Call-up for Men to Keep Their ‘Eye on the Ball’ in FA Cup-style Battle
24 April 2008
The course is set, the footballers are warming up and now it’s time for men to register for their place in the Keep Your Eye on the Ball 5K run taking place on 1 June in London’s Victoria Park.
The event organised by Everyman Male Cancer Campaign, with The FA and The PFA is being supported by professional footballers including Millwall striker Neil Harris, Derby County’s Alan Stubbs, Notts County’s Adam Tann and Hull City’s Matt Duke.
Footballers and runners taking part in last year's event
Everyman patron and testicular cancer survivor Neil Harris is hoping to better his performance in this year’s run, adding: “Testicular cancer is obviously an issue close to my heart so I will always do my bit to help raise awareness and funds for valuable research into the disease. And this year, I’m determined to finish higher up the ranking than my fifth place last year. The lads have already started talking about who will win and I’m pretty confident it’ll be me this year!”
Soccer AM hosts Helen Chamberlain and Andy Goldstein are also behind the event, urging men to get involved in a day that promises to be balls of fun.
“This all-male event gives lads a chance to get together and do something fun, while at the same time supporting a great cause. We all know men like to compete and this run provides a chance to pit man against man and club against club in an FA Cup-style battle,” says Helen.
The fastest individuals and top fundraisers will each be honoured for their achievements and the winning club will be the one that finishes with the best average running time.
As well as professional players and The FA taking part in the event, Premiership giants are also keen to get their supporters involved.
Arsenal and England physiotherapist Gary Lewin said: “The run is a great chance for fans to show their support for a team, get active and help raise awareness for male cancer. It’s an event and a cause that all clubs should be involved with and we urge, not just Arsenal fans, but football fans nationwide to put their running shoes on and take part”.
All money raised will go towards funding research into prostate and testicular cancer which affects more almost 37,000 men in the UK every year.
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For more information or images, please contact:
Tatjana Trposka
Everyman press office
020 7153 5359 / 0778 068 8981
Notes to editors
• Everyman is a campaign run by The Institute of Cancer Research, to raise awareness and fund research into testicular and prostate cancer at The Everyman Centre - Europe’s first and only centre dedicated to male cancer research.
• The Institute of Cancer Research is Europe’s leading cancer research centre with expert scientists working on cutting edge research. It was founded in 1909 to carry out research into the causes of cancer and to develop new strategies for its prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care. Website at: www.icr.ac.uk
• Prostate cancer has overtaken lung cancer to become the most common cancer in men affecting almost 35,000 men every year in the UK. One man dies of prostate cancer in the UK every hour.
• Testicular cancer is the most common form of cancer in men aged between 15 and 45, with about 2,000 cases a year in the UK. Incidence is increasing dramatically - by almost 4-fold in the last 50 years, but thanks to advances made at Everyman, testicular cancer is 99% curable if caught early, and with treatment the overall cure rate is 95%.
