Former Egremont Rangers rugby league player Lewis Beckwith is planning a very special charity run on June 1.
The 30-year-old Beckwith, who now coaches the Rangers’ Under-7s, will be running around the county planning stops at its 21 amateur clubs.
His route will cover 106 miles and will be completed on the day, with the run in aid of West Cumberland Hospital’s Henderson Suite and his Under-7s team.
The incentive for the run was sparked by his dad Mark, a former professional with Whitehaven who has undergone chemotherapy treatment in the Whitehaven hospital’s Henderson Suite.
The run will start at the Walney Central club and end at Aspatria Hornets while in between he will cover Hindpool Tigers, Barrow Island, Dalton, Ulverston, Askam, Millom, Egremont, Wath Brow, Hensingham, Kells, Lowca, Distington, Seaton, Broughton Red Rose, Cockermouth, Flimby, Ellenborough, Glasson and Maryport.
Lewis, who walks at Drigg, had aimed to raise £2,000 for the run but is already past £1,300 a week away from the event.
He said: “In July last year my dad was diagnosed with stage three bowel cancer and a further unrelated diagnosis of prostate cancer in August.
“Although he is now recovering, he had a rough journey along the way and I couldn’t thank the staff on the Henderson Suite at the West Cumberland Hospital enough for looking after him throughout his course of chemotherapy in between two big operations.
“I think we can all say we know of someone who has been affected by cancer and the horrendous feeling and reality of what cancer can cause.
“Anyone who has had a friend, relative or loved one visit the Henderson Suite will know how warm, caring and kind the staff are on there and how much they do for every single patient and family member of who wlks through the doors of the ward.
“Another thing that got me through was my love for running and rugby, although I now focus on my running. I also coach the Under-7’s youth team for Egremont Rangers which my son plays for.
“Seeing all the kids in the team looking forward to each training session and each match takes me back to my dad taking me to rugby training when I was younger.
“I usually enjoy taking part in ultra marathons where races consist of a four-mile loop each hour on the hour until there’s only one runner left.
“My current record is 26 loops/hours. However the last one I entered in April got cancelled due to weather conditions. Therefore I was left feeling a need to fill its place and so I decided to run around every rugby league club in Cumbria – starting at Walney and finishing at Aspatria with 19 more amateur clubs in between which works out at around 106 miles.
“I plan to do this on June 1 and to raise a lot of money to go towards both the Henderson Suite and my Under-’s team.
“Any donations would be extremely gratefully received and if anyone would like to run alongside me at any point that would be a great help too.”
