Press releases

Father-of-two to break Guinness World Record for mother lost to stroke and cancer

12 July 2010

A father-of-two from Woking is hoping to raise £50,000 for charity by pushing a car 26.2 miles - the length of a marathon – in just 24 hours on July 31.

Adrian Kane, 35, is taking on the extreme challenge to raise money for World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) and The Stroke Association, in memory of his mother Eileen, who died in January.

Adrian said: “Mum was first diagnosed with bowel cancer in May 2008. It was upsetting for all of us but we hoped she would be fine following her operation a few weeks later to remove the cancerous tissue.

“Ten days later she was recovering well at home when she suffered a massive stroke and had to return to hospital. The stroke left her paralysed down her right hand side and she pretty well lost the ability to speak. The severity of the stroke also meant she was unable to have the course of chemotherapy she was due to have.”

With the help of therapy Eileen was recovering when in June last year the cancer returned. After enjoying one last family Christmas together, she died on January 12, aged just 66.

Adrian added: “It was so devastating for us all. In just over 18 months our lovely, smiling, happy mother was gone. She had saved hard all her life for retirement and she would never get to enjoy it. She will never see her grandchildren grow up or get to play with them.

“After she died I was determined to achieve something special. I have had an interest in world records for a long time and after a bit of research I came across this particular record. I loved the idea of beating it and raising money for charity in mum’s memory.

“I’ve always been a fit person. I love football, rugby and cricket and I’ve run a couple of marathons so I knew with some training that I could do it. I also had surgery on my knee last year to replace my anterior cruciate ligament, so this was another way to get back into shape.

“Training is incredibly hard, especially fitting in around a career and a young family. I’ve been doing a lot of squats, about 1,500 a session and a fair amount of running. I’ve been practising pushing a car at weekends with my friend Mark Harrop, a director at HBA health and fitness consultants, who has been incredibly helpful in putting together my training programme and supporting me through training.”

The current world record for how far a car has been pushed in one day is set at 17.06 miles. Not only does Adrian hope to break this record, he wants to push the car and driver more than nine miles further.

The international tax advisor is supported by his wife Nikki, 36, and his two children Darcy, two, and Harriet, nine months.

Natalie Tarrant, Events Manager at WCRF, said: “This is an incredible challenge and we are so grateful to Adrian for such an amazing effort.

“The money he raises for us will go towards our research into the link between lifestyle and cancer and our education work that promotes the message that a third of the most common cancers could be prevented through eating healthily, being physically active and maintaining a healthy weight.”

Bhavesh Dave, Events New Product Development Manager for The Stroke Association, said: "More than 1000 people will have a stroke every year in Surrey alone and many of those who survive will be left with a life long, severe disability.

“We're so grateful that Adrian has chosen to raise money for The Stroke Association and we wish him the very best of luck in his almighty challenge. The money raised by Adrian will help us to continue to fund research into stroke, and provide support to the many stroke survivors across the UK."

You can sponsor Adrian by visiting http://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/adriankane Any readers interested in taking on a similar challenge, contact the WCRF Events Team by emailing events@wcrf.org or phoning 020 7343 4205.

Adrian will also be holding a ‘guess the steps’ competition where people can pay £1 to guess how many steps he takes to complete his challenge and how many he will take in total. You can also guess how many steps he will take after 1, 2, 4, 6 and 8 hours. Prizes include:

• A car engine remapping performed by www.bigperformance.co.uk
• 2 top-price tickets to Love Never Dies
• 2 x £100 B&Q vouchers
• 1 x £50 Halfords voucher
• 1 x £100 Boden clothing gift voucher
• A Nintendo DS Lite and Tiger Woods Golf game
• A £50 Currys gift voucher provided by www.ace-services-uk.com
• Gift Vouchers provided by Pizza Express, The Garden Centre Group, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury, Morrisons
• A teeth whitening session donated by www.mortiboysdentalhealth.co.uk
• A reflexology session provided by www.selfbalance.co.uk

ENDS

For more information contact Sheryl Plant on 0207 343 4273.

back to top

About WCRF

World Cancer Research Fund (WCRF) raises awareness that cancer is largely preventable and helps people make choices to reduce their chances of developing the disease.

This includes research into how cancer risk is related to diet, physical activity, and weight management, and education programmes that highlight the fact that about a third of cancers could be prevented through changes to lifestyle. For more information on the charity’s work, visit www.wcrf-uk.org

The WCRF report, called Food, Nutrition, Physical Activity, and the Prevention of Cancer: a Global Perspective, was launched in November 2007 and is the most comprehensive report ever published on the link between cancer and lifestyle. For more information, visit www.dietandcancerreport.org