THREE DAYS FOR BOBBY RIDE SUPPORTING CANCER DRUG TRIALS
A group of 24 friends has completed a fundraising cycle ride for our Foundation, raising almost £8,500 to support the clinical trials of new cancer drugs.
This was the 14th Three Days For Bobby ride with 24 cyclists, as well as two supporter drivers, coming together from across Tyneside and Teesside to cover the 150 miles.
Setting off as usual from Sir Bobby’s statue at St James’ Park, Newcastle, this year’s ride ended in the Lake District following a route up the Tyne Valley to Greenhead, then via Haltwhistle over the Pennines and finishing at Windermere.
The ride is very personal to organiser Stephen Hay, a project manager for Northumbrian Water from Sunniside.
Stephen says: “None of us are what you’d call professional athletes but we do have a passion for this annual ride. It’s important to us all, even when we’re cursing our bikes on day two.
“I was only 23 when we started Three Days for Bobby and I’m 40 now. As we’re getting older, we’re all becoming more affected by cancer and there are people we loved who used to come on the ride who are no longer with us.
“But you have to be positive, and I think we’re really fortunate in this region to have such cutting edge cancer treatment and research happening here.
“We’re grateful to everyone who has sponsored us, and to Mason Street Furniture for providing the support van, and we know every penny raised will be very well-used.”
Newcastle Hospitals and our Foundation, part of Newcastle Hospitals Charity, are currently working on proposals to build a world-leading research and treatment facility next to the Northern Centre for Cancer Care at the Freeman Hospital in Newcastle.
The proposed Sir Bobby Robson Institute would pioneer more ground-breaking innovation in cancer treatment and significantly increase the number of clinical trials available for patients across the North East, north Cumbria and North Yorkshire.
Construction is being funded by our Foundation, with £20million already raised by supporters and a fundraising campaign set to be launched to raise the final £10million needed for the project.
Newcastle Hospitals Charity fundraising coordinator, Jack Ryan, waved the riders off from St James’ Park.
Jack says: “Every year, the Three Days for Bobby team dig deep to raise funds for The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and we’re very grateful to the riders and everyone who supports them.
“This year they’ve gone above and beyond and the money raised will all go towards our ambitious plans to build the Sir Bobby Robson Institute, something we know they’re all very positive about.”
