Ex-Doncaster Knight to run 100 miles in 24 hours in support of hero’s battle with cancer

Sam Edgerley will tackle the mammoth ‘UltraBob 100’ challenge in a bid to raise funds for Myeloma UK, a charity close to his heart after his best friend’s dad and “hero” Bob Munro was diagnosed with the incurable blood cancer.

Sam, aged 30, who joined the Doncaster Knights in 2015, will set off down the Thames Path from London’s Putney Bridge at 4pm on September 30 and complete a mammoth 100-mile loop across the next 24 hours.

He will be joined along the way by friends and family, including Bob’s son Joe Munro, who will race the last 26 miles – the equivalent of a marathon – with him to the finish line.

“A 100-mile run is a mere patch on the journey Bob has battled through,” said Sam who now lives in Wandsworth.

“I lost my dad when I was quite young and I really valued him as an older male figure.

"He’s everything I aspire to be: an amazing husband and a fantastic dad.

"He’s an incredible guy and we’re all blessed to know him. He has really inspired me through the resilience he has shown over the last 10 years in his fight against myeloma.”

The father-of-one added: “Bob's been fortunate to ride the explosion in new myeloma drugs which have kept him in the game for the past 10 years.

"The research and development for these drugs has been massively accelerated by patient-inspired fundraising, such as Bob's own London to Paris ride a few years ago, and numerous family and friends’ events, which funnel money into Myeloma UK's clinical trials and advocacy work.

“By January 2022 Bob had exhausted all the licensed drugs but was lucky enough to get on a trial for a completely new experimental class of drug.

"He's since suffered six months of the worst bunch of side effects and bad luck – including viral infections, COVID, a damaged sacrum leaving him unable to walk and requiring radiotherapy, his eighth rib fracture and severe anaemia – but the results have been spectacular, smashing his myeloma to the lowest levels since diagnosis.

"Proof, if ever you needed it, of the value of research, clinical trials and the fundraising that helps make it possible.”

Sam played rugby for the England Sevens squad between 2011 and 2014 before signing with the Doncaster Knights. He stayed with the club until 2017.

Myeloma occurs in the bone marrow and currently affects over 24,000 people in the UK.

Despite being the third most common type of blood cancer, it is especially difficult to detect as symptoms, including back pain, easily broken bones, fatigue and recurring infection, are often linked to general ageing or minor conditions.

While it is incurable, myeloma is treatable in the majority of cases. Treatment is aimed at controlling the disease, relieving the complications and symptoms it causes, and extending and improving patients’ quality of life.

More than half of patients face a wait of over five months to receive the right diagnosis and around a third are diagnosed through an emergency route. By that point, many of them are experiencing severe or life-threatening symptoms.

A keen cyclist, Bob had planned to ride from Pisa to Rome along with Sam and his family when the pandemic hit, sending his fundraising plans for Myeloma UK to a grinding halt.

Just as the world started to come out of lockdown, Bob’s cancer returned forcing him to put the bike ride on hold once again.

That’s when Sam came up with the idea for the ‘UltraBob 100’ instead.

“We wanted to do something special to continue to raise as much awareness and as much money as possible to fund trials and new drugs,” added Sam, who now works as an asset manager.

“It really has been amazing to see the tangible difference that charity events such as this have made to Bob and his family over the last 10 years, allowing Bob to meet his granddaughter, see his son Ross get married and live life in great spirits as he so deserves to.”

Bob Munro said: “I am very touched. The other night I was chatting to him and I said, ‘This is really tricky, you might get injured, maybe you should cut it down to 100km instead of 100 miles’. The next morning he came back to me and his message said, ‘No way, it has to be 100 miles’.”

“He is a complete nutter,” added Bob, aged 62, from Windsor. “Everything he does, he goes 100 miles an hour. He is absolutely amazing.”

Sam’s rugby career aside, the ‘UltraBob 100’ promises to be one of his most physical and daunting challenges yet.

Being a busy young dad, for the past few weeks Sam has run 15 miles to and from work every day to squeeze some much-needed training into his packed schedule.

“I used to play professional rugby but this will be the longest I’ve ever run,” he said.

“The furthest I’ve ever run is 40 miles. I wanted to do something that was out of my comfort zone and that would be a struggle. But that’s nothing compared to Bob’s 10-year battle with myeloma and the resilience he has shown. It’s taken a huge toll on him and on his family but Bob is so positive and grabs every minute of life.”

To make a donation go to https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ultrabob100

For more information about myeloma or to get in touch with Myeloma UK go to www.myeloma.org.uk. Myeloma UK runs an Infoline on 0800 980 3332.