Ben and wife Louise with medals after 10k and pictured on the right after the Blackpool Marathon

Cancer battler Ben Ashworth is preparing for the second of six marathons in six months.

Ben, 35, who is undergoing chemotherapy to stop his bowel cancer spreading, runs the Windermere Marathon on Sunday.

Advertisements

His fundraising total is approaching £5,000 and he revealed the first marathon – Blackpool – took a while to recover from.

The father-of-three from the Broadgate area of Preston  had a huge blister on his right foot and due to his lack of immunity the blister became infected – leaving Ben unable to walk on it.

Three weeks of antibiotics has helped Ben recover and he did the Blackpool 10k on Sunday 11 May to get himself back into action.

He said: “My recent scans have shown that my chemotherapy is still working to keep my cancer at bay and this was just the boost that me and my family needed, I am now on my sixth course of chemo after a short break.

“Treatment is now the foundation of my well being and it’s an understatement to say that running certainly would be difficult if my cancer grew or spread.

“Obviously that could happen at any time if my treatment stopped working. I’m so grateful and determined to complete the next five marathons.”

Ben at Blackpool Marathon

Ben now heads to Windermere with his family in support to take on a route with stunning views on the way round.

He said: “Last month I completed my first marathon and although it was really tough, I was really humbled by all the amazing support I received from fellow runners on my way around the course.

“I know Windermere is going to be a really gruelling marathon having heard about its hilly sections, but my wife and daughters will be their to cheer me on, and I know they will get me through it.”

Ben is building towards the Berlin Marathon in September.

You can follow his running on his blog and on Twitter.

And donations can be made to Ben’s total raised for CLIC Sargent, Beating Bowel Cancer, Macmillan and Rosemere Cancer Care.