The team at Prostate Cancer UK got in touch with me recently to tell me about their search for walkers in Leeds to take part in their “March for Men”.
March for Men brings people together to celebrate the lives of those who’ve beaten prostate cancer and to remember those who have been lost to the disease. The charity aims to raise £1million through its walking programme which includes three walks taking place in London, Leeds and Glasgow, and Jeff’s March for Men – Soccer Saturday host, Jeff Stelling, walking 15 marathons in 15 days.
If you want to get involved and help raise some much-needed awareness and cash, you don’t need to do anything as arduous as walking 15 marathons! Instead, you can choose a short (2.5k), medium (8k) or long (16k) route around beautiful Roundhay Park. (The short route is fully accessible for wheelchairs and prams.)
The Leeds walk is taking place on Father’s day – Sunday 18th June, starting at 11am. As I’ve blogged about before, Roundhay Park is a fantastic place to visit with some lovely walks, whatever the weather.
As part of the march there will also be an event village where there’ll be food, drink, music and a great atmosphere. Soap opera fans might be excited to hear that the Leeds walk is going to be fronted by former Emmerdale and soon-to-be Holby City actress Gemma Oaten.
According to the press release, Prostate Cancer UK’s new walking programme aims “to bring people together throughout the UK to celebrate the lives of those who’ve beaten prostate cancer and to remember those who have been sadly lost to the disease. Over 3,690 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer in the Yorkshire and Humber region each year, with almost 1,000 men dying from the disease, and over 22,900 living with and beyond prostate cancer. Money raised will be used to help ‘shift the science’ and crack the three core issues of diagnosis, treatment and prevention which have been left unsolved for too long. It will have a huge impact on the lives of those affected by the disease and will help bring us one step closer to stopping prostate cancer being a killer.”
The registration fee is £10 per adult (children under 16 can take part for free but must be accompanied by a guardian over 18) and dogs are of course allowed. The charity has suggested setting a fundraising target of £50 and all walkers will receive a t-shirt. If you can’t make the march, hopefully you can spare a bit of cash and sponsor someone who’s taking part in one of the walks.
To sign up to the Leeds March for Men, visit marchformen.org
“Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer may contact Prostate Cancer UK’s Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or online via the Live Chat instant messaging service: prostatecanceruk.org/. The Specialist Nurse phone service is free to landlines and open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday with late opening until 8pm on Wednesdays. Visit Prostate Cancer UK now to help beat this disease.”