We are a team of 13 people who have set ourselves a massive challenge to raise money for Macmillan Cancer Support.  We will set off on Friday 6th April and cycle from Pontefract to Paris in 2 days (420 miles) on Sunday 8th April some of us will then run the Paris Marathon and we will then cycle back to Pontefract over the next 2 days.  A total of 840 miles on a bike and run a marathon in 5 days.  This is not a relay event, collectively we will cycle 8,400 miles and run 157.2 miles.

The 13 team members are : Adam Fowkes, Anita Marner, Chris Strutt, Daniel Strutt, Jim Murgatroyd, Jo Jarvis, Jo Knowles, John Tanner, Kevin Marner, Matthew Strutt, Shaun Fox, Steve Richards & Terry Harrison.  

As you will appreciate these team members are dedicating loads of time training to be ready for this epic challenge both physically and mentally.  We realise it is difficult to comprehend the enormity of this challenge but I am sure you will all appreciate that this is up there with the toughest.

Why are we doing this ?

Cancer affects everyone in some way, we all know someone with cancer or who has had cancer.   Daniel came up with the idea of this epic challenge as he wanted us to raise a large amount of money for Macmillan Cancer Support. Daniel saw first hand the fantastic support offered to his his mum Tracey and dad Chris and wanted to give something back. 

Chris' story...

Having been extremely ill for a number of months my wife Tracey was diagnosed with Cancer in March 2016 and soon after diagnosis things got much worse resulting in acute kidney failure as well as many other complications.  Fortunately for us, she responded positively to the medical procedures and medication to enable her the chance to commence a weekly chemotherapy programme that lasted for 6 months.   She had a number of setbacks throughout her treatment and developed septicaemia on 3 occasions.  The great news for us is she responded really well to chemotherapy resulting in her cancer being reduced significantly and under control.  Tracey has now been on a maintenance programme for nearly 18 months in an attempt to keep the cancer under control, and this includes daily drugs and monthly visits to hospital for implant and bone strengthening injections.   These maintenance drugs create their own problems and challenges for Tracey and over these last 3 months she has had such a tough time with body and joint pains and is currently undergoing a series of tests and scans to try and get to an understanding of the source of the problem to enable the appropriate change in medication.  We know Tracey cannot be cured but can only be treated but we remain positive, she has responded so well to both the chemotherapy and maintenance drugs.  In 2016 we craved to live a normal family life and now it feels like we do because she just gets on with everything, she never feels sorry for herself or makes a big deal when she is in pain and discomfort.  She is truly an inspiration and we are all so proud of her! 

In the early days after diagnosis I spent a lot of time at Pinderfields hospital when Tracey was admitted and then latterly when she was having chemotherapy and found Macmillan Cancer Support extremely supportive and somewhere I could go for an informal chat and gain advice.   As you can appreciate in our case our family’s life turned upside down over night and it gave some form of reassurance to be able to speak with professional people who understood what we were going through and it is comforting to know this support is there at any time.

Thank you for taking the time to read our page.