Marcos Jarvis, 47, from Hailsham was told he had advanced liver cancer, but two years later the tumours are gone and he's preparing to run 100 miles across the South African bush.
In a few days Marcos will arrive in KwaZulu Natal province and do the run, while mapping out the route that will be taken by runners and walkers raising funds for the cancer family support charity WOLO (We Only Live Once) in October.
“Imagine running with the knowledge there could be anything ahead from spiders and snakes to elephants and giraffes! We will be covering 20 miles a day in very dry heat so I’m hoping we will get the chance to meet with local people along the route and share their knowledge of survival."
Two years ago Marcos was working as a renovation builder, living with his wife Hannah and son Archie in Hailsham. He had just completed a marathon when he was given the diagnosis - stage 4 liver cancer.
“I had 12 tumours on my liver and had 35 rounds of chemotherapy. I made some major changes to my life. I used my running to alleviate the fatigue and nausea and gradually my sickness levels decreased as my fitness improved. There were days when I didn’t want run but I pushed myself through."
He also became a vegan, took regular cold showers and ice baths, and practiced Tai Chi. He was well known for his habit of running bare chested in cold weather. Two years on and his mind over body strategy has been "life changing".
“My three-monthly CT scans indicated that my tumours were shrinking. The last scan showed they had gone. Now I want to focus on helping and supporting other people with cancer. I want to show them that they too can change their lives."
Co-founder and trustee Justin Wright said:
“Marcos is an inspiration. We are delighted that he is taking on our South Africa challenge to raise funds for WOLO. We are now looking for 30 intrepid explorers to run, walk or trek along African bush game trails to help us continue our vital support for local families dealing with cancer. Marcos will set the route for us and our fundraisers will follow in his footsteps in October.”
As well as raising money the WOLO 100 will focus on the conservation work being supported by Eastbourne based African trek specialists Africa Wild Trails.
Their director and venture leader Angus Wingfield is overseeing the expedition:
"Not only will the team get the chance to test themselves in some challenging terrain while raising money for WOLO, they will also see our conservation work in action. We will be releasing some bull giraffes back into the wild to strengthen the gene pool and help support the future of these magnificent animals.”
Marcos will be running the WOLO 100 in October – to provide much needed encouragement and inspiration to the fundraisers. There are still places and details are available at Wolo 100 Africa Wild Trail 2022 — Wolo Foundation
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