In 100 days’ time, British endurance racing star Darren Turner will participate in his fourth London Marathon as he aims to raise money for the Hope for Tomorrow charity, which provides mobile cancer care units for NHS Trusts around England.
Turner, who is a Hope for Tomorrow ambassador, turns 50 on 13 April - less than two weeks before the 26-mile 2024 TCS London Marathon. So he wants to raise at least £5000 for the cause while simultaneously celebrating a key milestone in his life and career.
The three-times Le Mans winner and the reigning GTD class champion in the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, who was recently confirmed as a works Aston Martin driver for a remarkable 20th consecutive year, had been searching for an appropriate way to mark a half century on the planet and decided another crack at a dash around England’s capital city was just the thing.
“I wanted something that confirmed to myself that I am still fighting fit and as athletic as I’ve ever been in my career, and the marathon seemed like just the right thing to do,” explained Turner. “Anyone who knows me will tell you that I’m not a massive fan of running, in fact there aren’t many things I want to do less than get up in the morning and go for a run! So, this is also a proper challenge for me.”
Turner has three previous participant medals, and the most recent came in 2018, when he competed alongside his wife Katie in what is remembered as one of the hottest London Marathons on record. “The first two times I kind of did it through peer pressure because other members of the British Racing Drivers’ Club (BRDC) talked me into it,” admits Turner. “Then in 2018 Katie really wanted to do it, so I ran as well to support her, but it was horrible because it was so hot!”
This time around Turner is taking the whole experience a little more seriously. “I asked Hope for Tomorrow if they could get me an entry and they have been brilliant. I’ve always wanted to record a time under four hours, and on the last three attempts I’ve ended up finishing just over that time. But I’ve never really taken the training seriously before, I’ve just gone for a run a couple of times and then showed up, then hit a brick wall after about 12 miles. This time I’m hoping a little more focussed training will pay off.”
Hope for Tomorrow’s mission is to bring cancer care closer to home for patients. It provides mobile centres that drive out to communities to provide local support, as an alternative for those people suffering with the illness who have to make sometimes long and stressful journeys to their closest NHS Trust centre.
Each fully-equipped mobile cancer care unit houses four treatment chairs which allows NHS cancer care nurses to provide up to 20 patient treatments per day. The average time a patient saves for each appointment is 2.6 hours, which significantly reduces the impact on their working lives and their families. Hope for Tomorrow currently provides 10 mobile cancer care units and 11 nurse support vehicles to 9 NHS trusts. Last year the units allowed the NHS to deliver nearly 30,000 treatments in local communities.
“Hope for Tomorrow is an entirely self-funded charity, and one that really makes a difference to people’s everyday lives,” said Turner. “It’s an amazing project and as an ambassador I’m always proud to support it. I really believe in what it does, and anything that can just make people’s lives that little bit easier when they are facing such enormous challenges can really make a tangible difference. So, if we can raise some awareness as well as some funds to assist Hope for Tomorrow further, then that’s a small price to pay to go running for the day!”
You can support Darren through the link button below.
The 2024 TCS London Marathon takes place on 21 April. For more information on the event and how to follow it, please visit www.tcslondonmarathon.com. For more information about the Hope for Tomorrow charity, please visit www.hopefortomorrow.org.uk
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