Daily Star sports desk sub-editor Keith Nancarrow stepped up with the winning pledge and will be running in next April’s Virgin Money London Marathon, raising money for the Royal Marsden Cancer Charity, the Sports Journalists’ Association’s nominated charity this year.
With donations taken on the day at last week’s British Sports Awards lunch staged at the Tower of London, together with Nancarrow’s winning bid in the auction for the London Marathon race place, the SJA has raised more than £4,200 for the Royal Marsden, with another round of fund-raising to come in conjunction with the British Sports Journalism awards dinner in February.
The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity raises money to help fund pioneering work in research, diagnosis, treatment and care to improve the lives of patients at The Royal Marsden and people with cancer throughout Britain and beyond. Its revolutionary treatments have far-reaching impact and it is the leading centre for cancer clinical trials in the country, involved in around 600 clinical trials each year.
For Nancarrow, who at 54 has never before run a marathon, the hard work starts now, not only out pounding the roads near his south London home in training for the race, but also to raise sponsorship money to match his own auction-winning pledge.
“Well I’ve finally done my first training run for the marathon,” he said today. Granted it was only to the newsagent’s and back but everyone’s got to start somewhere.
“My wife Sally will tell how I said year after year, ‘I’m going to run the London Marathon next year’, without ever getting up off my backside to do anything about it. Well, last year I was inspired by my son Max running London in memory of his gran, my mum, who suffered Parkinsons in the last few years of her life.
“Then my wife and daughter Alice did the Shine marathon walk through the night in the summer to raise money for cancer research. Now they all take great delight in telling me I’m the only one in the family who hasn’t completed the marathon distance.
“I applied through the ballot but I failed to get a place. But the SJA, much like the Royal Marsden does for so many people, gave me a second chance and here I am finally facing up to training for and completing the London Marathon.
“And how can you fail to be inspired by raising money for the Marsden, which we all know does such terrific work for cancer sufferers? Granted I’ve left it a bit late… 55 in February with two knackered knees and one shrivelled kidney but it really is now or never for my marathon dream. So I’m looking forward to the challenge, which will start just as soon as I get back from holiday on January 11th! Wish me luck…”
- To contribute to Keith Nancarrow’s fund-raising effort for the Royal Marsden appeal, click here and go to his JustGiving page. And remember to claim Gift Aid if you;re a tax-payer.
- If you would like more information about The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity or to make a donation online visit their website by clicking here: www.royalmarsden.org.