Mark Harris is the creative brains behind Pedal the Borders. The 62-year-old turned to cycling to help him regain fitness after being diagnosed with Mantle Cell Lymphoma in 2012. The aggressive and rare form of non-Hodgkin lymphoma attacks the lymphatic system – part of the body’s immune system.

After undergoing an intensive round of chemotherapy at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre, based at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, as well as having a bone marrow transplant at The Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, Mark took to the saddle to recover, and do everything he could to make the most of his second chance and prevent cancer coming back.

He said: “As a result of that time I met a lot of people going through the same process, and from talking to them I promised myself I would live a better life. I now have a greater understanding of what I was doing that perhaps lead to me getting cancer, certain lifestyle choices I was making, the pressures of life, poor eating, poor sleeping, general lack of exercise.

“I had a totally different attitude when I came out of treatment and was in remission. I found exercise and wanted to give my body the best chance to recover. I wanted to make the most of being given a second chance and reduce the risks of cancer coming back.

“I’ve taken part in various fundraising rides for Lingen Davies before but I wanted to do something more, especially after the pandemic,” he added.

Mark’s wife Dean Harris was the former High Sheriff of Shropshire and heavily involved with Lingen Davies Cancer Fund, through this Mark met, and started working with the team. “Lingen Davies is really close to my heart, I want to do everything I can for it. I’ve always thought that an event to highlight the importance of cancer awareness and fundraise for patients while supporting families would be a great thing for Shropshire.

“Pedal the Borders offers people a great experience, it’s fun, it’s challenging, it’s inclusive, people can take part individually or as a team, it’s an event that links Shropshire and Mid-Wales – it brings the Lingen Davies community together. We had a great first year and achieved a phenomenal sum of money for the charity.

“Whether someone reading this is going through cancer treatment themselves, has already had their own cancer experience, or has never even known anyone to go through it, I would urge everyone to think about getting involved with this cycling event. Cycling is a great way to stay fit, keep well, maintain a positive outlook, and Pedal the Borders will be a wonderful day for everyone.”

Caroline Francis has been a supporter of Lingen Davies since her sister Angela was diagnosed and underwent treatment at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre, at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital, in 2016.

Not only is Caroline the vice-chair of the Lingen Davies Shrewsbury Fundraising Committee but she also likes to support fundraising events wherever possible. This year Caroline – pictured on the left here with her friend Ruth – has signed up to take part in #Pedaltheborders for the second time.

She said: “I took part in Pedal the Borders because first and foremost I want to support Lingen Davies in everything they do. It sounded like a great challenge, and I knew we would get to enjoy some really beautiful countryside. “Last year I took on the 100km route which was spectacular, challenging for me because I have a fairly slow pace but I knew I could do it. I haven’t done much training lately though so I think I’ll go for the 50km route this year. “I’m proud to take part in fundraising for the charity,” she added.

A chance read of a magazine article about our upcoming Pedal the Borders event led to a meet up between two Shropshire businessmen – both diagnosed with the same extremely rare form of cancer.

Bob Curtis, who lives between Shrewsbury and the north of Scotland, read about Mark Harris – the creator of our PTB cycling challenge which he was inspired to create after undergoing treatment for Mantle Cell Lymphoma. Bob contacted Mark upon discovering someone local who had been through the exact same type of cancer – which is usually diagnosed in just one in 200,000 adults each year.

“To find someone locally who had the same cancer was really something, Mark is the first person I’ve ever come across to have had the same diagnosis as me so I just thought I would reach out and connect. “We met for a coffee and found out we have a lot of shared experiences,” Bob said. Bob was diagnosed in February 2018 whilst he was living and working in Dubai, but had to return to the UK for stem cell treatment at  London Bridge Hospital as it was not available in the UAE at that time.

Like Mark whose cancer diagnosis lead him to reassess his lifestyle, Bob said he had cause to think. “I’ve always been fairly active, I cycled, played golf, did kayaking, but getting the cancer diagnosis did make me focus more. My wife put me on a clean food diet to help rebuild my immune system and which we still follow to this date.”

When Bob heard about the LD Pedal the Borders event, he decided to lend his support and has signed up for the 50km route. As he would be in in Scotland at the time of the PTB rather than miss out Bob decided he would do a similar distance and take on a route near his home close to the Isle of Skye. “I expect someone will do the route with me, perhaps my young cousin,” he added.

Bob and Mark have said they will stay in touch.