When Toby Freeman, founder of The Robin Cancer Trust, set off this morning (April 6) he was not wearing your average exercise gear.
Instead, he took on the race dressed as a giant ballbag to raise awareness about testicular cancer.
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It is part of his “Big Ballsy Challenge”, which will see Toby tackle some of the UK’s most gruelling endurance events, including the London Marathon, a 100km ultramarathon, and a full-length run of Hadrian’s Wall through Northumberland and Cumbria.
Testicular Cancer is the most common cancer in young men, with the disease affecting 2,400 men in the UK every year.
One in 40 men die from the illness as each year goes by.
The CEO spoke to The Argus about his campaign ahead of the race.
He hoped that dressing in the outfit will help start an important conversation and will hopefully “break that stigma, break that embarrassment, start those really important conversations that can really save lives”.
He said: “If dressing as a giant ballbag makes people stop, laugh, and learn how to save their own life – it’s 100% worth it… when you put yourself out there, people are comfortable to tell you their cancer stories.”
The charity is part of a personal journey for Toby after the loss of his older brother Robin to testicular cancer at the age of 24.
Toby and his family set up the trust in his brother’s honour to fight for more awareness and education to young men, launching it in 2012 – a year after his brother’s passing.
“Rob was in the prime of his life,” Toby said.
“If Rob can be diagnosed then this could happen to anyone, what was missing was anyone educating young people.
“We wanted to make sure that this didn’t happen to anyone else – It’s absolutely vital.”
Despite being 96% curable when caught early, too many young men still don’t know the signs – or worse, feel too embarrassed to check. Toby wants to change that – one mile (and one giant costume) at a time.
The money raised by the challenge – which has a target of £240,000 – will go towards supporting The Robin Cancer Trust’s work, which hopes to educate young adults on the importance of early detection.
To support The Robin Cancer Trust or get involved in the Big Ballsy Challenge, visit www.therobincancertrust.org/bigballsychallenge
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