Harrogate Town to welcome television legend Jeff Stelling
The long-serving Sky Sports presenter is taking in the club this week as part of four marathon walks in four days for Prostate Cancer UK.
Yorkshire will welcome television legend Jeff Stelling when he marches across the country for Prostate Cancer UK for a fourth time this week, inspired by the loss of a close friend and a football hero to the disease.
The long-serving Sky Sports presenter has raised more than £1m for the leading men’s health charity walking across the UK in 2016, 2017 and 2019 – and returns in August and September to support Prostate Cancer UK in their quest to help stop prostate cancer being a killer.
Harrogate Town AFC will be the start point for the second day of the walk, before Jeff and his team take in Kirk Deighton Rangers, Leeds Rhinos and Leeds United FC.
Speaking to Greatest Hits Radio, Jeff says it'll be a big challenge ahead: "I know what's coming because we've done 29 marathons in the past, so it makes me a bit apprehensive! Every year the 26 miles seems even longer, but it's for a good cause and I'll be in good company".
Yorkshireman Lloyd Pinder became friends with Jeff after joining him on the first ever walk in 2016, and met him at the finish line in 2019 along with former Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and England goalkeeper Ray Clemence.
Both men sadly died last year, and Jeff wants to pay tribute to them: "At the conclusion of the last walk (four walks in four countries: England, Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales) Lloyd Pinder was too ill to walk, and to my surprise at the finish line he was waiting there to greet me. He may have been too unwell to walk, but nothing was going to stop him being at the finish line.
"I also saw Ray Clemence waiting at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and that was the last time I saw either of them as they sadly passed away from prostate cancer. Lloyd was 48 and it's a stark reminder of just how unkind and brutal this illness is.
"We decided that there would be another walk and this time it would partly be in tribute to Lloyd and to Ray. We'll be visiting places that were very close to Lloyd, such as the Stadium of Light - he was a massive Sunderland fan.
"I used to say to him 'you've been dealt a tough hand; having prostate cancer and being a Sunderland fan!' He laughed at that right until the end. There will be so many of his friends around on our walk, and Ray Clemence's son Stephen will be there when we take in Merseyside.
"It'll be a poignant few days, but we want to get the message out there that this illness can be treated if you catch it early. Prostate Cancer UK now have a 30 second risk checker online, so if you have any concerns please go to prostatecanceruk.org/riskchecker there's a 30 second check there that can help".
Jeff goes on to say that the pandemic has highlighted just how important it is that prostate cancer and charities supporting other illnesses have awareness raised for them: "Every charity has had a hugely difficult time, and the money that we've raised has gone into research.
"Treatment which used to be quite invasive is much more palatable now thanks to the research, but that research costs money. Money has dried up as every charity has found because all of the big fundraisers have been put into cold storage; financially every charity has suffered and that has an effect on research.
"Charities like Prostate Cancer UK and others need our support".
Jeff admits he's excited about the finish line in London: "I'm obviously looking forward to getting to Tottenham's ground because of the finish! But looking forward to a lot of them such as the start point at St James' Park - we've had some brilliant days there in the past.
"No Hartlepool United this time, but we do go to a couple of League 2 teams such as Harrogate of the second day and Tranmere Rovers for the start of the third day; I'm looking forward to winding up some fans there as my team will be visiting them during the course of the next season!
"I don't get to that many live games in the north these days, so it's great to soak in the atmosphere on some of these football stadiums.
"If you see us on the day, give us a shout!"
More information on Jeff's March for Men 2021 can be found here.
Key stats and information from Prostate Cancer UK:
- • Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men – 1 in 8 men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime. This raises to 1 in 4 for black men.
- More than 11,500 men die from prostate cancer in the UK each year – that's one man every 45 minutes.
- The most recent data - 2018 - for Yorkshire shows the number of prostate cancers diagnosed in Yorkshire in 2018 was 3345. The number of deaths from prostate cancer in Yorkshire was 662.
• Sponsor Jeff at prostatecanceruk.org/jeffsmarch and the money raised will fund vital research into life-saving treatments for prostate cancer
• Unlike other cancers, early prostate cancer often has no symptoms. That’s why Prostate Cancer UK is asking the public to share its online 30-second risk checker – to help people understand their risk of the disease and find these missing men. Those most at risk are men over 50, black men over 45, and men with a family history of prostate cancer. Anyone experiencing symptoms, such as difficulty when urinating, should speak to a doctor to get checked.
• Share Prostate Cancer UK’s risk checker to help men understand their risk and find the missing men at prostatecanceruk.org/riskcheck
• Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer can contact Prostate Cancer UK’s Specialist Nurses on 0800 074 8383.
o We don’t tell people to get checked. We refer them to their GP, particularly if they are in any of the risk factors (see above – men over 50, black men, men with a family history), or direct to our channels for more information - prostatecanceruk.org
About Jeff’s March for Men
o Jeff Stelling will take on his latest walking challenge in 2021, walking four marathons in four days in August and September.
o This year he will be taking on four walking marathons in four regions, starting in the North East on August 30th, heading to Yorkshire on the 31st, before marching through Merseyside on September 1st. His March for Men finishes up in London on September 4th
o His aim? To fund lifesaving research to improve testing, treatments and care for those affected by the most common cancer in men
o During the marches he will remember Lloyd Pinder and Ray Clemence. Yorkshireman Lloyd Pinder, who joined Jeff on his first ever walk in 2016, and was there to meet him at the finish line at Tottenham Hotspur in 2019, alongside former Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and England goalkeeper Ray Clemence. Both men died last year.
o Jeff Stelling has raised more than £1m and huge awareness for Prostate Cancer UK during three walks in 2016, 2017 and 2019.
o He walked 10 marathons from Hartlepool to Wembley and 15 from Exeter to Newcastle in 2016 and 2017 respectively, and in 2019 completed four marathons in four countries in four days. He’s visited 89 football clubs in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland and been joined by 1253 walkers.
o Anyone with concerns about prostate cancer may contact Prostate Cancer UK's Specialist Nurses in confidence on 0800 074 8383 or online via the Live Chat instant messaging service: www.prostatecanceruk.org. The Specialist Nurse phone service is free to landlines and open from 9am to 6pm Monday to Friday, and 10am to 8pm on Wednesdays.