Dad who was told he had two years to live celebrates 'cancerversary' 10 years on

The brave dad, who has been battling prostate cancer for the past 10 years, has taken on numerous fundraising events since his diagnosis back in October 2014, and is once again set to push himself to the limit with his “cancerversary” challenge

While I love running on trails, I also love a big hike. The challenge is different and hiking, being slower, means I can gaze around me, rather than down at my feet in fear of tripping over a rock.

Last week I had the best of both worlds as my wife Sarah and I travelled to the stunning Lake District for a week’s holiday. It was both an escape from the norm and the chance to train in a different environment for my 10-year “cancerversary” challenge in November.

In the Lake District, there are 214 fells called Wainwrights, named after Alfred Wainwright, who spent years exploring them then writing and drawing about his treks so others could enjoy them too. Over the past few years we had ticked off (or “bagged”) 13 of these. This time, however, we were on a mission to make a more serious dent into the numbers and actually bagged another 15.

We were lucky with the weather but still ended up in or above the clouds occasionally. While this changed, or even robbed us of the view, it also added to the experience, pushing my navigation skills to the limit. With visibility so poor – we could only see a few metres ahead at times – all that was important was my next step.

Going to the Lakes out of season also made it more affordable and far less crowded. Mainly it was only us and a few sheep –this happy isolation giving a sense of euphoria.

Each day, after we finished, I went out for a run along flat trails and looked up to the fells with a new appreciation and feeling of pride. It’s unlikely we’ll do all 214 Wainwrights but that’s not important. What we’ll have when we visit is a sense of purpose – aiming to go somewhere new and tick off more.

There are many challenges in life that seem impossible but just like the Wainwrights, you can break them down into manageable chunks.

Next time there’s an overwhelming issue in your life, find a way to take that first step, as it will be one confidence-boosting step closer to your goal. If you don’t even start, you can never finish!

Until next week, Kev