Bedford man raises thousands after completing charity run across Great Britain

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A Bedford father-of-two who endured 14-hour days in the relentless sunshine and heat to run the breadth of England, Scotland and Wales has completed his epic fundraising challenge for Cancer Research UK and Mind.

Robin Reynolds, 50, covered over 300km in just five days as part of his ‘Run Across GB’ charity endurance challenge in memory of his mum and father-in-law who passed away from cancer.

The keen runner, who began his challenge in Newcastle on August 1 and finished in Aberystwyth in Wales on August 6, said: “The generosity of the supporters and my friends and family along the way has been key to keeping my momentum up.

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“People on Hadrian’s Wall were stopping and asking what I was doing and scanned my QR code to donate and the receptionist at our hotel in Falkirk said she wanted to contribute in some way because she’d recently lost her father to cancer and felt it was a really important cause.

Robin wanted to support Cancer Research UK after losing his mother and father-in-law to cancer.Robin wanted to support Cancer Research UK after losing his mother and father-in-law to cancer.
Robin wanted to support Cancer Research UK after losing his mother and father-in-law to cancer.

“It’s a very personal thing for people who have been impacted either directly or indirectly by the disease because they can understand the importance of the work Cancer Research UK is doing and why I’m doing the challenge.”

Robin, who has completed over 20 ultra marathons and marathons and half marathons has seen first-hand how devastating a cancer diagnosis can be.

He said: “Cancer has directly impacted my family. My mum discovered she had stage 4 ovarian cancer and passed away quite soon afterwards. In the year before my mum died, my father-in-law also died of bowel cancer.

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“My wife never met my mother and I never met her father, but I think that shared experience brought us together and it’s always been a great reason to raise money and fight this disease.”

Robin was supported by his family and Cancer Research UK throughout the challengeRobin was supported by his family and Cancer Research UK throughout the challenge
Robin was supported by his family and Cancer Research UK throughout the challenge

You can donate here or via Robin’s website: https://runacrossgb.com/

So far Robin has raised over £2,000 to help fund Cancer Research UK’s life-saving research into new ways to detect, prevent and treat more than 200 types of cancer.

In the year that he turns 50, the endurance runner who has taken part in ultra marathons across the world, wanted to create a challenge of his own. Over the course of five days, he ran the breadth of England from Newcastle to Carlisle in Cumbria, followed by Scotland from Dumbarton to Queensferry and finally, across Wales from Craven Arms to Aberystwyth.

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Robin said: “I wanted to do something to mark my 50th year and something I could organise myself rather than a pre-arranged run. I was also determined to give back to the communities that have supported me through some difficult times.

Robin Reynolds ran across England, Scotland and Wales for Cancer Research UK and MindRobin Reynolds ran across England, Scotland and Wales for Cancer Research UK and Mind
Robin Reynolds ran across England, Scotland and Wales for Cancer Research UK and Mind

“Preparing for the challenge has been a huge commitment. I trained for about nine months for this and that’s lots of time away from my wife and children so I think this will be it for a while now. Thankfully, they’ve all been behind me the whole way and then seeing them at the checkpoints on this challenge waiting for me to arrive, really drove me on.”

Despite his extensive background in endurance events, as Robin began the challenge with a two-day run along Hadrian’s Wall, the heat proved a challenge and forced him to draw on previous experiences to adapt and stay safe.

He said: “I’d set off at 7am and hoped to arrive by 7.30pm but I had to slow everything down and finally reached the finish at 9.15pm just as the sun was going down.

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“I was drinking a litre and half of water every six miles and tried to break the run down into small sections and just reach the next checkpoint. If you think of it as one big challenge, it gets really difficult.

“There are times when you have some real highs and times when you have some real lows but then I’d get my phone out and look at the comments people had sent me and the donations coming in on Just Giving. It would give me such a boost as I could see all the support I had and knew how much everyone wanted me to complete this challenge.”

Robin has self-funded his trip so that every penny raised goes towards the causes he’s supporting.

Cancer Research UK spokesperson for Bedfordshire, Elisa Mitchell, said: “Eight in 10 people who receive cancer drugs on the NHS receive a drug developed by us, or with us. Our scientists have led the development of chemotherapy and radiotherapy, paved the way for targeted treatments and improved the way we use surgery to tackle the disease.

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“Together, we are beating cancer. Advances like this are all down to fundraisers like Robin, who have helped us to double cancer survival in the UK in the last 50 years. But we can’t stop there. Step by step, Robin and his supporters are bringing us closer to a world where everybody can live longer, better lives, free from the fear of cancer and we are incredibly grateful for his phenomenal effort during his ‘Run Across GB’ challenge.”

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