By William Coleman
A couple of weeks ago CaravanTimes reported on a staff member at Salop Leisure being diagnosed with terminal cancer and what the company is doing to lift his spirits and make his dreams come true. So here is an update on his bucket list progress and the efforts his workmates are putting in to help his bucket list become a reality.
Darren Lloyd’s colleagues at Salop leisure are putting in a momentous effort to help their friend in need and have covered a whopping 1,333 km to make Darren’s dreams come true. To read more about Darren’s story you can Click Here.
During a recent 24 hours duathlon the Salop team covered over 828 miles by peddling and running their hearts out to raise money for Darren who’s in the fight of his life and doing well.
Salop Leisure’s marketing manager Ed Glover, Love2Stay joint general manager Chris Skitt and guest Lucy Wilde took on the marathon challenge hoping to raise £5,000 to help site maintenance engineer Darren Lloyd, 38, achieve his bucket list of wishes.
Around 20 work colleagues, members of Love2Live gym and friends of Darren joined in to support the trio during the marathon, held at Salop Leisure’s Emstrey headquarters. They pedaled and ran a combined the equivalent distance from Shrewsbury to Mont Blanc in France.
Customers, work colleagues and friends popped in during the day to bring food and drinks for the trio and to donate money in collection buckets, which amounted to more than £700.
Shrewsbury’s Mayor Councillor Phil Gillam was there to start the duathlon and even contributed a kilometer or two on one of the exercise bikes.
Darren, members of his family and Mr Bywater were there to congratulate the trio when they completed the exhausting duathlon to applause at noon on Sunday.
Mr Bywater thanked everyone who had supported the event and praised the trio for their fitness and endurance.
Ed Glover said: “It was an amazing achievement and probably the hardest thing I have ever done, but it’s for a great cause. There was a certain point through the night where I literally didn’t know where I was, but it definitely helped having people come in with food and drink to keep us going.
“Highlights for me were Lloydy doing the first 30 minutes on a bike at the start and people coming in throughout the day which ensured we were never alone. Lloydy was overwhelmed at the end and couldn’t believe we had done it for him.
“A couple of families staying at Love2Stay did a collection around the resort and brought in £220 for us, which was great. We would like to thank everyone who supported us over the 24 hours and continue to donate money through the Just Giving page www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/lloydy.”
To date, the Just Giving page has surpassed the £3,000 barrier, with money continuing to pour in. Salop Leisure is hoping to raise £5,000 to send Darren on a family holiday abroad, a break at Centre Parcs in the UK, a shark fishing adventure and to a top-class boxing promotion.
Darren was diagnosed with bowel cancer this time last year and underwent surgery on Christmas Eve at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham. Because the cancer has spread, he is now undergoing a second cycle of 12 weeks of chemotherapy treatment at the Lingen Davies Cancer Centre at the Royal Shrewsbury Hospital.
