Kentish Express Ashford & District
Friends’ marathon walk a tribute to cancer victim
Two friends are gearing up to trek 26.2 miles, the same distance as walking around a football pitch 121 times, in aid of a cancer charity.
Filiz Woodhouse, 40, and Rachel Salisbury, 38, both from Ashford, will take part in Cancer Research UK’s night-time walking marathon, the Shine Night Walk, in London on Saturday, September 26.
Their journey will start at 10.15pm at Southwark Park, and will see them pass Tower Bridge, The Gherkin, St Paul’s Cathedral, the BT Tower, Marble Arch, The Royal Albert Hall, Harrods, Houses of Parliament and The Globe, before finishing at Old Billingsgate.
It will take them anywhere between an estimated nine and 14 hours, meaning they’ll finish some time on Sunday, September 27 – which would have been Filiz’s late mum’s birthday.
The mum-of-one, from Little Burton Farm, explains: “Our world came crashing down in 2013 when my mum, Melek Eren, was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer.
“Unbeknown to us she was given two months to live, but she fought hard.
“With the aid of chemotherapy mum’s tumours began to shrink and her life was extended. This gave us a few precious months with mum and goals were reached - she managed to see my brother marry, the first birthdays of her two granddaughters and the birth of her great-niece.”
Melek, who was known as Mary, sadly died in March 2104.
Filiz adds: “Everyone I know has experienced the loss of a loved one through cancer.
“I am hoping to raise as much as I can so a cure can be found so another family isn’t robbed of their loved one.”
The challenge will be particularly hard for mum-of-three Rachel, of Orchard Heights, as she is suffering from ill health and is off work.
Her symptoms include achy bones, tingling hands and feet, marks on her skin and tiredness, and she is now awaiting a diagnosis of suspected vasculitis, an autoimmune disorder.
She said: “I’m struggling to walk around the block at the moment. We have been training but it is hard.
“But we have been planning the walk since Easter and I am determined to do it. I don’t care how long it takes me.”
To sponsor the two women visit www.justgiving. com/FilizWoodhouse/ or www.justgiving.com/ RachelSalisbury2015/