Neal Whitaker

I’m running the Amsterdam Marathon this October to raise money for KWF Dutch Cancer Society. Although KWF is based in the Netherlands, its work extends far beyond one country. The organisation funds and supports international cancer research collaborations, helping researchers, hospitals and charities across Europe work together to improve cancer treatment, access to medicines, and patient outcomes.

KWF is involved in major international initiatives aimed at accelerating new treatments, improving radiotherapy and surgery for hard-to-treat cancers, and making life-saving medicines more accessible and affordable across Europe. It also partners with organisations including Cancer Research UK to help bring promising new cancer therapies into clinical trials. Cancer research is inherently global, and breakthroughs made through these collaborations have the potential to benefit patients everywhere — including here in Scotland and across the UK.

This cause is personal to me. Recently my dad was successfully treated for cancer, and I’m incredibly grateful for the care and research that made that possible. When I was growing up, he ran marathons himself, so it feels fitting to take on my first marathon now in support of cancer research.

At 48, and after several years of injury setbacks, simply getting to the Amsterdam start line healthy will already feel like a huge achievement. Completing the race — ideally in under three hours — would mean even more. I’m proud to be fundraising for KWF Dutch Cancer Society, whose work supports international cancer research collaborations that benefit patients far beyond the Netherlands.

Any support would be hugely appreciated.