Paul Willis and Ben Turner, two close friends from Lydd are taking on an enormous challenge, the Lulworth2Lydd200, in September to raise money for a cause very close to their hearts: Macmillan Cancer Support.
They will be taking on an incredible 200-mile run in 7 days from Lulworth Cove in Dorset to their hometown of Lydd, the Lulworth2Lydd200; they have already raised an outstanding £3,115, but they hope to raise much more.
Paul and Ben from Lydd have been good friends for about 14 years now; when Ben first moved to Lydd he moved opposite Paul’s house, who took him out for his first run around the lanes of old Romney one very dark night and beat him all the way (Paul had been running for a couple of years before this). They’ve been running and racing together ever since, achieving some good times for half and full marathons.
Paul sadly lost his mum to cancer before they were friends and Ben’s mum was diagnosed with ovarian cancer back in 2011. After having a large operation and months of chemotherapy she was given the all clear but it, unfortunately, came back after 5 years and another two tumours were found that are a little too awkward to operate on, so she is now having radiotherapy to reduce and manage them. Like so many cancer patients she remains upbeat, positive and just wants to live her life. Throughout COVID, Ben’s mum’s nurse has ensured her treatment stays on track which has been so important. Ben tells CommunityAd, “The Macmillan nurses are fantastic and so valuable to the health of cancer patients. They deserve all the support we can give.”
Ben and Paul got into ultra-running (27 miles +) about 3 years ago and during the first lockdown were chatting about Ben’s mum and the incredible Macmillan nurses. To give back to the special nurses they decided to take on the crazy challenge which was originally set for 4th April 2021 but had to be moved to 26th September 2021 and just to challenge themselves even more they will be running the New Forest Marathon on 25th September.
Their main sponsor is Scott Wilson, a massage therapist, who will be supporting them by keeping their muscles going and filming/documenting their journey on Facebook. They have also been sponsored by 7 guest houses and hotels by way of accommodation for all three of them to stay along the way.
To train for this is the unknown for Ben and Paul as they don’t belong to a running club. They’re simply doing what they think is right by training their bodies to get used to running a sizable distance on consecutive days. At the moment, they are worried about training throughout the summer in the heat but they look forward to the experience.
They hope that the excitement for the challenge returns nearer the time and once they get running they’ll smash it!
Ben told CommunityAd, “We are both amazed with how many followers we are getting and even more amazed and so thankful of how much people have donated to date; all Paul and I have to do is run but we cannot achieve our goal without all the help from our supporters. We don’t think they realise just how important they are to us achieving this challenge. We just can’t thank everyone enough; from the owners of the accommodation to Scott Wilson Massage Therapy, the people who watch and share our videos and all the generous donations and the people like you that give us the chance to advertise our challenge, are the ones who will make this challenge a success.”