Football legend Jeff Stelling has taken on his latest charity marathon march and spoken of how he’s spending his weekends after his retirement.
The Hartlepool-born presenter walked his 34th marathon for Prostate Cancer UK on Sunday (September 17) from Wembley to Wycombe in honour of fellow broadcaster Bill Turnbull who lost his battle with the disease last August.
Stelling set off from Wembley with more than 360 walkers to the home of League One team Chairboys, who Turnbull supported, in Wycombe.
Read more: Three people arrested and bomb squad called after 'suspicious items' found
At the beginning of his journey, Stelling told the Echo: “I haven’t done one in a few years so I have forgotten how painful it can be – I am already beginning to realise and remember.”
His first challenge for Prostate Cancer UK took him from his beloved Hartlepool United down to Wembley with 10 marathons in 10 days in March 2016.
“At the end of the first one I remember finishing that night and thinking ‘I’ve got another nine of these to do!’. In that run we were doing ten marathons in ten days and I thought I wasn’t going to manage another one yet alone get to the 34th – it was purgatory,” the former Sky-man said.
“I have been pretty busy so I will be brutally honest I have done pretty much nothing in terms of training for this. I am relying on experience and mentality and at the moment the mentality is threatening to let me down.
“There are 360-odd people behind you all seeing you drop out so that keeps you going but its talking to people and hearing their different stories, which is sometimes very moving but always helps pass the time of day.”
He was also joined by Middlesbrough's Chris Kamara, who Jeff worked with for years on Soccer Saturday, including in the viral 'I don't know Jeff' clip. Will Turnbull, son of Bill, also walked the whole day with Stelling.
Since his first walk, Stelling has raised around £1.6m for the charity, and immeasurable awareness about the disease.
Prostate cancer kills one man every 45 minutes, according to the charity.
Wycombe Wanderers will be the 106th club Jeff has called at since leaving his beloved Hartlepool United in 2016. The trek will take him past 890 miles in total.
“The first time someone at the charity asked me if I would like to spearhead a campaign for them.
“At that stage, I didn’t know anything about prostate cancer, in fact like a lot of I thought it was ‘prostrate’ cancer and then they told me about the stats – one in eight men will get prostate cancer, one in four black men, in their lifetime.
“They are startling figures. If I go to a football match and look around me, I see streams of men and think ‘God, how many of these guys are going to get prostate cancer?’, maybe me included.
“If you catch it early enough it's very treatable. It’s when you don’t catch it early it becomes a killer and unfortunately in Bill’s case that didn’t happen.”
Stelling retired from Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday in May after more than 20 years at the helm.
He’s enjoying getting to watch his beloved Hartlepool and actually enjoying one game, rather than keeping an eye on all the important games.
The 68-year-old said: “I am going to football most Saturdays I have seen Hartlepool a few times this season.
“You have got feeds of all sorts of things coming into the studio, 10 or 12 matches, so you get a feel of what’s going on but you don’t actually see the bigger picture. So, to be able to go to one game is a joy - although it isn’t always a joy when it’s Hartlepool!”
The latest marathon has raised £208,000 (as of 5pm on Sunday).
Read next:
- Paedophile guilty of making 'abhorrent' child porn after being snared by cops
- Man stabbed former friend on doorstep after heated street argument
- New NUFC Champions League fanzone with huge screen opens ahead of AC Milan tie
Get more from The Northern Echo with a Premium Plus digital subscription, currently just £1 for a month. Click here.
Bill Turnbull’s wife Sesi said her family was “delighted” Jeff was walking in his memory.
“Bill’s years spent supporting The Chairboys gave him great happiness. It is such a special club and it was like a family to him as he faced up to prostate cancer,” Sesi said.
“We all miss Bill so much. It meant a great deal to Bill that he had helped others get treatment for prostate cancer by sharing his story. By supporting Jeff’s marathon march together with Wycombe Wanderers, Prostate Cancer UK and the football community we hope that his legacy will live on and save even more lives.”
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here