Personal Trainer to Run Length of Britain for Local Charity in Memory of Friend

Personal trainer, Dan Bourne, pictured, who owns and operates a gym in Hertfordshire, is undertaking one of the UK’s most gruelling endurance challenges. This August, he will run from John O’Groats to Land’s End (JOGLE) – a distance of almost 900 miles – in just 30 days.

Dan is completing the challenge in memory of his close friend and fellow personal trainer, Bradley Dunning, from Garston, who died in March 2023 after being diagnosed with stage 4 appendix cancer. To complete the distance Dan is planning to tackle an average of 50km per day, which is the equivalent of running more than a marathon every day. He’s hoping to raise £15,000 for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, which cared for Bradley in his final days.

Dan says, ‘This gruelling challenge is not just a test of endurance, but also a powerful way to raise awareness and funds for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care.  The Rennie Grove Peace team provided outstanding care for him and made one of his final wishes come true by arranging a wedding ceremony for Bradley and his partner, Laura, at the Inpatient Unit at Peace Hospice in Watford.

‘Being part of Bradley’s last few months is something that will always stand out to me. The words of wisdom and motivation that he shared during that time show me that running a challenge like this is really nothing compared to what people go through.’

Bradley’s illness was diagnosed after he started suffering excruciating stomach pains in April 2022. Doctors operated on what they thought was a twisted bowel, only to discover during surgery that they were dealing with more than they thought.

Bradley was just 46 when he was diagnosed with stage 4 appendix cancer.

His wife, Laura, recalls the devastating moment of his diagnosis: ‘On the day of the surgery, I was waiting for a call to say it was all done and we could pick him up. But I actually got a call asking me to come in.

‘My mum works in a hospital and said, ‘They don’t usually ask people to come in if the operation has gone well’, so she encouraged me to take someone with me. I took a relative and we were actually surprised they let us both in the room – as this was at the tail end of the Covid pandemic – but still I didn’t grasp the enormity of what they were about to say.

‘The doctors sat us down and told us that they had gone in and found a big mass on his bowel. Which was stage 4 cancer.

‘I shut down once I heard the words cancer. It’s all a blur after that.’

The disease spread aggressively despite surgery and chemotherapy. When his condition deteriorated further, Bradley was admitted to the Inpatient Unit at Peace Hospice in Watford.

During his stay, Bradley and Laura were married in a touching ceremony at the hospice, just days before he died. The wedding, arranged in under 12 hours, was made possible by the hospice’s dedicated team.

Laura says: ‘When I got back to the hospice after completing all the necessary paperwork at the register office, I couldn’t believe what they had done! The room looked so lovely. They had bought prosecco and a cake and I was so touched by how the staff had gone above and beyond to make this possible for us.

‘It was so rushed that I didn’t have time to let many people know it was happening. But the hospice was happy for as many people as we wanted to be there.

‘The ceremony took place at 5.30pm with our closest family and our son there. It was a really special and emotional time.’

Erin Beer, IPU Services Lead at Rennie Grove Peace, was the manager of the Peace Hospice Inpatient Unit at the time. She recalls: ‘Bradley had only been with us for a couple of days by this point, so the wedding came out of the blue. But as a team, we’re really good at just making things happen for our patients. So, when Laura told us about the wedding, we all rallied around to make it happen.

‘As a team, we aim to please. We all do this job because we want to help people get the best out of every day when they’re living with a serious illness and to make memories with the people they love. When we have a request like this, everybody in the building pulls together to make it happen. It’s so lovely to see.’

Bradley died peacefully on 8 March 2023, surrounded by love. His final gesture to Laura, a small thumbs up caught in a ‘live’ photo hours before he died, remains a cherished memory.

Dan’s journey from Scotland to Cornwall will not only honour Bradley’s memory but also raise vital funds for hospice care to support people with a progressive life-limiting illness, and those around them, within Buckinghamshire and Hertfordshire. Dan has already raised over £6,000 and hopes his run will inspire many more to donate.

To support Dan’s JOGLE run for Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, visit his fundraising page: justgiving.com/page/daniel-bourne-2.