A SCHOOLGIRL from Lymm is inspiring people to “Race for Life at Home” and carry on the fight against cancer in memory of her 12-year-old cousin who died the year before she was born.
Caitlin Neary, 17, has previously taken part in Race for Life events with her mum Nicola. But as the nation continues on lockdown, she has now vowed to complete a Race for Life at Home challenge, to raise vital funds for Cancer Research UK.
The sixth former at Lymm High School is currently working towards her A-levels. But with her studies moving from the classroom to the living room, she has set herself a challenge to run, walk and cycle 300 miles by the end of May, and she’s already well on her way to beating that target.
Caitlin is taking on the challenge in memory of her dad’s cousin Nicola Daniels, who sadly died from cancer in 2001 at the age of 12 – a year before Caitlin was born. The much-loved youngster was also a pupil at Lymm High and had a rare form of bone cancer. Caitlin’s great grandmother also sadly passed away from cancer in 2009.
Caitlin said: “Although I never met Nicola I’ve heard so much about her, and I wanted to do something to remember her, and my great granny. It’s incredibly sad that Nicola passed away at such a young age and I want to make sure other families don’t have to go through this.
“We’re spending a lot of time at home 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.
“Charities like Cancer Research UK, and the research that they fund, will be hit hard by the current situation and it upsets me to think about what this might mean for people affected by cancer in the years to come. I want to do my bit to make sure scientific research can carry on continue to save more lives.
“I’ve been setting myself daily targets to make sure I hit my exercise milestones and am determined to keep running and cycling my way through to the end of the month.”
Caitlin’s parents – Anthony and Nicola Neary – are incredibly proud of their daughter’s fundraising efforts and are hoping that she will inspire others across Cheshire to take up their own Race for Life at Home challenges.
Anthony said: “Were so happy that Caitlin has chosen to support Cancer Research UK. It’s great that she is able to give something back to this amazing charity. Whilst we have seen family members sadly lose their battle with cancer there have also been more positive outcomes. Several other family members have successfully recovered over the years and this is a testament to the vital work that Cancer Research UK does. Research really does save lives.
“There aren’t many families who haven’t been touched by this disease and we hope that Caitlin inspires other people to support this important cause.”
Anna Taylor, Cancer Research UK’s spokesperson in Cheshire, said: “We are incredibly grateful to Caitlin for supporting Race for Life at Home and helping Cancer Research UK continue its life-saving work. At a time when it feels like everything is at a standstill, there is one thing that hasn’t stopped, cancer.
“Our priority as a charity is ensuring that people affected by cancer are getting the support they need right now. But we are already getting people asking about doing Race for Life at Home because they don’t want to see the charity lose out on vital funding. It’s truly humbling to see the response.
“So from their homes, we’d love for supporters to join us and Race for Life at Home in these challenging times. From a run or 5K walk around the garden to limbo in the living room, there is no wrong way to Race for Life at Home. With no entry fee, people might choose to twerk, limbo, star jump, squat, skip, dance, or come up with their own novel way of taking part and share it with friends. The message is very much that ‘while we might be apart, we’re doing this together’. There is no wrong way to get involved and join our community.
“Those lucky enough to have a garden may choose to make use of it but whatever people decide to do, we are immensely grateful for the support, now more than ever. If the idea takes off, we could be looking at hundreds of people in Wigan stepping forward to Race for Life at Home and perhaps collecting sponsorship to do so.”
Thanks to the generosity of people across the North West, Race for Life participants last year raised more than £2 million to support vital research to develop gentler and more effective treatments for cancer – a disease that will affect one-in-two people in the UK at some stage in their lives.
People can visit raceforlife.org and sign up free for ideas on how they can create their own Race for Life at Home challenge
Cancer Research UK’s life-saving work relies entirely on the public’s generous support. The charity was able to spend over £30 million last year in the North West on some of the UK’s leading scientific and clinical research.
Donate to Caitlin’s fundraiser at: fundraise.cancerresearchuk.org/page/caitlins-giving-page-175
