I’m Jonathan and my daughter Francesca has an MPN. I’d never heard of it until her diagnosis and hearing the
word cancer is one of the hardest things for any parent to get their head around. As a family we are now living
with the condition and the change it has brought to our lives; regular trips to hospital and daily medication will
be part of Francesca’s life forever.
I decided to take on a 100km ultra challenge in the Peak District to raise funds for MPN Voice, as the team
there have been amazing, supporting us and helping us understand more about MPNs but also providing
support when we most needed it.
Why did you decide to take on this specific challenge?
I chose my 100km ultra fundraiser because I’d always wanted to do a marathon but can’t run because of an old
knee injury, but I can still hike and love it. It gave me a real sense of worth to fundraise for the MPN team, as it
was such a personal challenge and I knew how much it would mean to the charity’s work.
What did Francesca and your family think about it?
My family have been so supportive; my wife, Teresa, was my event support manager and had everything ready
and to hand when I needed it. She met me at the half-way point to lift my spirits and walked the last 5km to
the finish with me, feeding me cherries all the way!
What was the biggest challenge whilst fundraising?
The biggest challenge fundraising was being pushy! I don’t like to chase people up, I wouldn’t make a great
salesman – a lot said they’d sponsor me but many didn’t follow through. It is a real hard balancing act, so I was
really pleased that I hit my target and can’t thank everyone enough who did sponsor me.
How did you find the hike?
It was really tough and there were points in the latter stages where I could easily have stopped as my old
injuries were causing me a lot of pain. I was definitely hobbling rather than hiking at points. At 90km I was
pretty broken but I was determined to finish as the end was in sight; the support of my family and the team
leader of the hike was enough to help me make it to the finish. I can’t thank them enough.
It’s amazing how quickly you forget the struggles as I’ve since completed the Thames Pathway 100km walk
and I hope to do another on the Isle of Wight next year, if all goes to plan and hopefully I can raise more money for the MPN team.
What would they say to other’s considering doing something to raise funds?
I’d definitely recommend fundraising. Smaller charities really are grateful of any donations you can give them and having attended an MPN Voice day in Nottingham recently, I can honestly say I am glad I was able to lend my support.
