Up and down the country and across the seas, we have people taking on a variety of events, such as: the Hackney Half Marathon, Berlin Marathon, Snowdonia for Science trek, RideLondon-Essex 100, skydives and so much more which you can find out about on our website.
One of our #TeamPCR fundraisers, Issy Hughes, is going above and beyond this March. Issy is running 180 kilometres for PCR and she’s already raised over £1000. It’s hard to believe she only got into running over a year ago.
Issy very kindly spoke to us about what inspired her to create her own fundraising challenge, along with some advice for anyone thinking about embarking on their own fitness challenge.
Do you have a personal connection with prostate cancer?
“My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer last February. It was very quick, we didn’t know he had any issues but fortunately he tested early enough for us to spot it. Just before Christmas he got the all clear; he had the robotic removal and luckily enough it hadn’t spread anywhere else.
In less than a year, he went from diagnosis to treatment. I didn’t know anything about prostate cancer or Prostate Cancer Research before his diagnosis, so we had to learn a lot about the disease and different treatment options available to him.”
Is this what motivated you take on the challenge?
“Yeah! We were very lucky, and I appreciate that other people unfortunately don’t have that experience. I was looking to do something for charity at the beginning of 2022, but when dad’s diagnosis hit us that had to take a backseat. This year, it felt like the perfect opportunity to take on a challenge and fundraise, and after what we went through, I had PCR in mind.”
What does it mean to take on the challenge this March?
“Cancer isn’t something we can stop from happening right now, but with research, we could slow it down and potentially prevent it from happening in the future. I want to do my bit to help other families and my kids in the future.”
And how do you feel about your 180k March challenge?
“I’m quite excited to get going to be honest! Originally, I said I would run 160k in March, but if I reached £1000 in donations, I’d up it to 180k. I’m a fitness coach, but I’ve never really been into running until last year.
I haven’t done a marathon, half marathon or anything like this before. I’m training and aiming to do around 7 kilometres a day, and I’ll donate £2 per kilometre for anything extra that I do. I’ll be out on the road every day, come rain or shine, but hopefully the weather will hold up in March!”
Have you got any advice for anyone interested in taking on a fitness challenge?
“Set a goal you know is achievable – run a certain distance, do a certain amount of squats or walk an amount of miles – but also, try something outside of your comfort zone and when you’ve hit your fundraising target, see if you can push yourself that bit further like I have with my extra 20 kilometres; that’s going to entice people to donate to you if you’re doing something outside of the everyday.”
