‘My dad died of prostate cancer – now I’m running 100 miles in 2 days so more men get checked’

Chris Asher plans to run to Margate just one day after the London Marathon to raise awareness of the disease

A London Marathon racer is raising the bar by running an extra 80 miles home to Margate the next day in memory of his father. Chris Asher, 50, decided to take on the challenge to raise awareness and money for Prostate Cancer UK.

His dad, John Asher, lived with the disease for 18 years before his death in 2023. Chris will now take on more than 100 miles across the two days later this month in tribute.

He said: “I’ve not actually done it yet, so who knows how it’s going to go? But to me, personally, it’s just a way of giving back. It’s keeping his memory alive, because it’s doing it on behalf of the great work and the support we got from not just Prostate Cancer, but all the hospice and all the staff that look after people.

“It’s such an awful thing to go through for the individual and the family is unbelievable. So, just to do anything to raise awareness, to stop that happening to another family, is massive to me.”

The father-of-three said his dad was such a “courageous” man who continued to battle it the best he could and his “spirit never faltered”. His diagnosis changed Chris’ mindset of not talking about health or not getting checked and since gets regular checks and wants to spread awareness of it.

The quantity surveyor, who works in the construction industry, said the amount of men he runs with or works with who have “no idea” about being checked is “unbelievable”, adding: “Guys don’t get checked or know anything about it.”

Chris said it is a “basic” blood test that can be requested via a GP and believes it is “pretty horrendous” there is no male screening for prostate cancer. “If you’re screened and it’s picked up early, the diagnosis is it’s a treatable disease … which screening would obviously save a lot of people’s lives,” he added.

Of the blood test, he told Press Assosciation: “It’s not a big thing. It’s a blood test. I’d say the awareness and getting the word out is huge to me, because if it can save somebody, then why would I not tell people about it?”

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men, affecting one in eight. The risk is doubled for black men and while the disease is easier to treat the earlier it is discovered, early prostate cancer often does not have symptoms, Prostate Cancer UK said.

Chris has raised nearly £2,500 on his JustGiving page for Prostate Cancer UK. He is aiming to complete the London Marathon in under three hours before a 6am start the next day to begin his journey back to Kent.

The keen runner hopes to finish the 80-mile route from London to Thanet, in what he is calling the “Mara-Than”, in 12 hours. “As long as I get back and it’s light, I’m happy,” he said.

The Shakespeare on Margate seafront will be his finish line, with the pub having a pint of Guinness waiting for him at the end. Of the upcoming challenge, Chris said he is “excited” and if someone said you have got to run it tomorrow he would be fine with it, adding: “I feel so ready for it. It’s bizarre.”

He began running long distances after completing the London to Brighton 64-mile challenge last year and since then has “continued to run”. His father’s death previously inspired a “Half a Day in May” fundraiser.

Paying tribute to his dad, who worked as a NHS payroll manager for about 50 years, Chris described him as an “inspirational guy” who put in the work to make ends meet for him and his four brothers. He added: “I’ll be thinking of him the whole way through.”

The London Marathon is taking place on Sunday, April 26.

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