By day, Mike Barnes plays a pivotal role in patients accessing hospital appointments with Lancashire Teaching Hospitals and beyond, as a volunteer driver for the North West Ambulance Service (NWAS).
In his spare time, the 72-year-old retired former headteacher runs marathons to help raise money for Rosemere Cancer Foundation, Bowel Cancer UK and the Christie, in memory of his daughter Laura, who sadly died of cancer almost five years ago.
Inspired by her positivity and fundraising - Laura was Area Fundraiser for Rosemere for Central Lancashire and the Fylde Coast, helping set up the Walk in the Dark event, before later joining Cancer Help in Preston as Head of Fundraising – Mike's charity efforts have seen him nominated for a Pride of Britain award as Best Regional Fundraiser of the Year 2024.
Laura had been diagnosed with stage four terminal bowel cancer at Royal Preston Hospital, and was later treated at the Christie in Manchester, and Chorley and South Ribble Hospital, before she passed in December 2019, aged 36, 18 months after giving birth to identical twin girls.
During her treatment, she wrote a blog, the ‘Warrior Diaries’, which summed up her positive approach, and as Mike said: “She remained really positive, that was her nature. She would say you have two choices when you get up in the morning: be positive or negative, and she chose to be positive.”
Mike was headteacher at Flakefleet Primary in Fleetwood, before retiring in 2016, and alongside doing car services, he went to work for Voluntary Services Overseas in Malawi in Africa for 18 months, before Laura received news of her diagnosis: “While I was out there, I got a phonecall from my daughter, who had just been to RPH, and been told she had stage four terminal cancer. I caught the first plane back.
“She went from working at Rosemere to being a patient there. She was incredibly positive. She used to say ‘I accept the diagnosis, I know what I’ve got, but I reject the prognosis’. She was about to become one of the first to begin the immunotherapy trial at the Christie Hospital, but she developed pneumonia and went to Chorley Hospital. When there was nothing that could be done there that couldn’t be done at home, she came to stay with me for Christmas. The nurses came in every day and were amazing with her. She passed on December 28, and it was some comfort to her that her family were around her.”
Mike has continued to honour her upbeat outlook on life and was inspired to take up running at the age of 70, pounding the pavements across the UK and Europe to make a difference through fundraising.
He explained: “Laura had done a blog and a video for Bowel Cancer UK and I got in touch with them about raising funds, and took up running, which I’ve done ever since.
“I’d never ran before; it was just something which developed.
“I did half-marathons, and the London Marathon, without any training really, and realised I should, and maybe change my diet, read a few books on it! I did London again this year, and I’ve done the Great North Run twice, Mallorca, Palma, Venice, as well as a few half-marathons in London and a few 10ks. Every run is for charity, I always wear a vest, for Bowel Cancer UK, Rosemere or the Christie, and people always pat me on the back and say, ‘great cause’.
“I’ve also done walks, the Three Peaks and things like that, with people who are going through treatment, and they are just amazing, it’s humbling. All I do is put one foot in front of the other - compared to what they’re going through, it’s nothing.
“I’ve raised over £30,000 so far for charities, and it’s great to see it makes a difference, it all helps.”
That remarkable total contributed to his being nominated as one of four finalists for a Pride of Britain award as Best Regional Fundraiser of the Year, and he smiled: “The nomination came out of the blue, I had no idea where it came from, but I’m proud to be a finalist, one of four from tens of thousands of people nominated.”
When he is not putting in the miles in his running shoes, he does so in his car, driving patients to and from appointments, something which he gets a lot of pleasure from: “I saw they needed people for patient transport for NWAS and thought I’d volunteer. I drive all over, London, Birmingham, Newcastle, wherever the patient needs the treatment.
“Everybody I take is positive, predominantly it’s cancer patients, a lot from Rosemere, people from the Christie. One lady said ‘you saved my life’, and you ask ‘how have I done that?’ and she said, ‘without you doing this, I couldn’t get to my appointment’, which is really humbling. It’s great. There’s a shortage of drivers, but it’s an amazing thing to do.”
Mike's next project is 'Bonkers' Running' to stop Bowel Cancer, fundraising for Bowel Cancer UK, as he looks to complete two marathons, back to back in the space of a week - Brighton Marathon on April 6 and Paris Marathon on April 13, which he is following up with an Ultra Marathon in Scotland.
For more details, see his justgiving page here.
