Milton Keynes teenager to run for 24-hours in memory of grandad who died from cancer

Ben Watts will be running around the perimeter of Monkston via the redways from 7pm tonight (Thursday, October 29) until 7pm on Friday (October 30) and has so far, at the time of writing, raised £1,840 out of his £2,000 target for Prostate Cancer UK.

The 16-year-old from Monkston said: "I lost my grandad to prostate cancer in 2016 and now it's time I tried to help do something about it. I was not aware of prostate cancer or the severity of it until it happened, so I want to help raise awareness and support Prostate Cancer UK in the development for a cure to stop other families having to go through what we did.

"Unfortunately a lot of men are still unaware of the disease, tests are unreliable and research into it is critically underfunded so we need to urgently change this.

"I've completed a fair few runs in the past, but have never completed anything of this scale - it will be a tough challenge, battling tiredness and pushing my endurance to the max. My fitness and stamina will be also be put to the test, but it will not compare to what my grandad went through."

The Oakgrove Secondary School student has urged people to contribute to his cause as it 'will make a real difference to thousands of men in the future'.

Dad Paul said: We're very proud of Ben. He's kind of fallen into a bracket of finishing his GCSE's at a time where work has dried up for people, so for this to come along has given him an opportunity to do something positive. Hopefully the weather will stay dry!"

Paul said he thinks his dad and Ben's grandad, Philip, would be 'very proud' that his grandson is 'trying to help stop other people from suffering the same fate as he suffered towards the end of his life'.

To donate to Ben's JustGiving page, click here.

According to Prostate Cancer UK:

Prostate cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the UK.

More than 47,500 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer every year – that's 129 men every day.

Every 45 minutes one man dies from prostate cancer – that's more than 11,500 men every year.