Marching on for the missing ones
As you read this, I should be somewhere in South or West London walking my fourth consecutive marathon in the Prostate Cancer UK Football Marches for Men, having started from my beloved AFC Wimbledon’s ground at 8am and hopefully arriving at Millwall FC’S around 6pm.
More about how they went next week. But as I write, the 35 previous football marches I have completed come to mind because they evoke a whole range of emotions for me.
My first ‘march’ for the charity – when I met Jeff Stelling of Sky Sports for the first time in 2016 (although sadly unable to join us this time) – still makes me smile. But at the same time the memory of meeting Lloyd – who became a friend but died just over two years ago at 49 of this terrible disease – still brings a lump to my throat.
I just can’t wait to be walking with hundreds of others for this great cause. And it’s not all aching feet. There are laughs too. My favourite comedy moment was when I met Mike Summerbee of Manchester City and England fame and ali I could think of saying to him was about how good he was in the cult film Escape to Victory. His face was a picture as I am probably the only person to have mentioned his role in that film for 20 years. I understand he may be there this year too, so I may have to remind him again!
My most treasured memory however is also one of sadness because my final finishers medal in 2019 was handed to me by the late, great Ray Clemence. He had been battling prostate cancer for many years and just over a year after that handshake it took Ray from us.
So when people ask me why I’ve signed up to four more gruelling marathons in four days with horrendous logistics (Manchester, Southampton, Birmingham and London in that order) it’s because it’s in memory of the good people I got to know but who can no longer march with us.
It’s to enjoy meeting new and old heroes for the cause and to do my bit to help any man reading this to potentially be cured and not taken by this awful disease in time to come. If you see us march by today, please do give us a shout out and lob a few quid in the bucket if you can, thank you. Until next week, Kev
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A year after handshake with Ray the disease had taken him from us