Dave Sissens from High Roding who is running the Paris Marathon, the London Marathon and all the miles in between – even using a running machine on the ferry over the Channel – has inspired nine others to run the London Marathon with him and two to cycle alongside him on the roads in London and France.
Dave, 40, plans to run 325 miles in two weeks. After the Paris Marathon on Sunday (April 12), he is set to run from the Eiffel Tower in Paris to Calais. Having crossed the sea on a treadmill provided by P&O Ferries, he will then run from Dover to London before tackling the London Marathon with 10 friends on Sunday, April 26 – his 41st birthday.
Dave has already raised £20,000 for the charity Children with Cancer UK and hopes to raise £50,000. In London he will be among more than 1,300 people on the London Marathon running for the charity dressed in superhero caps and headbands.
He said: “It will be more than 325 miles, 650,000 steps, 78 hours of running, 600,000 heartbeats, 13 gallons of sweat and over four hours in an ice bath.
“No one has ever run the ‘long way’ from Paris to London, including running across the English Channel, so I can’t wait to get started and raise as much money as I can. I was lucky enough to see for myself the work that Children with Cancer UK do and throughout my challenge, the thought of what young children have to endure will definitely keep me moving.”
He has already raised more than £30,000 for the charity having run several marathons over the past 15 years. In 2012, he walked unsupported to the North Pole.
Four of Dave’s team are also from High Roding. His friend, neighbour and Olympic physiotherapist, Faye Pattison is running both the London and Paris Marathons with him and will also cycle alongside him on the roads in France, offering moral and medical support.
She said: “I’ve never run a marathon before. I’ve always run distances of about six miles and kept fit by working out at the gym. Running a marathon has always been on my list of things to achieve.
“So when Dave asked me if I would support him medically, I thought here is my opportunity not only to help my best friend get home safely and in the best possible condition after running an excessive amount of miles but also to fulfill one of my life goals while raising money for children with cancer. It was a very easy decision to make. However, I think most people would choose to run one marathon for their first time, not two, as well as a good few miles in between to keep Dave company on the roads in France.”
High Roding accountant Dave Bruce, 43, who says he doesn’t actually like running, he just likes it when it is over, last month completed two half-marathons in Brentwood and Colchester, each in two hours, three minutes.
He said: “If I can do the London Marathon in under four and a half hours, I will be chuffed to bits. I did the Great North Run when I was 14 and then stopped running, but this is a good charity and I want to support Dave.”
The others in the High Roding team are Brian Denman and James Snelling, both in their 50s. Brian works in finance and James, who is a former physical training personnel with the army, is a director of a distribution company, Express Bingo in Great Dunmow. They will be joined on the London Marathon by friends from Bishop’s Stortford and London.
Ben Twyman, from Children with Cancer UK said “We wish Dave huge amounts of luck for his forthcoming challenge. He’s one of the most determined men I have ever met, so we know he’ll give it everything he has and we can’t wait to see him cross that finish line in Pall Mall one very happy and tired individual.”
Children with Cancer UK funds research into the causes, prevention and treatment of childhood cancer.
INFORMATION: To support Dave’s challenge go to Virgingiving.com/sissens. Also see: www.paris2.london and Childrenwithcancer.org.uk.
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