Sam's three-year marathon quest to support charity

YOUNG chef Sam Sheasby has signed up for not one, but three incredible challenges to raise funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care in Somerset.
Sam, aged 23, who lives in Minehead, works in a residential care home which is supporting him on his first challenge by enabling him to have two weeks off work in October to take part in the Kosice Marathon, Slovakia.
He will cycle more than 1,200 miles to France, where he will also run the Reims Marathon.
Sam will be covering his own event costs with the help of private company sponsorships so that money he raises can go directly towards nursing care in Somerset.
The £5,000 Sam hopes to raise for his marathon-to-marathon cycle challenge in 2009 will be acquired from a raffle he plans to hold in March, and sponsorship from family, friends, and colleagues.
Sam hopes to continue to fund-raise during the following two years with his second and third challenges.
Sam’s 2010 efforts will see him take on the Marathon de Sables, a running event across the Sahara desert, during which he will run the equivalent of five full marathons in as many days in exhausting heat.
It sounds impossible, but Sam intends to then go one step further and take on the extreme Polar Challenge in 2011, an event previously completed by world famous explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, who lives on Exmoor and who has raised more than £10 million for charities.
Sir Ranulph, who is supporting Sam on his forthcoming challenges, said: “As an adventurer I know how hard it is not only to plan and complete extreme challenge events but also to try to raise the much needed funds for Marie Curie Cancer Care, my own chosen charity.
“I fully support Sam in all that he is trying to achieve through his running events and Polar expedition for this very worth while cause, and I wish him all the best”
Sam chose to raise funds for Marie Curie because his late grandfather was nursed by the charity, and this enabled him to pass away in his own home.
All monies raised during Sam’s three-year campaign will be kept locally to provide nursing care to others in the community who have terminal cancer and other life-limiting illnesses.
Sam said: “I am excited about all three challenges, but am taking each event and its specific training one step at a time.
“I will be getting married in February and starting a new college course after my return from the Marathon 2 Marathon challenge, so life could not be busier.
“I am a local lad, having grown up in Porlock before moving to Minehead two years ago.
“I am hoping the community will support my fund-raising efforts for Marie Curie Cancer Care.”
Anybody who wants to support Sam or to give a raffle prize should call Amy Llewellyn in the Marie Curie Somerset fund-raising office on 01460 271230 or visit Sam’s online sponsor page at www.justgiving.com/m2m.