Speen man raises £10,000 in prostate cancer running feat

A Speen man recently completed a 100k run across north-east England in a bid to raise money for Prostate Cancer UK.

Toby Bartlett set out on June 26, as part of Heineken's 'Race to the Castle' initiative.

Amid poor weather, he completed the sprint in 15 hours, finishing off at the scenic Bamburgh Castle.

Mr Bartlett had hoped to take up the challenge last year, but pandemic restrictions forced him to postpone.

As a result, he has been training for around 18 months.

Initially, the feat simply provided Mr Bartlett an opportunity to get active and shed weight.

However, his father's diagnosis with prostate cancer led him to take up a charitable cause, setting a fundraising target of £10,000 for Prostate Cancer UK. So far he has raised more than £6,000, including Gift Aid.

Mr Bartlett said: "My dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer, and, very fortunately, is on his way to recovery.

"I wanted to give back, really, to raise some money.

"I thought he's received some great assistance and help.

"It's an important thing to be aware of, and I wanted to raise awareness among my friends and family."

The 100k run proved a difficult endeavour, but Mr Bartlett was encouraged along by a Kintbury-based friend, Matthew Wells, who joined him on the day.

Of the route, Mr Bartlett said: "It starts inland, then works its way through the forest - you can see red squirrels and the like.

"Then you end up by a big hill fort, overlooking the Northumberland Downs.

"Then down to the coast, through the area of beauty up there.

"There's lots of castles - Dunstanburgh Castle, Warkworth Castle, and you finish up at Bamburgh Castle.

"The weather was absolutely atrocious, and it rained all day.

"Despite it being one of the most beautiful parts of the country, I saw very little of it through the cloud cover and the mist and and fog."

Mr Bartlett is still accepting donations on his Virgin Money Giving page.