Action Against Cancer update

For the last ten days I’ve been following the trials and tribulations of George Clode and Mike Traylen as they ran from London to Paris in 11 days. They ran to raise money for Action Against Cancer and to remember and celebrate the life of their friend, Danny, 27, who died from lung cancer on 3 October  – just over a week before they set off.

In today’s blog George describes how and why he and Mike decided to run the 198 miles from London to Paris, with a little help from their friends Al and Sassy, who borrowed our old Vauxhall Zafira to keep track of them and keep them supplied with water, cheese and baguettes…

“Mike and I endured driving wind and rain, soaking wet roads that vibrated with giant agricultural machines that whistled past us at a terrifying speed, and the muscular wear and tear we expected from running 18 miles a day for ten days in a row.

“We found ourselves lost in schools, football stadiums and deserted villages littered with sinister looking effigies and surrounded by endless corn fields. We lost our minds, lost our inhibitions, but never our will to complete what we knew had to be done. After day eight, we knew we were going to make it. The support was mounting and the donations were rolling in thick and fast. We both agreed that we would cross that finish line even if it meant riding in on one of the many bewildered farmyard animals we stopped to speak to along the way.

“But it’s not for the adventures or the shin splints or the blisters that I will remember this run. I will remember it for the amazing community that rallied together to support us. For the way that this half-baked recreational run idea conceived at 1am in a London pub was turned into an important charity fundraising marathon which, so far, has raised nearly £7,000. For the donations and kind messages and for the people who took time out of their lives to come and greet us at Notre Dame. For the relatives who wished us luck, the companies who sponsored us and gave us a whole host of free stuff to enable this to happen, and for the support team without whom we’d probably be eating mud and pebbles at the side of the A23.

“And I will remember it for my friend Danny, who didn’t leave my thoughts for one step of the way there.”

You can support Action Against Cancer, which funds the development of cures for cancer at Imperial College, Hammersmith Hospital, and watch video footage of their progress day by day by clicking on www.Run2Paris.com.

Posted by Amanda Blinkhorn