A father of two from East Durham is ready to take on the Prince Bishops Durham City 10k later this month as part of an epic fundraising challenge. 44-year-old Scott Baker is on track to complete 1000 10k runs in 1000 days in a bid to raise awareness of ovarian cancer, and is set to complete his 967th 10k in Durham alongside legendary marathon runner Ben Smith.
Known locally as Seaham’s ‘running man’, Scott is aiming to raise as much as possible for Target Ovarian Cancer after his mum was diagnosed with the illness in 2016. He will be joined by Ben, who famously completed 401 marathons in 401 days, when he takes on the historic streets of Durham on Thursday 25 July. So far, Scott has completed each 10k in a time of 42 minutes or faster and he hopes to maintain this in Durham.
Scott, an assistant facilities officer for Durham County Council, first set out on his challenge in December 2016, in a bid to put the spotlight on ovarian cancer and its symptoms, which are often overlooked until it’s too late. Target Ovarian Cancer is the UK’s leading ovarian cancer charity which works to improve early diagnosis, fund life-saving research and provide much needed support to women with ovarian cancer.
Scott comments: “My mam has shown enormous courage since her cancer diagnosis and has never complained. We are all very grateful for the medical help and support she has been given to fight this horrible disease. My main aim with the challenge is to encourage people to check for signs of ovarian cancer as it’s not the silent killer everyone thinks; I urge people to check the symptoms online. Any donations in support of my challenge will help Target to improve awareness and early diagnosis, fund life-saving research and provide support to those currently fighting ovarian cancer.
“I’m really looking forward to running the Prince Bishops Durham City 10k alongside the marathon legend who is Ben Smith. With so many runs behind me now this type of motivation is exactly what I need as I head into the final leg of my challenge which I’m due to complete on Tuesday 27 August.”
The Prince Bishops Durham City 10k is part of the Durham City Run Festival organised by Events of the North in partnership with Durham County Council. The three-day event will combine 10k and 5k races with films, talks, book signings, celebrity appearances, the global debut of Paula Radcliffe’s Families on Track, the Run Like a Legend Mile challenge and a schedule of free running events. The festival will take over the centre of Durham and the Gala Theatre from 25-27 July.
For more information about the Durham City Run Festival visit www.durhamcityrun.com. The website includes a full programme of festival events that can be downloaded onto a laptop or mobile device. For the latest news about the festival, keep an eye on the website, find the event on Facebook and follow @DurhamCityRun on Twitter.
To make a donation to Scott’s fundraising page visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Scott-Baker1000