bobby on his bike-awareness of prostate cancer

Norwich bobby gets on his bike to raise awareness of prostate cancer

A Norwich policeman has pledged to cycle the length of the UK to raise awareness of prostate cancer after seeing his friend battle the disease.

Graham Finney, of George Berrow Road, was inspired to take on the epic Land's End to John O'Groats challenge from Saturday 2 July to Tuesday 12 July in support of his friend, Mark Kenealy, who was diagnosed with prostate cancer two years ago when he was just 49 years old.

Graham is hoping that his gruelling ten day journey will not only help to raise awareness of the disease, but a target of £3,000 for The Prostate Cancer Charity along the way.

Graham, who is taking on the challenge unsupported alongside his friend Kevin Hanner, said: "Mark's diagnosis happened so quickly and the way he dealt with it has been amazing. I'd always wanted to do something like this, but Mark's situation really galvanised my commitment to take on this challenge. That and the fact that I am getting old and it won't be long before I won't be able to do it!

"I've always liked cycling, but my job means that I do a lot of travelling in the car. I just don't get the exercise I used to and began to notice I was sitting down more and more. Training for Land's End to John O'Groats though has meant I spend as much time on the bike as possible. I try and do a 50 mile ride on the weekend and 25 miles of an evening. In the winter I did turbo training, which was a bit dull, but now that summer is here, it's great to spend as much time outside as possible."

Kevin, an Operations Manager of City Reach Health Services, added: "With a history of working in frontline health services I can not speak highly enough of the work carried out by The Prostate Cancer Charity and the highly valuable support they provide.

I previously cycled from John O'Groats to Land's End in 2005, but am I keen to see what it looks like going the other way."

To sponsor Graham, visit http://www.justgiving.com/Graham-FINNEY