Grantham teacher completes 10k a day challenge to mark cancer anniversary

A secondary school teacher has run more than 10k every day in April to mark the 10th anniversary of being diagnosed with cancer.

Gareth Bennett, of Garden Close, Grantham, was just 28 when he was diagnosed with bowel cancer in April 2011.

Now nearly 10 years in remission, the father-of-two hopes he has raised more than £4,000 for Macmillan Cancer Support to thank them for all the support he received.

Gareth, a teacher at Kesteven and Grantham Girls’ School, also hopes to raise more awareness about bowel cancer.

He said: “It was devastating news to receive. At the age of 28, I was considered as being young to have bowel cancer but cancer doesn’t care about age and affects all ages.

“I had an operation to remove the tumour in May 2011, followed by chemotherapy. The chemotherapy was particularly tough as it completely drained me of energy and made me feel unwell, but I was well supported by friends and family.”

Friends and colleagues joined Gareth on his final 10k run on Friday to give him an extra push over the finishing line.

After a month on pounding the pavements each day, Gareth added: “This has been a very tough challenge on my body and in particular on my knees and feet, which are particularly sore. I have received lots of support from family, friends and my colleagues.

“After 22 days I worked out that I was on track to run around 187 miles for the month and despite my body starting to suffer I decided to push myself further and try to run an additional 13 miles in the last week alongside the 10km runs to run a total of 200 miles for the month.”

Friends, family and colleagues also carried out their own challenges to show their support, some doing so for charities of their choice.

Gareth’s wife Cheryl completed over 1,000 minutes of high-intensity interval training workouts and his two children, Nelson, six, and four-year-old Darwin, also ran small sections with him.

It’s not the first time that Gareth has raised money for charity since his diagnosis. In 2013 he climbed Ben Nevis, Scafell Pike and Snowdon as part of the Three Peaks Challenge, to raise funds for Cancer Research UK. He then went on to complete the Great North Run half marathon for Bowel Cancer UK in 2019.

To show your support and make a donation, visit: www.justgiving.com/fundraising/gareth-bennett-10km-a-day-april