WOW and a MASSIVE THANK YOU for all your support.
David has completed his mammoth 7-day challenge pushing a 75kg barrel of beer around Norwich for 7 consecutive days all to raise much needed awareness of testicular cancer.
David originally hoped to complete a distance of 350km in the week, but despite pushing for over 9.5 hours every day was just a few kilometres short.
The route was so tough with the hills of Norwich slowing him down more than expected which cut the total kilometres covered to 297, but the awareness and support all the way was amazing and allowed the team to really boost the knowledge of this cancer and also bring the total fundraising to over £60,000.
Awareness really helps to highlight that it is young men – aged 18 -24 – who are most likely to be affected by this cancer, but by checking themselves monthly they can have a 96% survival rate. However, late diagnosis, just by a few weeks can all too often be fatal as the cancer spreads so vigorously.
That point is highlighted all to well by the death of Fred Risebourgh who died from this cancer at the age of just 24, and the beer push was dedicated to Fred and the blue barrel David pushed named in his honour. The push even visited Fred’s old school Hellesdon High School to highlight to today’s pupils the importance of self-checking.
For Fred’s mum and dad, Jo and Steve to allow Fred’s memory to help save young men’s lives was both an honour and a great motivator. We were delighted that Jo joined us at the start of the push and also met us at the end.
Fred’s death was such a tragedy but it helps to highlight the reality of the risk – and that made it very real to all the young men we chatted to across the 7 days -so we really felt we were cutting through.
Fred’s story highlights the cruelty of this cancer – it does not discriminate, looking for the weak or unhealthy – it can strike anyone down.
The physical challenge was painful on David’s body, but that pain only last for 7 days – the pain of parent losing a son -like Fred – lasts a lifetime – that is what we want to stop.
During October, a number of pubs across Norwich and Norfolk are also serving a Beer Push special ale to further support the campaign and get men talking.
David had set a goal of this punishing challenge to bring his fundraising total to £60,000 and reached that total on the final day – which spurred him on across the line.
The idea behind the £60,000 total was to match his 60th birthday which he celebrated in September and to see the donations coming in, along with the comments of support was amazing.
So many people along the route would dig deep and donate but more importantly tell us that they would spread the word about testicular cancer – after all that’s all that we need to happen to stop young men needlessly dying from this cancer.
A huge thanks to all those who supported us and encouraged us along the gruelling course of hills!
The money raised will go to support It’s On The Ball, a charity in Norfolk set up to provide support to patients and their families and raise awareness of testicular cancer.