been a neglected cancer, despite killing as many people as Breast Cancer in any given year. So with Cancer Research UK, we have set up Friends of Fi to raise money which will fund research into the best treatments for Fi's type of cancer. We need your support to help raise awareness of this awful disease, giving its sufferers a much needed voice & greater chance for survival.
The Event
Our event, Arch to Arc, is our way of remembering Fi and the CUP charity and raising some much needed funds whilst bringing friends together for a common goal. Depending on how fit/fat/mad the participant the goal is to get 31 of us to Paris from London by running and cycling.
For the fitter they will be running the 80 miles to Dover over 2 days and then joining the rest who cycled the 80miles on their 1st day to then continue the 220+ miles to Paris over the next 2 days. There's even a few hardy souls cycling 54 miles in the UK and then running a marathon the same day to Dover to join the rest.
Either way it's at least 300 miles in 3 days on a bike at the very least and so your support is what we ask from you. Any donation is welcome however large or small and it's all for a fantastic cause so many thanks for being part of it