Gary runs 33 marathons to raise £20,000 for Macmillan

Gary flashes a winning smile

Gary McKee, of Cleator Moor, has raised almost £20,000 in his latest fundraising challenge.

Gary has been fundraising for Macmillan for the past 8 years, raising many thousands of pounds to help local cancer patients and decided to do something extra special for the centenary.

His decision to run from Land's End to John O'Groats came about by mistake. He had originally decided to walk LEJOG using long distance paths over a two month period. That changed because of time constraints at work so he decided to run it, with two work colleagues cycling as his back-up team. The run finished ahead of schedule with Gary running the equivalent of 33 marathons in 27 days. A big congratulations to Gary for a fantastic achievement. 

Gary said: 'people ask me what my next challenge will be and the truth is, I don’t know. I don’t know how you can top LEJOG and anyway I don’t think I need to. I don’t need to prove anything. I will always be a fundraiser for Macmillan. I’m taking part in the Cumbria half marathon in October and am hoping for 100 people to join me and be part of Team Macmillan to help improve the lives of local people living with cancer.'

'LEJOG was a success story no matter which way you look at it. I’m not a runner and Ian and Rob aren’t cyclists but we believed in ourselves, pushed ourselves that little bit further and achieved what most people thought was unachievable. At the same time we raised about £20,000 for Macmillan as well as raising the charity’s profile. We proved that by moving out of our comfort zone and going beyond our limits that anything can be achieved. All it takes is willpower, focus and a strong mind. We shouted out to people living with cancer; ‘you’re not fighting this alone, we’re right beside you, fighting with you'.’

'The sad news is that in the 27 days we were running LEJOG almost 6000 people in the UK will have been diagnosed with cancer. If you haven’t already donated to this charity please think about doing so.'

You can still donate to celebrate Gary's achievement and help people affected by cancer, just visit: http://macmillan.tributefunds.com/GaryMcKee|