GP joins Race for Life challenge
He wants to help raise cash for research of the disease
A WELL-KNOWN Loughborough GP plans to Race for Life at Home and carry on the fight against cancer despite the devastating impact of the Covid-19 outbreak.
Doctor Ben Noble, who is the Cancer Research UK strategy lead GP for the East Midlands, will be joined by medical colleagues across the country in a bid to clock up the distance from London to New York in their own Race for Life.
All Cancer Research UK Race for Life events have sadly been cancelled in 2020, including the events in Loughborough and Leicester. But the charity is now urging as many supporters as possible to sign up for Race for Life at Home.
The Race for Life at Home challenge can be held at home, in the garden or a nearby green space. It can involve running, walking, cycling, skipping or even a hula hoop session.
The 46-year-old father-of-two, who is a GP at the Woodbrook surgery in Loughborough, will be taking to the treadmill over the next month to complete his 100 km leg of the challenge.
Dr Noble was among the first wave of men in the UK take part in Race for Life last year. He joined over 1000 local women, men and children for the 5k event in Loughborough town centre.
He said: “I took part in Loughborough Race for Life with my family last year, and hoped to do so again this year, but sadly the event has been cancelled. It was a really moving experience and I am keen to still be involved and do my bit for Cancer Research UK during a time when its fund-raising efforts have been so badly hit. Keeping active is particularly important right now to help mental wellbeing, particularly while many people are stuck at home in quarantine. For me, that means using a treadmill as my job has been busier than ever and I need to fit my exercise around work commitments.
“Coming out of lockdown, I feel particularly concerned about the number of patients who are going to face a late cancer diagnosis when treatment might be more challenging, and all the people who haven’t been able to attend screening appointments for the past few months. The work of Cancer Research UK will be more important than ever.”
Jane Redman, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson for Leicestershire, said: “At a time when it felt like everything has been at a standstill, there is one thing that hasn’t stopped, cancer.
“Our priority as a charity is ensuring that people affected by cancer are getting the support they need right now.
“From a run or 5K walk around the garden to limbo in the living room or a bike ride like Ben is doing, there is no wrong way to Race for Life at Home. With no entry fee, people might choose to twerk, limbo, star jump, squat, skip, dance, or come up with their own novel way of taking part and share it with friends. The message is very much that ‘while we might be apart, we’re doing this together’. There is no wrong way to get involved and join our community.
“Whatever people decide to do, we are immensely grateful for the support, now more than ever. If the idea takes off, we could be looking at hundreds of people in Leicestershire following Dr Noble’s lead and stepping forward to Race for Life at Home and perhaps collecting sponsorship to do so.”
People can visit raceforlife.org and sign up free for ideas on how they can create their own Race for Life at Home challenge.
It is possible to sponsor Ben individually by visiting the GPs’ joint fundraising page at: https://fundraise.cancerresearchuk. org/ team/ cruk- gps- 5karound-the-uk