Steve Parr Round Attempt - Rob Brown

There is a certain type of runner in this social media age, who waffles on about their running  achievements, even before they have done the ‘thing’. Normally I would hope to be as far away from  this as possible… and yet here we are! Next month, hopefully on the 7^th February, I am going to  attempt the Steve Parr Round as a sponsored challenge to raise money for Cancer support in north  Cumbria.  

In March 2024 my partner, Chrissy, was diagnosed with Bowel Cancer, after being unwell for a long  time. She received amazing care and treatment from the NHS, with surgery and chemotherapy at  Carlisle hospital. As I’m sure many of you know, the whole process from initial diagnosis, through  treatment and beyond is pretty brutal both physically and emotionally and has huge, far-reaching  impacts on every part of life. What became apparent is that living in this wonderful place that we  do, there is very little non-clinical support to patients and their families to navigate these tough  times. There are some wonderful volunteers running support groups as best they can, but the big  charities are more based in the cities.  

Which brings me to Maggie’s. Maggie’s centres are based alongside hospitals but offer a totally  different environment, a calming non-clinical space that is open to anyone who needs it. The centres  provide a whole range of support from a cup of tea and a chat with someone who understands, to  legal and financial advice, support with side effects or whatever you need. Unfortunately, the  nearest centre for us is Newcastle which is too far away to be of much use in such times. So there  are two projects underway, mostly spearheaded by the wonderful Ian Teasdale (nephew of the  legendary Bill Teasdale – Terminal Hillness on Instagram and the inspiration for this run). The  ultimate long term goal is to work towards a permanent Maggie’s centre in Carlisle, but that’s a huge  project so the short term goal is for Maggie’s to be able to offer more outreach support for the  people of Cumbria – and that is where your money will go when you feel compelled to visit my JustGiving Page… 

What I did want to share at this point is some reflections on just how wonderful the fell running  community and particularly Keswick AC have been at supporting me, and undoubtedly others,  through tough times, without even realising it. Going through something grim like that can feel like  it’s taken over your whole life. We were really lucky to have close friends and family who really  stepped up and looked after us, but it’s easy for it to occupy your brain twenty-four hours a day. It  was so helpful to have running as a separate thing, where for a few hours you can step away and be  surrounded by positivity, energy, nature and sweat! Right in the thick of the chemo I remember a  day out to Lad’s Leap, arguably the worst champs fell race of all time, and yet for me at that time it  was bliss! So I wanted to say a big thank you to everyone who inadvertently inspired and  encouraged me. You never know the power of a smile, a friendly word and a bit of craic! 

So next month when I set out on this run I would obviously love to raise a load of money, but I also  want to show how important it is to have amazing support around you if you are pushing through  something challenging – and this will most certainly be challenging. The Steve Parr round is a loop of  all the 61 fells in the Lake District above 2500ft, it will be just over 100 miles and an unreasonable  amount of up and down.  

So, another thank you goes out to all the people who have offered to come and help, it’s been  slightly overwhelming and I am massively grateful. Who knows what will happen out there but I can’t  wait to find out! 

If you are willing and able to put any pennies towards this cause then you can scan the QR code  below or click here. Thank you…