This coming Friday, 28th June, professional super- bantamweight boxer, Andy Gatenby, 26 from Portsmouth will be running 10 marathons in 6 days with his pro boxing trainer and good friend, John Murray, 33.
A staggering 250 mile run from Brighton to Liverpool will be covered over the course of six days by these two sportsmen along with a team of 5 other friends. This is all in aid of their motivation and inspiration, Amelia-Mae; John Murray’s 2 year old cousin.
For the past year, Amelia-Mae has been battling an aggressive form of childhood cancer; Neuroblastoma stage 4. She has been given no hope of survival within this country, therefore desperately needs the £250,000 which is standing in the way of her and potentially lifesaving treatment in America (40% success rate).
Murray has not only been juggling his family, job in the Royal Navy as Coxswain at the University of Sussex Royal Naval Unit and training a number of professional boxers, one of which is Andy Gatenby but has also been the driver of fundraising events to raise money for Amelia-Mae, one of which is this run. This may be an event which may seem insane to some but when it comes to earning respect in the sports field, something big has to be done to be noticed, as noted by John himself when setting out the enormous challenge ahead which will require breaking all mental and physical barriers.
Throughout the boxing training with Gatenby, the sportsmen have been training for this enormous challenge by undertaking gruelling sessions of hill sprints and lengthy endurance runs alongside their normal boxing routine of sparring up at TRAD TKO gym in Canning Town London, and VK Gym in Bognor Regis. No matter how physically and mentally challenging this routine has become, it cannot even compare to the challenge which Amelia-Mae undertakes every day.
Murray’s family have been informed that Millie has a maximum of six months to live if she remains in the UK; desperation, determination and family bonds are currently uniting everyone together in order for this run to be achievable to help gain the funds required for Amelia-Mae’s treatment.
Murray, Gatenby and the rest of the team including Hugh McNulty, Miles Fallon, Lizzy Caselton, Paul Ormston and Dave McElwee are going to be pushing their limits to the extreme, a life experience which not even they can prepare for. The battle which Amelia-Mae and her family undertakes every day, however, will be enough to sustain their motivation and energy to complete the run on Thursday 4th July at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital, Liverpool.
The run has currently gained an enormous amount of support via social media sites and within the boxing community, generating an enormous £19,000 to date with the initial target goal of £25,000 now being increased to £40,000.
More information about the run can be found at www.250run.co.uk; http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPHBun363lY and www.justgiving.com/RunforAmeliaMae