We caught up with Gillette Soccer Saturday presenter Jeff Stelling on the completion of a third marathon on consecutive days, with seven more to come...
Day 3 of Jeff’s Walk, a charity event in aid of Prostate Cancer UK, headed by TV’s Stelling reached Glanford Park yesterday and for the presenter of Sky Sports’ Soccer Saturday, it was the best of the lot yet.
The 61-year-old is embarking on a mission of ten marathons in ten days, which will eventually lead to the finish line at Wembley Stadium.
Stelling walked from Doncaster Rovers’ Keepmoat Stadium to Glanford Park and he paid tribute to all those involved.
He told The Iron PlayerHD: “It was good. The weather gods were kind for the third successive day, which is absolutely unbelievable really, and the company was great.
“I was inspired by the fact Ian Botham turned up with his wife, daughter and dog and decided to walk with us. That was brilliant and I certainly wasn’t going to show any pain in front of Beefy, as he’s not the sort who suffers wimps gladly.
“So, we got stuck in and it was great, I really enjoyed it.”
He was not only full of admiration for the people who walked alongside him, but Stelling also was quick to highlight the generosity of others and those who’ve donated to help the charity.
“People have been so generous, all the way along the line. From individuals to football clubs and for example the chairman of York City presented us with a cheque and the chairman of Tadcaster presented us with a cheque too,” he said.
“Peter Swann is obviously such a fantastic supporter of this charity. He walked the first half and I think he turned over his ankle and an old wound came up and he just couldn’t go on any further.
“However, your chief executive popped in as a half time substitute if you like and Jim (Rodwell) did the rest of it and was brilliant as well. I know also he’s got a cheque for Prostate Cancer UK and he’s one of their biggest supporters and we thank him very much for that.”
ALEXANDER JOINS STELLING WALK: New Iron manager Graham Alexander got involved with the latter stages of the charity walk on Wednesday.
Despite the laughs which were shared throughout the journey, Stelling was keen to focus on just why these walks are happening and spread the word about Prostate Cancer as an illness.
While also insisting campaigning won’t stop until the message hits home with the male audience in which the charity is targeting.
“Our focus obviously is on prostate cancer, but every cause is a good cause. Our focus is on this one simply because it affects so many people and it affects men,” he added.
“So that’s the link with football and thank goodness, from the days I started to come to football matches, when my sister would be the only girl in the stadium. It’s changed a heck of a lot and we get lots of women, more families and the such like, which means the atmosphere is that much better for it.
“But it is still predominately a male audience, so that’s our target audience who we’re aiming to reach with this message and we’ll keep banging on about it until people take notice."
The walk was day three of ten consecutive marathons with Jeff Stelling, with Chairman Peter Swann and Directors Karin Swann and James Rodwell taking part. You can sponsor them by clicking here.
To learn more about the walk visit www.menunitedwalk.org or www.scunthorpe-united.co.uk/news/article/iron-chairman-to-join-jeff-stelling-on-charity-walk-2898877.aspx
See much more from Jeff Stelling on The Iron PlayerHD.