Dan Thompson, a British businessman and sports enthusiast, will be completing a 10km run in Lisbon on Friday, September 28 as part of his monumental Run the World Challenge which has already seen him running in 149 countries.
Following the recent death of his mother from cancer, Dan plans to run in every country in the world before the start of the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo in a bid to raise money for cancer research and to promote the benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle.
Before running in Portugal, Dan will be spending a week in Africa where he will be running in Nigeria, Gabon, DR Congo, Republic of Congo, Angola and São Tomé and Príncipe.
Dan says: “I’m very much looking forward to running in West Africa and Portugal and I hope that as many people as possible will join me on the runs. I’d like to stress that everyone is welcome to take part – irrespective of their level of fitness or running speed. Participants are also welcome to run part of the way, join in on bike or just come along and support the runners!”
As Dan points out, “cancer rates are on the increase across the world and, in some countries, it is now projected that 50% – half of us – will get cancer. That’s a terrifying statistic.”
“The good news is that cancer treatments and survival rates are improving as we continue to invest in research. The other good news is that lifestyle changes could prevent four in 10 cancers. An active, healthy lifestyle also substantially reduces the risk of a range of other illnesses including heart disease, diabetes, dementia and depression.
“I hope that, by running round the world, I’ll not only raise a lot of money for cancer research but I’ll also help increase awareness of the huge benefits of an active, healthy lifestyle.”
Claire Cullen, Senior Local Fundraising Manager for Cancer Research UK, said: “When I heard about Dan’s challenge, I was hugely impressed with his incredible mission to run 10km in every Olympic country in the world to fundraise for us. Cancer Research UK doesn’t receive any government funding so it’s inspirational individuals like Dan that help to fund our ground-breaking research, raising money to beat cancer sooner.”
If you are interested in joining or supporting any of the runs or would like to know more about the initiative, contact Denise Williams at denise@run-the-world.org.
More information about Run the World can be found on its blog and website.
