Photo by Jeff Blackler license 2.0
On 9th December Stuart Leaney, a fanatical runner and sportsman from Winscombe is attempting to smash the world record for a 50km run on a treadmill, whilst aiming to raise £1,000 for Teenage Cancer Trust, to help transform the lives of young people with cancer in the South West.
Stuart Leaney, Operations Director at Recruit UK, a financial services recruitment company based in Bristol, has been inspired to fundraise for Teenage Cancer Trust through his friend Katie Crossey, Local Fundraising Coordinator in the South West, who has been with the charity for seven years.
Stuart aims to break the world record on December the 9th 2016. The current official Guinness World Record is 3 hours 9 minutes and 8 seconds. Unofficially (not ratified by Guinness) the record currently stands at 2 hours 59 minutes and 49 secs, that’s running 5mins 47 secs per mile for 31 miles.
Stuart said: “Running has given me so much enjoyment and I want to use my love for running as a way to help raise awareness and support for such an amazing charity. I hope by doing this I can help those that need it most supporting people whilst at their most vulnerable”.
Katie Crossey, Local Fundraising Coordinator for the South West has assisted with plans for the event, ensuring there is a great crowd of Teenage Cancer Trust volunteers to cheer him on during his attempt.
Katie Crossey said: “We have all been so excited about this record attempt for so long. It’s such an incredible thing for Stuart to do and we are all really proud of him. Stuart trains tirelessly and I know how passionate he feels about raising the much needed funds towards supporting local young people with cancer. Currently for every young person with cancer we reach there’s another we can’t but with the support from Stuart, we will be one step closer to supporting all young people with cancer. Alongside staff from the charity, we will be having a street cheering team on the day so please join us to help support the work of Teenage Cancer Trust”.
Each year, over 200 young people from Bristol, Somerset, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, Devon and Cornwall, are diagnosed with cancer. Across the UK, seven are diagnosed every day. Traditionally treated either on a children’s ward or on an adult ward often alongside elderly patients, young people can feel extremely isolated during treatment, some never meeting another young person with cancer. Being treated alongside others their own age, by experts in teenage and young adult cancer care, can make a huge difference to their experience.
Teenage Cancer Trust relies on donations and needs local communities to support its work with young people with cancer. It costs over £600,000 a year to maintain the new unit, fund specialist staff and support the free cancer awareness sessions that are delivered in schools, colleges and universities across the South West. For more information visit
www.teenagecancertrust.org or email fundraising@teenagecancertrust.org
