Assistant headteacher at Barnack Primary School to walk from Peterborough's Posh stadium to Portsmouth in memory of father-in-law from Stamford
A teacher is walking 144 miles in memory of his father-in-law.
Connor Knowling, assistant headteacher at Barnack Primary School, will walk from Peterborough's Posh stadium to Portsmouth's football ground.
The hike will honour his father-in-law John Peyser from Stamford, who lost a three-and-a-half year battle with lung cancer last month.
Connor, 27, said: “John was a big friendly giant, who lit up the room. Even in his final few days, he made those around him chuckle with his dry sense of humour.
"It’s hard to put into words just how much he will be missed.”
Connor initially hoped to raise £1,000 for the Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation but two days after announcing the challenge he had already had £2,210 in donations.
Connor said: "The money we raise will help this remarkable charity to continue to deliver such a personable and purposeful service to other families out there.”
John, a former RAF engineer, first noticed something was wrong when he experienced a pain on the side of his body.
After numerous tests he was diagnosed with stage 4 lung cancer diagnosis in July 2019.
He often joked that he was “past his expiry date" having lived longer than doctors predicted but used his sense of humour to raise awareness for lung cancer.
Connor, a lifelong Peterborough United fan will start his challenge at the London Road football ground on August 4, travelling to John's football team's stadium at Fratton Park in Portsmouth. He is hoping to complete his challenge in six days.
He said: "Over the years we took joy in the banter that came with supporting teams in the same league.
"John, looked for any opportunities to force Pompey into my life whether it was giving my fiancée Amie a Portsmouth top to sleep in, walking our dog Luna in Portsmouth gear, sending me irritable Portsmouth memes or dropping off items in a Portsmouth bag.
"It seemed fate that Portsmouth’s last game before John passed away was against Posh.”
Connor will be joined by his friend Sean Garmony who lost his dad to prostate cancer in 2017.
To sponsor Connor visit gofund.me/bc972f58.
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