It might be summer now, but one football club manager has got his eye firmly on Christmas.
Members of Chesterton Football Club’s Veterans and Under 10s teams are taking on a mammoth virtual running challenge – travelling the equivalent distance from Chesterton to Santa’s Village in Lapland – a total of 2,026 miles.
The team is raising money to buy Christmas gifts for children affected by cancer and to raise money for Bicester-based charity The Hummingbird Centre, which provides vital support to people who have cancer and their families across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire and Berkshire.
But this challenge, launched on July 1, is about more than miles – it has a very special reason behind it, and his name is Ethan Foster.
Eight-year-old Ethan was diagnosed with leukaemia in 2022, aged just four, and underwent treatment for more than two years until November 2024. He is now thankfully in remission, although still has some side-effects.
During one of the most difficult times of their lives, Ethan and his family found support and understanding at The Hummingbird Centre. Ethan’s mum Sophie said: “I was so nervous to step through those doors and sat in the car for a long time. I was in a world I didn’t want to be in. When I plucked up the courage to walk in, I was welcomed through those doors. Everyone understood – it was our saving grace.” Ethan and his family were supported by the centre’s children’s service, and through complementary therapies and counselling.
She said: “Ethan hit it off with Kelly who manages the children’s centre, and he met children going through the same thing, or whose families were going through it too. They understood him. He felt normal when he hadn’t felt normal, especially when he went back to school.”
Sophie added: “It’s our saving grace and still is now.”
Ethan’s brother Freddie, nine, who plays for Chesterton’s Under 10s team, will also take part in the challenge alongside mum Sophie, dad Lee, brother Oscar, 12, and sister Imogen, five. There is no pressure for players to run every day – the aim is simply for players to complete the miles, whenever they can, and chip away at the 2,026-mile target over the summer. Team manager Graham Berry, who organised the challenge, said: “Seeing firsthand the impact that community support has had on Ethan’s journey is the ultimate driving force behind this event; we want to pay that kindness forward to other families walking the same difficult path. “I also have an ulterior motive and that’s to keep them fit over the summer – so for me it’s win win.”
This is the second virtual run Graham has organised, back in November 2020 the football club players ran a total of 1001 miles – the equivalent of Bicester to Barcelona, within three weeks and raised almost £5,000 for Cancer Research UK in honour of his late father-in-law Phi Alexander.
Mechelle Harris, The Hummingbird Centre Founder and CEO, said: “We are so grateful to Chesterton Football Club for taking on this challenge in support of The Hummingbird Centre. Ethan’s journey shows exactly why our services matter – providing a place where children and families affected by cancer can find support, friendship and a sense of normality during an incredibly difficult time.
“We wish everyone taking part the very best of luck in their 2,026-mile journey and thank the whole community for getting behind this amazing fundraiser.”
To donate to the challenge view https://gofund.me/16b142bb2