A COUPLE from Oxford who met after losing their partners to cancer are inspiring people to Race for Life at home and carry on the work against the disease.
Sue Duncombe and Patrick McGuire first met while volunteering for Cancer Research UK (CRUK).
Ms Duncombe had lost her husband Philip to prostate cancer on Christmas Day in 2009 while Mr McGuire lost his wife Pam, to bowel cancer in 2007.
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But the pair found love in their united determination to raise funds and awareness of the need for research into the disease and later tied the knot in 2016.
Since then they have completed two cycle challenges, plus a three peaks challenge, and this year had turned their attention to completing the Great North Run in aid of the charity.
Now, as the country remains on lockdown and with the postponement of Race for Life events across the UK, including those in Oxford, the couple are planning to take part in the charity run at home as a way of continuing their training while also highlighting the need for support for Cancer Research UK.
The Oxford couple embarked on their first major fundraiser together in the summer of 2017, cycling hundreds of miles across the UK and visiting 98 Cancer Research UK shops and three of the charity’s research centres to raise money.
Ms Duncombe, 62, has only just started running and is determined to complete the Great North Run if it is able to go ahead in September.
She said: “I have always genuinely believed my body is not made for running but I have watched so many half marathons and running events and decided I had to give it a go.”
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She added: “Race for Life at home is a great idea that will help me keep up my training.”
Mr McGuire, meanwhile, is no stranger to pounding the streets on two feet having completed the Cambridge Half Marathon in aid of CRUK in March.
He added: “It’s a great idea. We’re all going to be spending a lot of time indoors or exercising near our homes this spring, so it feels good to take back some control and plan something positive to help people who are going through cancer right now.”
To join in with CRUK’s Race for Life at home challenge visit raceforlife.org or call 0300 123 0770.
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