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Round the grounds cyclists ride for Lymphoma Action

Published on: 23 July 2020

Hugh and his fellow cyclists covered 62-miles and stopped at all 12 London football league grounds to support our work.

Round the grounds riders

On the 18 July, a group of 30 cyclists took part in a 62-mile charity bike ride across London, raising over £23,900 for Lymphoma Action. The riders embarked on a circular tour of all 12 football league grounds in the city, starting at Selhurst Park and finishing at Champion Hill. Hugh Porter led the Round the Grounds team to also help raise awareness of lymphoma. It is a cause close to his heart, after receiving a lymphoma diagnosis himself in 2019.

“One Saturday night last August, I found myself staggering, vomiting, slurring and generally rambling nonsense” says Hugh. “I had been like this for days, and tellingly, there was no alcohol involved. This was in fact the beginning of a very long battle with Central Nervous System (CNS) lymphoma. It has taken months of hospitalisation, including the removal of a 5cm tumour in by brain, chemotherapy and successful Stem Cell Treatment to kick my cancer into remission.”

He adds: “Lymphoma Action’s support services have helped me greatly throughout the events of the past year, and still continue to do so. Our Round the Grounds event was a way of saying thank you to the charity, and a means of offering support to those affected by lymphoma who may be going through a similar experience to my own.”

“We are so grateful to Hugh and the Round the Grounds riders for their support and for raising such an amazing amount” says Adele Matthews, Challenge Events Fundraiser at Lymphoma Action. “This is appreciated all the more at a time when we have faced increased pressure through an unprecedented demand for our services, and a substantial drop in income owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. Through funds raised by people like Hugh and the rest of the Round the Grounds riders, we can continue our work in making a difference to the lives of people affected by lymphoma.”