Elliott embraces 2.6 Challenge for Daisy Appeal in memory of his Grandad

Elliott Tate in his Daisy Appeal t-shirt ready for his 2.6 Challenge.

A RUNNER who was planning to mark 2020 by running 202.0 miles in races throughout the year has switched his focus to the 2.6 Challenge after his schedule was scuppered by the lockdown.

Elliott Tate now plans to run 26 miles to raise money for the Daisy Appeal in memory of his Grandad, Bert Purdy, who died of cancer last year after a 16-year battle.

The 27-year-old hopes the effort will take him closer to his fundraising target of £750 by generating more donations for his JustGiving page in readiness for resuming the race programme once restrictions are lifted.

Elliott, who comes from Bilton, studied at South Holderness Technology College before graduating in Physics and Astrophysics at the University of Sheffield. He now works as an auditor in London for Crowe LLP and is running round the parks and countryside near his home in Westcroft, Milton Keynes, to keep in shape.

He said: “We lost my Grandad last year after a long battle with cancer. He was first diagnosed in 2003 and managed to beat it but it came back and we lost him. He was 76.”

Elliott remembers Bert mainly being known for his job at Hull Rad ­– later Mysons – in Hull and his love of sport. He boxed as a kid at Hull Boys Club and played rugby league for Jervis Youth Club until his later teenage years when he met his future wife, Joy Purdy. He also played football for Mysons and Sutton Trust and was a keen golfer. His widow still lives in Bilton, close to Elliott’s parents Tina and Ian and the rest of his family.

Elliott added: “Originally my aim was just to get fit but then I thought I might as well try to do some good with it and raise money to help the place which looked after my Grandad so well. If it hadn’t been for the Daisy Appeal we could have lost him much earlier. By doing this I might help to keep someone else’s grandad alive a bit longer.

“I’ve taken part in fundraising events in the past at university and in various jobs but never had my own fundraising page. For the 2.6 Challenge I was thinking I could do 26 laps of the field but I get a bit bored with that kind of thing so instead I’m preparing to do 26 miles.

“It’s more than I normally do and there are the lockdown restrictions to think about so I’ll plan it in advance, take my time with it and spread it out but there are plenty of places to run round here and I’ll make sure I do 26 miles.”

Claire Levy, Fundraiser at the Daisy Appeal, said: “The lockdown has disrupted the fundraising plans of so many people for a wide range of charities so we’re particularly grateful to Elliott for finding a way to continue to support our work in these difficult times.

“We hope people support him in turn by making donations via his JustGiving page and pushing him towards his target. It would be great also to see other people take up the 2.6 Challenge by completing tasks comprising the numbers 2 and 6.

“It doesn’t have to be a 26-mile run – it could be 26 laps of the garden, baking 26 buns, doing 26 crosswords, anything you like!”

The Daisy Appeal has a target of £8.2-million to complete a radiochemistry and cyclotron unit which will produce radioactive tracers at Castle Hill Hospital and provide the opportunity for patients to receive more personalised care leading to earlier diagnosis and giving them better treatment and quality of life.

Once the facility is fully functional patients from a wider geographical area will have access to its services, improving accuracy and detection rates for cancer, heart disease and dementia in Hull, East Yorkshire and North Lincolnshire.

The charity aims to play a leading role in clinically relevant PET-CT research over the next two decades and to show that the technology can be brought to the individual patient, quickly and effectively.

To support Elliott’s run please visit https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/elliott-tate?utm_campaign=pfp-share&utm_content=Elliott-Tate&utm_medium=fundraisingpage&utm_source=Facebook

To find out more about the Daisy Appeal and to make a donation from your own 2.6 Challenge please visit www.daisyappeal.org