Choose your runner: Seven friends to go head-to-head in a 13-mile race for donations   

After one of their mums was diagnosed with terminal blood cancer, a group of seven friends assembled to go head-to-head in a competitive 13.1-mile race to raise money for Myeloma UK.  

Freya and Joe Shrimpton came up with the fundraiser after their mother, Jayne Shrimpton, 65, was diagnosed with terminal myeloma in May 2023.  

Freya, Jayne’s daughter, said: “I don’t want our story to come across as a sob story.  

“My approach to this whole situation has been to combat the classic sympathetic narrative of ‘poor mum’, ‘poor me’ and use humour to lighten the weight of the topic and bring people together to enable acceptance and frank conversations about cancer.  

“We will all be affected by it in our lives either directly or by proxy, so I don’t see the benefit of all ‘feeling sorry’ for each other at different points.”  

The group of seven from Brighton are encouraging others to get involved in the competition by asking donors to donate to the runner they believe will win.   

Freya explained that by ‘gamifying’ the fundraiser she is lightening the mood and creating a safe space for open conversations about cancer.  

She said: “If we see cancer and its treatment as a mission that has its highs, lows and even funny moments, then we will begin to talk about it, demystify it, laugh about it, cry about it and ultimately lessen the blow when it happens to us.  

“Yes, my mum is a unique and wonderful person and it’s sad what is happening, but it has happened a million times before and it will happen a million times again.  

“So, I suppose by us inviting donors to ‘join’ us in the race by donating to their favourite runner, we are instilling the idea of seeing cancer as a mission, and not a defeat.” 

On February 25, 2024, Joe, Digby, Will, Freya, Laura, Sybil and Daisy will set off at the Brighton Half Marathon in an all-out 13.1-mile race to the finish line.  

 To give donors a fair chance of picking the right runner, each participant has provided a small description of their current mindset, fitness levels and running capabilities.  

Runner 1:  

Joe Shrimpton, 29:  

• Joe Constantly talks about how fit he was when he was 19. Joe is now 29.  
• Joe was beaten by Digby in the 2019 Brighton Half Marathon – this hurt Joe.  

 Runner 2:  

Digby Wheeler, 28: 

• Digby beat Joe in the 2019 Brighton Half Marathon, but Digby didn’t care.  
• Digby wanted everyone to run together in one long horse costume.  

 Runner 3:  

Will Hayter, 26: 

• Will threw up during his first ever 5k park run.  
• Will won’t train much but he will probably win because he’s got ‘those sort of legs’. 

 Runner 4:  

Freya Shrimpton, 26:  

• Freya keeps hurting her knee because she can’t be bothered to stretch.  
• Freya said: “Will trains about half the amount I do and still beats me every time.” 

 Runner 5:  

Laura Spackman, 28:  

• On October 10, 2023, Laura said: “I did a 20-minute jog yesterday and I’m struggling to walk today.”  
• Laura can’t promise that she won’t run in Birkenstocks 

 Runner 6:  

Sybil Wheeler, 26: 

• Sybil manged to go from running 5k to a half marathon during one month of lockdown.  
• Don’t expect that kind of commitment from her now, she might be hungover on the day. 
• Sybil said: “I’m just here for the vibes.” 

Runner 7:  

Daisy Doig, 29:  

• Daisy is fresh on the running scene.  
• Daisy said: “It’s basically just four 5k runs right?”  
• Daisy planned to look chic but after seeing the group’s luminous orange running vests, she deemed it ‘impossible’.  

Pascale Harvie, President and General Manager at JustGiving said: “This challenge is such a fun and unique way to bring a group of friends together to raise money for Myeloma UK.  

“From everyone at JustGiving, we wish Freya, Joe and the whole team the very best of luck, although we’re secretly routing for Joe to finally beat Digby.” 

To donate to your favourite runner, click here and make sure to comment which person you believe will win.  

NOTES TO EDITOR

For further information contact  press@justgiving.com

About JustGiving
JustGiving is the world’s most trusted platform for online giving. We help people raise money for the charities and people they care about the most. In 2000, JustGiving.com began with one simple goal – to enable charities to receive donations online from anywhere in the world. Fast forward 23 years and over $9 billion has been raised for good causes in almost every single country in the world.

JustGiving became part of Blackbaud, the world’s leading cloud software company powering social good in 2017.

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