A MAN battling terminal brain cancer could drop dead any minute – but is taking on the Hardest Geezer instead.
Iain Ward is doing 52 ultra-marathons in what doctors say will be the last year of his life.
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The 35-year-old was diagnosed after volunteering to have an MRI scan as part of a medical trial in 2019.
Doctors found he had incurable stage three brain cancer and only gave him until 2025 to live.
And in a brave attempt to not let the disease control his life, Iain is now putting his body through extreme challenges to raise money for charity.
Next year he will travel to 52 different countries and walk 52 miles in each one – which should take 52 weeks.
He told The Sun: “I often say cancer was the greatest thing that ever happened in my life and in some ways, it was.
“If someone had said to me ‘Hey I am trying to break a world record for the most money raised for a charity and I’m going to do it this way’ I would have jumped at the opportunity.
“I would have been like ‘Oh my god that is so cool, I would love to be a part of that’.
“But the difference is that I wouldn’t have had the – not that I wouldn’t have had the urge to myself – but if the idea had popped by in my own mind, I would have thought ‘Eh how are you going to do that?’.
“So, I wouldn’t have had the same amount of confidence.”
Iain’s current challenge is to break the world record for the most money raised for a single marathon, which stands at £2,320,601.
On Sunday he will run the Berlin Marathon and attempt to smash his target.
He also plans to run another 10 before the end of the year – with seven of them taking place across all seven continents.
Iain’s inspiring journey has been compared to the Hardest Geezer who ran the full length of Africa – which is equivalent to a whopping 386 marathons.
Although he didn’t have terminal cancer, the Hardest Geezer was previously a gambler and an alcoholic.
Iain has also made his mark on social media, with a following of 6.7million on Instagram and 5.4million on TikTok.
Brain cancer
ACCORDING to the NHS, brain tumours are graded on how fast they grow and how likely they are to grow back after treatment.
Grade 1 and 2 tumours are low grade, and grade 3 and 4 tumours are high grade.
There are 2 main types of brain tumours:
- Non-cancerous (benign) brain tumours – these are low grade (grade 1 or 2), which means they grow slowly and are less likely to return after treatment
- Cancerous (malignant) brain tumours – these are high grade (grade 3 or 4) and either start in the brain (primary tumours) or spread into the brain from elsewhere (secondary tumours); they’re more likely to grow back after treatment
The Cancer Research UK website has more information about specific types of brain tumours.
The symptoms of a brain tumour vary depending on the exact part of the brain affected.
Common symptoms include:
- Headaches
- Seizures (fits)
- Persistently feeling sick (nausea), being sick (vomiting) and drowsiness
- Mental or behavioural changes, such as memory problems or changes in personality
- Progressive weakness or paralysis on one side of the body
- Vision or speech problems
Sometimes you may not have any symptoms to begin with, or they may develop very slowly over time.
The self-dubbed King of Chemo said the challenges help keep him positive while he currently has no symptoms.
He added: “One of the reasons I’ve managed to stay so happy and perky about the situation is because I don’t have symptoms when it comes to my brain cancer. Yet.”
Iain’s adventure at the start of next year will also be an attempt to raise the most money ever for a charity walk.
Sadly, he isn’t the only member of his family suffering with the disease, as his mum battles breast cancer.
To support her, Iain also wants to break the record for the fastest single marathon completed in a five-person costume.
He hopes to pull together various male social media influencers and dress up as the spice girls.
Iain explained: “I think it sends a good message that, as much as there is so much division between the little things that make us different.
“I think its a nice reminder to show that we are all on the same team.”
You can follow Iain’s journey here.
The Hardest Geezer
RUSS Cook was once a gambler and an alcoholic who transformed himself into ‘The Hardest Geezer’
Originally, Russ planned to run from Tunisia to South Africa in the space of 240 days, the equivalent of running 360 marathons.
However, Russ experienced some unexpected issues with the Algerian visa and had to put the challenge on hold.
On April 22, 20023, he decided to set off on foot from South Africa’s southernmost point.
On April 7, 2024. Russ crossed the finish line in Tunisia after 352 days.
He ran a total of 386 marathons, that is, 10, 000 miles with an average of 28.7 miles a day.
Russ is nicknamed the Hardest Geezer thanks to the incredible challenges he has taken on.
Prior to his Project Africa challenge, Russ was best known for becoming the first person to run from Asia to London in 2019.
He also completed 71 marathons in 66 days as travelled from Istanbul, Turkey, to Worthing, passing through a total of 11 countries.
Amazingly, Russ has also completed a marathon on crutches, ran a marathon while drinking a beer after each mile and was buried alive for a week.
While attempting to run across the entire length of Africa, Russ revealed he was kidnapped.
Speaking in August 2023, he said: “Gonna be honest the last few days have probably been some of the toughest of my life. On day 102 I was separated from the boys & the support van after some impassable roads in the planned route.
“In an attempt to find the boys at a village on the plan B route, I stumbled into a rural settlement where the chief told me I must give him money.
“I had none. So that went down well. Pretty soon I found myself surrounded by lots of game blokes with machetes. Was escorted out the village into the bush.
“Emptied my bag to show I had nothing but a half eaten biscuit. Gave it to them, and ran.
“Spent the next few hours bushwhacking through overgrown jungle paths. Trying to stay off any tracks until I was far away.”
But things then went from bad to worse after he realised the support van couldn’t reach the road before two men suddenly “pulled up on a bike.”
He added: “What happened next was a seven-hour motorbike ride deeper into the jungle. In my head I thought this was it. Me.
“The self-proclaimed hardest geezer. About to get held in a Congo gulag before being ripped apart limb by limb and eaten.”
Russell explained that he was later pulled into a hut after being driven to a village.
He said a group of men began to argue about what they should do with him.
The runner said he attempted to negotiate and get through to his team who organised a rescue, and took him to safety.
A few months before revealing he had been kidnapped, Russ had said in June 2023, how he was robbed at gunpoint
He said he was targeted by an armed gang in Angola, during his 9000-mile journey.
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