Rob’S Great East Run For Testicular Cancer Awareness
A man will take part in the Simplyhealth Great East Run to prepare for his journey on foot from Land's End to John O'Groats after he was diagnosed with testicular cancer.
Rob Harvey, from Hadleigh, was diagnosed and went through the treatment for testicular cancer in 2017.
Luckily, Rob took his cancer experience as a positive one. After noticing something wasn't quite right after a shower, he went to see my doctor the next day and had a surgery to remove the cancer only after 9 days.
Then he had chemotherapy which brought Rob's treatment to an end. However, he still has regular check-ups to make sure everything is alright.
Rob confessed that he was never into running but it helped him to recover and get back into exercising after being ill. Now running has become a big part of his life.
He loves spending time outside and being part of a huge running community which inspired him to take part in the Simplyhealth Great East Run in Ipswich on Sunday 16 September.
Rob will use the run to prepare for the journey on foot from Land's End to John O'Groats which he plans to begin on 30 September.
His Simplyhealth Great East Run and journey from Land's End is about raising awareness of testicular cancer and Ballboys, a testicular cancer awareness charity who share a lot of useful information about the disease.
In addition, if all goes to plan, Rob may attempt to break the world record for fastest journey on foot from Land's End to John O' Groats which is currently 9 days 2 hours and 26 minutes.
Rob said: “I never planned on being a runner! To be honest, I avoided running as much as possible. However, after being ill last year, running was my way back into exercise.
“Since then it has taken over most of my spare time and I now run more miles than I care to count!
“I was diagnosed and went through treatment for testicular cancer last year so I know how embarrassing and difficult it can be to talk about.
“I want my run to be used as a spring board for conversations to be started and to encourage help to be sought if it is needed.”
Rob wanted to do something significant to make sure that as many people as possible take notice and are encouraged to get checked.
His personal experience showed him how hard it can be to talk about it and he wants to use his runs to encourage conversation.
The Simplyhealth Great East Run is a sold-out event where runners can take on a 13.1 mile challenge course across a scenic course that starts and finishes in Ipswich town centre.
The course starts and finishes on Russell Road and takes runners through many beautiful landmarks such as Holywells Park, Ipswich waterfront, Orwell Bridge and Ipswich Town FC's Portman Road stadium.
For more information about the Simplyhealth Great East Run, visit: Greatrun.org/East
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