Thank you so much for visiting our Fundraising page.

We are attempting to complete six marathons in six days in theGobiDesert to help defeat cancer.

Any support you could give us would be hugely appreciated.

The Challenge:

The Gobi March is a 155 mile, six-day, ultra-marathon across theGobiDesert described by the Sunday Times as “one of the four toughest endurance races in the world”. In temperatures which soar to above 40 degrees and at night dip low enough to leave snow-tipped sand dunes, competitors shoulder 20lbs of food and shelter on their backs as they negotiate mountain assents, precipitous gorges and waist-deep river crossings. Perhaps an even greater threat, however, is the 10,000ft altitude which sees winds sweep down from the Siberian Steppes across far West China, whipping up dust and sand leaving visibility virtually non-existent. Erratic scheduling of the stages also sees contenders face a double marathon on the penultimate day.

The Training:

Hardly a team of seasoned endurance performers, the battle is now on to banish the legacy of Christmas and swap our 'comfortable' physiques for something more athletic - and fast! TheGobi March starts on 14th June. With a warm up Reading to London double marathon in April, we need to make dramatic progress over the coming months.

The Motivation:

In November 2007, George’s Dad, Nick Arbuthnott, was diagnosed with bowel cancer with 20 secondaries in his liver. The doctors' consensus was that the cancer was too advanced for him to stand a chance of recovery so they told him the best thing to do was make the most of the time he had left.

At the same time a new drug called Cetuximab, which had been invented in the USA, was being trialled in the UK. The drug is a monoclonal antibody which is designed to recognise and attach itself to certain proteins that are found on the surface of particular bowel cancer cells. Once attached, the drug stops the cancer cells dividing and growing as well as making the cells more likely to be destroyed by chemotherapy.

Nick was lucky enough to be put on a three-month cetuximab trial by his consultant at The Marsden, Professor Cunningham and the specialists at Cheltenham. At the end of the three months his scan indicated the cancer had retreated remarkably, but he was told that, because cetuximab had not been approved by the NHS, he had to pay £12,000 to continue to be treated with it.

Fortunately he was able to afford the cost and three months later a scan revealed that he was completely free of cancer. However, it left a sour taste that his level of wealth had potentially made the ultimate difference.

The Cause:

We aim to raise money for Professor David Cunningham’s Research Fund (a smaller fund within The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign). This fund ran the cetuximab trial that saved Nick’s life and it is currently financing further monoclonal antibody trials giving people, who could not otherwise afford the drugs, a chance of survival. By doing this, Professor Cunningham aims to provide irrevocable evidence to the NHS that they should be saving lives by providing monoclonal antibodies across the country.

In this way we hope to prevent as many people as possible from falling through the net and potentially dying because of their inability to pay for a cure that can defeat cancer.