Dave Fowler from Denton will be running in the Spar Tour of Tameside this weekend in order to help raise money for Christie’s.

The four day event kicks off on Thursday 15 June, running through to Sunday 18 June, and involves four exciting but gruelling activities, including a half marathon on day three.

Dave, 60, from Denton, took up running just under three years ago, when he decided to start living a healthier lifestyle.

“I started running about two and a half years ago, my dad passed away to cancer, my mum is in remission, and I’ve lost friends to the disease, so I decided to live a clean life”, said Dave. “I gave up drinking, stopped eating takeaways and took up running, at first I couldn’t run around the block without stopping but now I can get up on a Sunday and run 17 miles,” he added.

When asked why he chose to take part in the Spar Tour of Tameside, Dave said, “I did one of the four stages last year and really enjoyed it, so I thought I’d give all four stages a go. “It’s going to be hard on my body being 60 years old but there will be other people doing it who are older than me so hopefully I’ll smash it”.

Dave was also asked why he chose to raise money for the Christie specifically, to which he said, “As I mentioned before I have lost a lot of people close to me to cancer and so I want to help charities like this one, they do an amazing job and they need as much funding as they can to help people in the fight for survival”.

The man from Denton is no stranger to athletic events either, having recently completed the Manchester 10k, which was also done in aid of the Christie, where he raised just under £300 for the charity. Dave thoroughly enjoyed the race and was proud of the time he achieved, “I got my fastest ever time this year which was 51 minutes, I came in the top 2000 out of a possible 25,000 and I came 60^th in my age group (55-60), which I thought was a great achievement”, said Dave.

Dave also highlighted his desire to inspire others through his work, “I’m always posting on social media, trying to inspire people, I always say if I can do it anyone can”. “I used to go out drinking every weekend, I smoked, and I was so unfit, but look at me now”, he added.

“Exercise is great for you both physically and mentally, it makes you feel a lot healthier in both ways”. “I wish I would’ve done this ten years ago, I’d be a lot healthier and I could’ve raised even more money, so I’d advise anyone to start now before it’s too late”, noted Dave.

Donations are still being accepted on Dave’s justgiving page so if you’d like to donate, please click the link below:

https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/dave-fowler1

🏃 Tour of Tameside 2023 🏃

We're proud to be delivering this year's four-day running festival, which takes place from 15 to 18 June. 

Find out more and book your place here. 

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